Is the Incredible Years parenting programme predictive of case closure in child protection services for neglect? A quasi-experimental study

This study, conducted in a real-world setting, evaluated the effect of a parenting programme offered to families receiving child protection services (CPS) for child neglect. With a retrospective quasi-experimental design, the study used administrative data to examine the association between participation in the Incredible Years (R) (IY) parenting programme and the likelihood that the family's CPS case file would be closed. The intervention group included all children involved with CPS for neglect who had at least one parent who participated in the IY between 2007 and 2015 (n = 299) whereas the comparison group consisted of 299 children with substantiated neglect but who received care as usual in CPS, during the same time period. The children were matched by a propensity score calculated using several variables. A Cox regression comparing intervention and comparison groups revealed that the participation in the programme increased the probability of case closure by 43%. Thus, participation in the programme can contribute to restoring the family's ability to care for the child, thus reducing the time spent in CPS.