Parent Aide Services and Case Management aims to reduce the risk of physical abuse and/or neglect. It targets parenting behaviour and environmental challenges linked with child maltreatment risk.
Families must have at least one child 12 years of age or younger living in the home and be deemed at high risk of abuse and/or neglect. This is determined by a referral from child protective services or an initial case assessment that examines imminent risk of harm to the child, parental capacity and resources to cope with stress in the parenting role.
The program has two components: parental aide and case management.
Parent Aide Services and Case Management is designed for families with at least one child 12 years of age or younger deemed high risk of abuse or neglect.
The program has only been evaluated in the USA (Guterman et al. 2013).
A randomised control trial was conducted with 101 people (57 in the intervention group and 44 in the control group). On average mothers were 29 years old. Most of the mothers were Caucasian and from low income households.
The program has not been evaluated in Australia, or with Aboriginal Australians.
Overall, Parent Aide Services and Case Management had a mixed effect on client outcomes.
Mixed research evidence (with no adverse effects)
Parent Aide Services and Case Management is at-home intervention, which averages 1 year in length.
A case manager conducts an initial needs assessment. The parent aide then visits up to 2 times per week, depending upon assessed risk, need, and parents’ assigned level of service. Frequency of visits can range from a more intensive engagement phase focusing on immediate concerns, to a phase emphasising work on parent–child discipline and family communication, and later to a phase focusing on maintenance of gains and termination of the parent aide.
Case management: An initial needs assessment is conducted by a case manager to gather information about family history and risk for maltreatment (including psychosocial and environmental risk). They provide crisis intervention counseling whenever necessary, and organise referrals for substance abuse, childcare/respite, and other community resources as needed.
Parent aide: Parent aides engage in activities specifically targeting:
Parent aides’ work is structured by setting up goal plans with clients, which are reviewed quarterly.
An average cost of $2500 USD per case per year.
Parent aides and case workers should be intensely trained in the 27 different types of services or supports provided to the clients. The training covers such topics as identification of child maltreatment, communication skills, problem solving skills, and linkage to available community resources (Guterman et al. 2013).
One RCT conducted in the USA, with 101 participants (Guterman et al. 2013).
16 Feb 2023
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Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
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