Crisis Child Care: Implications for Family Interventions

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Crisis child care programs provide caregiving respite on an emergency basis and counseling and referral services to stressed parents who are at risk for maltreating their children. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to describe the sociodemographic and stress characteristics of rural parents who accessed crisis child care services and to determine if the utilization of these services would reduce the reported incidence of child maltreatment. STUDY DESIGN: Parents completed a basic sociodemographic questionnaire and the Parenting Stress Inventory (PSI). Child maltreatment reporting statistics were used to determine if there was a significant decrease in the reported incidence of child maltreatment. RESULTS: The demographic data painted a portrait of economic disadvantage. The data indicated that parents perceived external stressors, those outside of the parent-child relationship, as the major contributor to their current life crisis. Comparison of child maltreatment rates between rural communities that did and did not receive crisis child care preventive interventions indicated that the programs were effective in preventing child maltreatment. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study provide support for the ecological model of child maltreatment which posits that availability of social support for families who experience high stress or crisis can decrease the incidence of child maltreatment.