from AScribe
Newswire, January 21, 2003
In one of
Chicago's poorest neighborhoods, a little girl with pigtails and a denim
jumper stands in front of a table and fingers the shape of wooden letters
as she fits them into a puzzle. In the next room, her mother talks to a
parent-resource teacher about taking the GED and how she can help her
daughter with homework.
According to a new study by researchers at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, this type of learning environment does more than
strengthen skills - it helps cut the rate at which enrolled children will
be abused or neglected by their parents or caregivers. The findings,
published in the current issue of the journal Child Development, provide
new evidence that preschool programs can impact not just school readiness
and performance, but long-term family outcomes.
Each year, three million cases of child maltreatment are reported and
about one-third of them are substantiated, says Arthur Reynolds, a
UW-Madison professor of social work and human development and principal
investigator of the published study. Reynolds says that many risk factors
contribute to a child's likelihood of being maltreated but that poverty is
always high on the list: "Low-income families living in high-poverty
neighborhoods are among the most at risk of childhood abuse and neglect."
The social isolation and stress that result from poverty, he says, put
children at risk of being maltreated. Mitigating the effects of poverty,
he argues, could reduce the chances of childhood abuse and neglect.
Reynolds, who has studied a group of children enrolled in a Chicago-based
early educational intervention program, wondered if the program and the
services it provided lowered the children's risk of being abused and
neglected. The answer, he says, appears to be "yes."
As part of the Chicago Longitudinal Study started in 1985, Reynolds has
been studying the effects of the Chicago School District's Child-Parent
Centers (CPC) on the lives of those who have attended them. The
intervention centers, administered by the Chicago public schools since
1967 and funded through Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, strive to provide for the "total child," which means also providing
services for the parents. After Head Start, it is the oldest federally
funded preschool.
While teachers at the centers, located in public schools, help 3- to
9-year- olds acquire basic skills in language arts and math, resource
coordinators help the children's parents receive the support and services
they need to care for their kids at home. School-age services are also
provided.
"There's a heavy emphasis on parent involvement," says Reynolds. The
central principle of the intervention program, he adds, is that this
direct parent involvement can enhance parent-child interactions, parent
and child appreciation of school and social support among parents. This,
along with being affiliated with school districts, is what distinguishes
the program from other early interventions, such as Head Start. Plus, all
of the teachers have bachelor's degrees and certification in early
childhood.
To understand the effects of the CPC program on maltreatment rates,
Reynolds and UW-Madison graduate student Dylan Robertson examined
substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect from juvenile court
petitions and referrals to the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services.
They looked specifically at the time when the children were between 4 and
17 years old. They compared 913 children who participated in a CPC
preschool program with 495 low-income children who did not attend the
program but who did receive full-day kindergarten. They also examined the
effects of extended participation at a CPC, which can last up to third
grade.
The researchers made two important findings. Children who attended the
preschool intervention program, compared to those who didn't, had a 52
percent lower rate of maltreatment by age 17. Among children who attended
a CPC program, those who were enrolled for more than four years
experienced a 48 percent lower rate of maltreatment than those enrolled
between one and four years.
The findings show that it isn't just the preschool program that produces a
beneficial effect, says Reynolds. "The extended program lowers the rate
even more, continuing the benefits of CPC." School quality, parent
involvement and children's school achievement were main sources of these
beneficial effects.
By examining family and child well-being over time, the researchers also
found that the greatest difference in maltreatment rates between children
who attended a CPC preschool program and those who didn't occurred when
the children were 10 to 17 years old - that's at least six years after
enrollment.
"This finding suggests that the benefits of early intervention don't fade
over time, that the principles taught during the program can lead to
enduring effects," explains Reynolds. According to Reynolds, this is the
first study to show that a school-based educational intervention program
with intensive parent involvement, such as the CPC program, can reduce
child maltreatment: "Most other interventions to prevent child abuse have
not proved effective."
In earlier studies, Reynolds linked CPC participation to lower delinquency
rates, special education needs and grade retention rates, and higher
levels of educational attainment and achievement.
While these programs typically cost more than most state-run preschool
programs, Reynolds says the findings show that the return is substantially
greater. A cost-benefit analysis of the CPC program by Reynolds and
colleagues will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal,
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. The Chicago Longitudinal Study
is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of
Education. For more information about the Chicago Longitudinal Study,
visit
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/cls/index.html.
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