None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project will undertake a randomised evaluation of an intervention for socially disadvantaged children, the Early Years Education Program (EYEP). EYEP is a new program being offered by the Children’s Protection Society (CPS). The project will examine effects of program participation on outcomes such as children’s cognitive, speech, language and emotional development, their health and school readiness, and on the parent-child relationship, and parents’ health and community participation. The EYEP will provide enrolled children with at least 25 hours per week of enriched centre based child care and education for three years (or until school age). Children must be less than 3 years of age at the time of their initial enrolment into EYEP. Key features of this program are high staff:child ratios, qualified staff, therapeutic interventions with the child and family, integration with family support services, and a focus on building alliances with parents to sustain their child’s participation in child care. Referrals of children eligible for enrolment in EYEP will be from clients of child welfare services including family casework services accessed through Child FIRST (Family Information Referral Support Team) and Child Protection. Children eligible for participation will be aged less than 3 years at referral, and assessed as having experienced at least two identified risk factors such as family violence, parental mental health problems, or parental drug and alcohol use. The referred group of children who are eligible for participation in EYEP will be randomly assigned between a treatment group who will be enrolled in the EYEP and a control group who will receive ‘usual care’. The trial will involve data collection standardized questionnaires completed by parents and child care staff, interviews with parents, standardized assessments (for example, cognitive functioning), and observation of child behaviour in the early child care centre classroom and with parents. This will occur over a three year period – baseline and then at yearly intervals. The importance of the project derives from its potential contribution to knowledge of how enhanced childcare might contribute to improved social and educational outcomes for children from highly disadvantaged backgrounds. Currently fewer than 16% of Child FIRST clients in the north eastern region attend child care or kindergarten despite early child care and education services being a potential resource for children at risk. To our knowledge this will be the first randomised trial of an early childhood intervention in Australia.
Interventions
Children who participate in Early Years Education Program (EYEP) will receive at least 25 hours over five days of high-quality educational childcare from (age of entry 0-3 years old) for 3 years. Distinctive features of the EYEP include: high staff:child ratio (1:3 for children under 3, and 1:6 for 3 years and older when those children reach 3 years of age and older during their participation in the program); therapeutic interventions of attachment-focused care giving and high quality responsi
Children who participate in Early Years Education Program (EYEP) will receive at least 25 hours over five days of high-quality educational childcare from (age of entry 0-3 years old) for 3 years. Distinctive features of the EYEP include: high staff:child ratio (1:3 for children under 3, and 1:6 for 3 years and older when those children reach 3 years of age and older during their participation in the program); therapeutic interventions of attachment-focused care giving and high quality responsive care practices combined with intentional teaching strategies including the Abecedarian Project learning games, regular meetings incorporating parents and family support/child protection workers and the Early Years Educators to identify, with parents, the goals and aims they would like to achieve.
Sponsors
Children's Protection Society
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to 3 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Children eligible for participation will be aged 0 to 3 years, and assessed as having two or more risk factors (as identified in the Department of Human Services (DHS) Best Interest Practice Guidelines and may include factors such as teenage parents, parental substance abuse, parental mental health difficulties, presence of family violence). Referrals of potential participants will be made by Family Support Caseworkers from clients of child welfare services accessed through Child FIRST (Family Information Referral Support Team) and Child Protection (within Department of Human Services). Referrals will be from within the north-east catchment in Melbourne where CPS is located. Referring agencies will advise the family of the child being referred that there are a limited number of places available in EYEP and that allocation is being done by randomization.
Exclusion criteria
Age of entry into the study is 0-3 years and the dose of intervention is 3 years; therefore some children will be ages 3-6 during their participation in the program.
Outcome results
None listed