Lay therapy intervention with families at risk for parenting difficulties:The Kempe Community Caring Program

Objective: To determine which areas of family functioning lay therapy inter vention can improve in a home visitation program for first time mothers at high risk for parenting difficulties, including the potential for child abu se and neglect. Methods: Families were assessed for risk of parenting difficulties using th e Parent Readiness and Risk Assessment Checklists. Lay therapists completed the Scale of Family Functioning pre- and postintervention with 108 high ri sk families for whom they provided support, education, and referrals. Results: Paired t tests were done to determine whether the eight categories of the Scale of Family Functioning improved from baseline to termination o f the service. Four categories showed statistically significant improvement : social support (p = .001), self-esteem (p < .001), confidence as a parent (p < .001), and affective relationships (p = .003), Conclusions: Statistically significant improvement occurred in four of the eight categories on the Scale of Family Functioning indicating that home in tervention programs can improve some categories of family functioning. Long er intervention and an increased focus on improving parent/infant interacti ons may be able to increase parental sensitivity and expectations. In this study, the categories of family conflict and stability/meeting basic needs were not amenable to change with lay therapy intervention. (C) 2001 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.