Proven improvements in child health and development.
Law enforcement points to Nurse-Family Partnership to help prevent child abuse.
The evidentiary standards for the Nurse-Family Partnership program are among the strongest available for preventive interventions offered for public investment. That's why many law enforcement officers stand behind Nurse-Family Partnership. They know it's one of the most effective tools in preventing child abuse – and the devastating legacy of such abuse. They know Nurse-Family Partnership is proven to reduce juvenile crime and its long-term public costs. And along with the harm Nurse-Family Partnership can prevent, the program also helps ensure school readiness for young children.
The results of three randomized, controlled trials demonstrate that Nurse-Family Partnership delivers against its three primary goals of better pregnancy outcomes, improved child health and development, and increased economic self-sufficiency. The reductions in child abuse, neglect, and juvenile crime are part of the improved child health and development outcomes that show how Nurse-Family Partnership makes a measurable impact on the lives of children, families, and the communities in which they live.
Among the improved child health and development outcomes that have been observed in at least one of the trials of the program are:
- Reduction in criminal activity
- 59-percent reduction in child arrests at age 15
- 90-percent reduction in adjudication as persons in need of supervision (PINS) for incorrigible behavior
- Reduction in injuries
- 39-percent fewer injuries among children
- 48-percent reduction in child abuse and neglect
- 56-percent reduction in emergency room visits for accidents and poisonings
- Increase in school readiness
- 50-percent reduction in language delays at child age 21 months
- 67-percent reduction in behavioral and intellectual problems at age six
- 26-percent improvement in math and reading achievement test scores at grades one through three (among low-resource group)
"Washington's police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecuting attorneys are convinced that helping at-risk parents become better parents with the Nurse-Family Partnership will reduce child abuse and neglect and crime. A little help goes a long way to making children safer now and all Washingtonians safer from crime later."
– R. Gil Kerlikowske, former Seattle police chief, October 5, 2006