Effectiveness of family preservation services

Abstract

This article reviews recent studies of family preservation and related family-strengthening programs, estimates the effect sizes of outcomes in studies with control or comparison conditions, and discusses the status of research on family preservation services. A set of core services that characterize innovative family preservation programs in child welfare, multisystemic family treatment in juvenile justice, and family-based psychoeducation in mental health is identified. Family preservation services may be useful in preventing youth violence; family-based psychoeducation in mental health may prevent or delay relapse and hospitalization; and aside from promising data on family reunification programs, the findings in child welfare are equivocal.