A Twelve-Year Follow-Up Study of Maltreated and At-Risk Children who Received early Therapeutic Child Care

Early intervention programs for abused or neglected children have yet to provide long-term follow-up evaluations. This study is a 12-year follow-up investigation of a randomized controlled clinical trial of a therapeutic child care program for maltreated or at-risk infants and toddlers. The initial sample was randomly assigned to an ecological-model therapeutic child care program (TX) or to standard community services (CX). A representative sample of 35 of the original children were evaluated in early adolescence. Data were obtained from the youths, caregivers and teachers, home observation, and school and court records. CX youths displayed significantly more behavior problems according to caregivers, earlier arrest and more frequent violent delinquency, and increasing school disciplinary problems. TX families demonstrated significantly more positive home environments and caregiver-child relationships. No significant differences were found between the groups in self-perception or other school-related measures. The findings attest to the long-term value of early intervention for maltreated children.