SafeCare is an evidence-based, parent-training curriculum for parents of children ages 0-5 who are at-risk for or have been reported for child neglect or physical abuse.
The Cincinnati contact is Tiffany Hensley
SafeCare providers work with families in their homes to improve parents’ skills in three areas:
- Parent-infant/child interaction skills
- Health care skills, and
- Home safety.
SafeCare is typically conducted in weekly home visits lasting from 60-90 minutes each. The program typically lasts 18-20 weeks for each family. SafeCare can be conducted by itself, or with other services.
SafeCare Modules
Parent-Child/Infant Interaction (PCI/PII) Module Targets risk factors associated with neglect and physical abuse. This module focuses on parent-infant interactions (PCI: birth to walking) and parent-child interactions (PII: walking up to 5 years old). In PCI, parents learn to increase positive interactions with their child, structure daily activities by providing engaging and stimulating activities, and prevent difficult child behavior. In PII, parents learn to increase positive interactions and engage their infants in stimulating activities.
Health Module Targets risk factors for medical neglect. The health module teaches parents to identify childhood illnesses and injuries, and then follow a structured process to determine when and how to care for the child. Parents learn when (and how) to care for a child at home, when to see a doctor, and when to seek emergency help. Parent are also taught to use health reference materials, including a validated SafeCare health manual.
Home Safety Module Targets risk factors for environmental neglect and unintentional injury. The focus of this module is to help parents identify and eliminate common household hazards. Parents learn how to eliminate home hazards. They are also taught the importance of supervision.
Family Engagement Skills A structured problem-solving process is used to teach parents to solve many difficulties not addressed by SafeCare. Good communication skills are emphasized to engage parents and build rapport.
Structure of SafeCare Modules Each module is taught over the course of approximately 6 sessions. Each module begins with an observational assessment to determine parents’ current skills and areas in need of improvement. A series of training sessions follows (typically four sessions), and Home Visitors work with parents until they show mastery of module skills. A final observational assessment is used to assess parents’ uptake of skills. Training sessions use principles from well-established social learning theory and research. Parenting skills are taught by:
Explaining the skills and why they are important;
Demonstrating how to do each skill;
Having parents practice the skills; and
4. Providing positive and corrective feedback to parents on their use of skills.
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