Child Welfare Outcomes After Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up Intervention Participation: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Limited research is available examining distal child welfare outcomes after participation in evidence-based parenting interventions. To address this gap, this study employed a multi-tiered analytic approach to examine child welfare outcomes after participation in Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC). Using propensity score analytic techniques to establish a matched comparison group, logistic regressions examined subsequent maltreatment reports and substantiation, and survival analyses observed time to and likelihood of reunification for children who received one of three ABC curriculums compared to comparison group children (child welfare services as usual). In total, 205 children were included in the impact analysis ( n = 66 treatment; n = 139 comparison); the majority of the children were White (53.7%), non-Hispanic (84.4%), males (59.5%) with an average age of 6 months (M [SD] = .50 [1.0]). Over half (56.1%) of the study sample was in out-of-home placement; 23.5% of the removed children experienced reunification. No statistically significant group differences were observed on the likelihood of subsequent or substantiated maltreatment reports. All three ABC curriculums were associated with a statistically significant increased likelihood of reunification, when compared to their matched counterpart. Additional research is warranted, though results indicate ABC may be a promising intervention to help enhance the likelihood of reunification.