Healthy Steps for Young Children is a universal, practice-based intervention that enhances the delivery of behavioural and developmental services and relies on partnerships between developmental specialists and families.
The intervention is a universal program designed for children aged from newborn to 3 years old. In a 2007 study of Healthy Steps for Young Children by Minkovitz and colleagues, the study cohort was 65% White, 21% Black, with 4.5% described as ‘Asian/Native American’. The study excluded families with babies who were too ill to join the program at 4 weeks, mothers did not speak English or Spanish, families intending to move away within 6 months, and families planning to place the baby for adoption or foster care. In the sample, 25% of families were classified as low income; 36% as middle income; and 39% as high income.
This review did not identify any evidence that the program has been evaluated in Australia or with First Nations communities.
Positive parenting: A smaller percentage of families in the intervention group used severe discipline (e.g. striking their child) (10.1%), compared with families in the control group (14.1%). A greater proportion of families in the intervention group negotiated with their child (59.8%) compared with families in the control group (56.3%). A greater proportion of families in the intervention group tended to ignore misbehaviours (10.3%) compared with families in the control group (8.5%) (Minkovitz et al. 2007).
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Overall, the program had a positive effect on client outcomes.
Promising research evidence:
At least one high-quality RCT/QED study reports statistically significant positive effects for at least one outcome, AND
The core program components include contact with developmental specialists and seven services:
Information not available
These findings are from a national evaluation in the USA (Minkovitz, et al. 2007). This study was a prospective randomised controlled trial, with six randomised sites and nine quasi-experimental sites. The study included a follow-up of the children at age 61 to 66 months, finding modest, sustained, positive effects of the program. There were 5,565 families enrolled in the study, including 3,165 families who provided interview data when the child was 5.5 years old.
16 Feb 2023
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.