A voluntary home visiting service that offers regular support, friendship and practical help for parents with young children.
The Evidence Summaries presented on this site were drawn from the best available evidence of the program’s effectiveness. It does not necessarily reflect all the evidence about the program. The research was selected and assessed for inclusion on the Menu and towards the evidence rating because it met selection criteria related to the specific topic area, study design, quality assessment and the outcomes of interest.
Overview
Evidence Rating
Pathway
- Early help
Australian Study
Risk of Bias
Cost
Target Age Group
About
Home-Start is a global model providing a network of family support in many countries, including Australia. It is a voluntary home visiting service in which volunteers offer regular support, friendship and practical help to families with young children, where the parents are experiencing difficulty in their parenting roles or are under stress. Trained volunteers visit families weekly to support parenting and the emotional wellbeing of children, widening their network of relationships and use of the services available in their community effectively.
Aims
- Reduce risk of child abuse and neglect
- Reduce risk of violence
- Promote parenting skills
- Reduce social isolation
- Increase parental self-esteem
- Improve immunisation rates
- Increase social support.
Impact
Evidence is mixed and inconclusive for improving child's mental health/behaviours and parenting skills, the only two outcomes that were measured in the included study.
| Outcome domain | Outcome measured | Positive effect | No effect | Negative effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child | Mental health/behaviour | Not found | Yes | Yes |
| Parent/caregiver | Parenting skills | Yes | Yes | Not found |
How to read the table:
When ‘Yes’ is indicated for one of the three directions of effect, this means there is evidence of ‘positive’, ‘no effect’ or ‘negative effect’. Evidence is mixed and inconclusive when ‘Yes’ is indicated for two or more directions of effect. Further information about direction of effect can be found on the Using the Menu page.
Home-Start has an evidence rating of Supported.
This means that Home-Start has evidence from one randomised controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experiment (QE) demonstrating positive, short-term impact on at least one child and family outcome.
This assessment is based on one research output of QE design. Another QE (Smallegange et al., 2019) was identified but did not count towards the evidence due to concerns with study quality. Home-Start has has not received a Well-supported rating as it has not yet replicated its results in another RCT or QE with a different population or setting.
| Study design | Number of research outputs included (Note: Can include research outputs from the same study) |
|---|---|
| Systematic review with meta-analysis | Not identified or included |
| Randomised controlled trial | Not identified or included |
| Quasi-experiment | 1 |
The evidence has some concerns with risk of bias.
The quality of evidence of the included QE is low and results should be interpreted with caution.
The study was conducted in the Netherlands and does not include Aboriginal children and families.
Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is critical to recognise, document and share practices that lead to improved outcomes for Aboriginal children and families. The department is consulting with the Aboriginal community and stakeholders on how Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is defined and included on the Menu.
Location
- The QE was conducted in the Netherlands.
Sample characteristics
- A total of 105 families (54 intervention, 51 control) participated in the study.
- The mean age of the children was 30 months.
- 94% of participants were of Dutch nationality.
Implementation
Delivery model, mode and setting
- Home-Start is delivered in-person, to both the parent and child, separately or together.
- It responds to each family’s needs through a combination of home-visiting support, group work, parenting education and social events.
Target Cohort
- Parents experiencing difficulty in their parenting roles or under stress
- Children up to age 5.
Program delivery
- Home-Start is embedded in the communities it services. It is a part of the local service networks but supported by the Home-Start national organisation. The supported provided includes direction, training, information and guidance to ensure consistent and quality support for parents and children.
- Home-Start volunteers offer support, friendship and practical help to families; reassure parents by helping them to build on their strengths, enhance their parenting skills and find pleasure in family life; help isolated families build networks and use community resources; and help prevent family breakdown.
- Key elements of the model for early intervention include recruiting volunteers, training volunteers, supervising volunteers and supporting volunteers.
Manuals and guides
- We were unable to locate any manuals or guides to implement Home-Start.
Additional information
- The Home-Start Australia website has more information about Home-Start.
Staffing
- Home-Start employs a paid coordinator to recruit, train, supervise and support volunteers and link them with a family who they visit weekly in the family’s own home.
- Volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, must attend a 7-week training program and undergo a screening process before being linked with a family.
Training
- Comprehensive preparation of volunteers and continuing support from a paid coordinator enables the Home-Start volunteers to become a friend to parents and their children.
To our knowledge, Home-Start is available in Victoria and New South Wales.
In both states, the program is delivered by Home-Start Family Services, which provides volunteer home visiting services, family worker services, supported playgroups, parenting programs, community capacity building, networking and partnerships co-ordination.
Cost
We were unable to locate any information on the cost of Home-Start.
References
Studies identified and included in the review
- Asscher J, Hermanns J & Dekovic M (2008). Effectiveness of the home‐start parenting support program: Behavioral outcomes for parents and children. Infant Mental Health Journal, 29:95-113.
Studies identified but not counted towards the evidence rating due to study quality
- Smallegange ES, Hermanns JMA & Oort FJ (2019). Evaluating the effectiveness of Home-Start support in Dutch families. Journal of Social Work, 19(3):327350.