# Community Prevention of Child Maltreatment

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $681,159

## Abstract

Abstract
The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) competing continuation is to evaluate the long-term
population impact and mechanisms of Family Connects (FC), brief universal nurse home-visiting program
designed to prevent child maltreatment in an entire community population. Between July 1, 2009, and
December 31, 2010, every infant born in Durham on an even birth date (n=2,329 births) was assigned to
receive the FC Program, and all infants born on an odd birth date (n=2,450 births) received services-as-usual.
Evaluation of implementation indicated high penetration (80.0% of all births consented to participate), high
fidelity to the model (84% adherence), and high reliability of scoring risk factors (Κ=0.69). Intent-to-treat
impact evaluation with a representative random sample from intervention (n=269) and control (n=280) birth
dates indicated that families randomly assigned to FC accessed more community resources and exhibited less
anxiety and better parenting behavior. Hospital records indicated FC families had fewer emergency medical
care visits and overnights in the hospital through age 24 months, and child protective service records indicated
39% lower rates of investigations for child maltreatment through age 60 months. The proposed study will
continue to follow families participating in the existing impact evaluation study from child ages 9 to 12 years.
Administrative records will evaluate impact of random assignment to FC on child maltreatment cases,
emergency room maltreatment-related injuries, and education outcomes. In-home and telephone interviews
with parents and children, as well as blinded observations, will assess parental functioning and child well-
being. Teacher surveys will assess child academic performance and social-emotional adjustment. Data analyses
will test five hypotheses: 1) Random assignment to the FC program (that is, being born on an even birth date)
will be associated with lower rates of child maltreatment and emergency department utilization, better
academic outcomes, better parental functioning, and better child well-being than assignment as control; 2) FC
will produce a positive benefit-cost ratio, as measured by outcomes in health, mental health, social, and
education services received; 3) Intervention effect sizes will be larger for higher-risk groups; 4) Community
resource use and enhanced family functioning will mediate the positive impact of FC on outcomes; and 5)
Developmental processes in dysfunctional parenting and child behavior among the control group will conform
to the model guiding the program. This proposal offers an urgent, time-constrained opportunity to evaluate the
long-term population impact and mechanisms of this innovative universal home-visiting program. The project
will contribute to public health by evaluating the long-term impact and mechanisms of a program that aims to
lower the population rate of child maltreatment in a cost-effective way and by testing models of the
develop...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9934255
- **Project number:** 5R01HD069981-08
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH A DODGE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $681,159
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-04-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9934255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9934255, Community Prevention of Child Maltreatment (5R01HD069981-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9934255. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*