Effectiveness of a comprehensive, five-year family support program for low-income children and their families: Findings from the Comprehensive Child Development Program

A randomized experiment was conducted to test the effects of the Comprehens ive Child Development Program (CCDP), a two-generation program that employe d case management and home visiting to ensure multi-risk, low-income childr en and their parents a range of education, health, and social services to m eet the complex needs of disadvantaged families. The evaluation of 21 CCDP projects, which followed 4,410 families for five years, found no statistica lly significant impact on CCDP families when they were compared with contro l families in either child outcomes (cognitive and socio-emotional developm ent, and health) on parent outcomes (parenting, family economic self-suffic iency, or maternal life course). Since the intervention failed to change pa renting behavior or family economic status, the two hypothesized pathways t o affecting the well-being of the children, not unexpectedly there were no significant impacts of CCDP on children. The study suggests that the combin ation of case management and parenting education, delivered through home vi sits, is not an effective means of improving: developmental outcomes for lo w-income children.