A THERAPEUTIC PRESCHOOL FOR ABUSED-CHILDREN - THE KEEPSAFE PROJECT

Twenty-four children attended a therapeutic preschool for physically a nd sexually abused children, the Kempe Early Education Project Serving Abused Families (KEEPSAFE), over a 3-year period from 1985-1988. The program provided early education and therapy for abused children so th at they could improve developmentally, socially, and emotionally, with the aim that the children would be suitable to enter the public educa tion system. The therapeutic preschool was combined with a home visita tion program for the child's parents or primary caretaker, focusing on improving the quality of interaction between the adult and child. The majority of children made developmental gains at a faster rate than w ould normally be expected as measured by the McCarthy Scales of Childr en's Abilities and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Although all 2 4 children were thought at onset of intervention to be unable to parti cipate in a public school setting, after 12 months in the program over 79% were staffed into the public school system eight (33.3%) into a r egular classroom. Three others (12.5%) needed residential care, and tw o were too young to enter public school. Even though a therapeutic pre school is expensive in terms of the high staff to child ratio needed, it is likely to be beneficial in improving the developmental skills of abused children.