A stringent randomized trial of the Healthy Families New York Home Visiting Program demonstrated significant positive outcomes in each of the areas targeted by the program: parenting, child health and development, and parent's ability to deal with family stressors. Below are summaries of the significant outcomes found in the evaluation*. Read the full report (PDF 484k). Read the summary of the report (PDF 64k).

Significant Parenting Outcomes
Compared to parents in the control group, Healthy Families New York parents:

• reported having engaged in fewer acts of abuse and neglect of their children that were serious enough to result in a substantiated Child Protective Services report;
  
• reported fewer incidents of severe physical abuse of their children;
  
• were less likely to report having neglected their children;
  
• reported less minor physical aggression against their children;
  
• reported less psychological aggression against their children;
  
• were less likely to favor physical punishment as a discipline approach;
  
• were less likely to have unrealistic expectations of their children;
  
• had greater knowledge of child development.

Significant Child Health and Development Outcomes
Healthy Families New York parents:

• delivered significantly fewer low birth-weight babies;
  
• were more likely to have health insurance for their children;
  
• were more likely to breast-feed their babies;
  
• were more likely to receive WIC benefits for their children.

Significant Outcomes for Dealing with Family Stressors
Healthy Families New York parents:

• were less likely to report symptoms of depression;
  
• consumed less alcohol;
  
• were less likely to use illicit drugs;
  
• smoked fewer cigarettes.

*This information can be found in the report, Evaluation of Healthy Families New York: First Year Program Impacts, prepared by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Bureau of Evaluation and Research, and the Center for Human Services Research, University at Albany. Download the full report. Download the summary.

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