Family crisis care: a home-based intervention program for child abuse

Community awareness of child abuse and neglect has greatly increased. The documentation of an upward trend in the number of reported and confirmed child abuse and neglect cases in Hawaii reflects the need for additional programs to respond to this growing concern. Clinical nurse specialists in psychiatric and mental health nursing have developed an intensive home-based crisis interaction and family education program, Family Crisis Care. The program accepts only families referred by Child Protective Services in which at least one child is in imminent danger of being placed in foster, group, or institutional care. The goal of Family Crisis is to prevent the out-of-home placement of children through intensive, in-home intervention and to teach families new problem-solving skills to prevent future crises. The program has been effective in maintaining the child within the home, reducing physical punishment and other problem factors in the family, improving communication and problem-solving skills, and increasing use of community resources.