Current Research at NCAC
NCAC Research Department is currently involved in 16 projects.
Adolescent Resiliency
The Adolescent Resilience project is an evaluation of a group therapy protocol for adolescent females who have a history of sexual abuse. The group is focused on building resiliency in these young girls and giving them tools for success in the future. The research project is focused on defining resiliency as these adolescents define it, as well as evaluating the success of the program in reducing subsequent sexual assault or unintended pregnancy in this population by promoting healthy coping skills and building a support community.
Cost Benefit Analysis
The Cost Benefit Analysis project is designed to assess the costs and benefits of conducting child abuse investigations under a multidisciplinary model compared to a traditional model of investigative practice. Goals for the project include developing a bibliography of cost studies in child maltreatment practice and developing tools for communities to use in conducting their own cost analyses. Cost Benefit Analysis Executive Summary
Early Learning Opportunities
An evaluation of the Building Blocks Program is funded by the Early Learning Opportunities Act (ELOA). Through ELOA, Building Blocks proposes to 1) enhance early childhood literacy, 2) helping parents, etc., increase their capacity to facilitate development skills, 3) promoting effective parenting, 4) increasing access to early learning opportunities for children with special needs, 5) improving the quality of early learning programs through professional development, and 6) removing ancillary barriers to early learning. These objectives will be reached through a cooperative effort of existing NCAC programs including Healthy Families, Parents as Teachers, First Steps, Nurturing Fathers, and The Circle Project.
Economic Impact Studies
The Economic Impact project is designed to assess the costs, benefits and societal impact of child maltreatment prevention and intervention efforts. It brings together nationally recognized experts in economics, policy, medicine, law, mental health, criminal justice, education and child welfare to develop a scholarly reference work examining the social and economic impact of child maltreatment. The working group members blend expertise in various areas of child maltreatment with expertise in public economics and in child health economic policy development. The working group has been commissioned to develop a set of tools that can be used by communities to develop a comprehensive assessment of how child maltreatment costs children, families, communities, and agencies.
Family Advocates(TM)
The NCAC Clinical Department has developed a model program of psychoeducational support for non-offending caregivers of abused children. The program seeks to assist caregivers in helping their child through the investigation, intervention and treatment processes. The Family Advocates program has been the subject of a nine center state-wide evaluation. A larger national evaluation of the model is underway. A report on the Family Advocate research has been completed by the Research Department, through our work with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Click Here.
First Responders
The First Responders program was developed under the One by One: Safe Kids/Safe Streets Initiative. It is a domestic violence intervention program pairing trained crisis responders with police officers for initial responses to domestic violence calls. The program seeks to provide education, referral and support to victims of domestic violence.
Forensic Evaluation(TM)
The NCAC Forensic Evaluation model was developed as a method of interviewing that is used in cases where investigators have reason to believe an abuse incident has taken place but the child is unable to make a complete disclosure in a single interview. A report on Forensic Evaluation for Preschoolers has been completed by the Research Department, through our work with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Click Here.
Healthy Families
The Healthy Families Research Project investigates the effectiveness of the Healthy Families Program. Healthy Families (HF) is an initiative of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. Healthy Families is a voluntary research based home visitation program which serves first time parents and their babies who are Medicaid eligible and reside within Huntsville/Madison County. The program's goals are to identify overburdened families, to enhance family functioning, and to promote positive parent-child interaction and healthy childhood growth and development.
Leadership Social Services(TM)
LEADERSHIP Social Services(TM) (LSS) is a 10-month structured leadership development designed to develop agency staff members and Board members who will one day assume leadership responsibilities and to ultimately create opportunities for cross-agency collaboration. LSS has been designed to achieve a number of objectives: Identify social service agency staff and Board members who will assume agency and Board leadership roles in the future; Develop social service agency staff and Board members and prepare them to assume leadership roles; Facilitate communication between staff and Board members of different agencies and, thereby, increase the potential for collaboration; Expand the vision of social service professionals and Board members and help them practice innovative problem solving; Provide networking opportunities for agency staff and Board members with other staff and Board members; and Increase compassion and empathy for consumers of social services by helping agency staff and Board members see service from the consumer's view
Madison County Drug Court Evaluations
The Madison County Courts have developed three specialty drug courts: Family Drug Court, Adult Drug Court, and Juvenile Drug Court. The Family and Adult Drug Courts are operational while the Juvenile Drug Court is in the planning phase. The mission of the drug courts is to identify and treat offenders with alcohol and drug addictions, thus stemming the tide of related criminal activity. In exchange for successful completion of the prescribed treatment program, mandatory court appearances, and drug tests, the court may dismiss the original charge, reduce or set aside a sentence, offer some lesser penalty, or offer a combination of these. The NCAC Research Department serves as an independent program evaluation provider to the Madison County Drug Courts.
National CAC Evaluation
A National Evaluation of Child Advocacy Centers Study, led by Dr. Ted Cross of the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center, began in 2001. The Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) of the University of New Hampshire is overseeing a multi-site evaluation to study how CACs work and in what ways they are effective. This project examines characteristics of CAC victims, services, and outcomes at four CACs across the nation. The study is examining the overall effect of CACs as well as the effects of different program components and types of CACs. Its goal is to also assess the impact of CACs on children, families, agencies, the court system and communities.
SCAN
The Stop Child Abuse & Neglect (SCAN) Research Project investigates the effectiveness of the SCAN program and its services. SCAN presents child abuse prevention programs to students in grades K, 1, 3, 5, and 7 in City, County and private schools. This program reaches over 17,000 children a year and is an approved part of the curricula in all three school systems. Because one out of every three girls and one out of every six boys are sexually assaulted by the time they are 18, SCAN provides a much needed service to children and young teens.
SRCAC Evaluation
A three phase evaluation with surveys assessing Marketing and Awareness Issues, Customer Service and Satisfaction Issues, and Strategic Planning Issues. The Marketing component was sent by mail to all potential users of SRCAC services, the Customer Service component is currently underway using structured telephone interviews with a stratified random sample of clients who have used SRCAC in the past two years, and the Strategic Planning component will be done in January with a canvas of all the state chapter representatives and presidents. Results of the three components will be used to inform the next five-year grant application. A presentation of the results will also be shared with SRCAC management, staff and advisory committee representatives.
The Circle Project
Children dwell within the circle of family; families and schools reside within the larger circle of community. The Circle Project brings these concepts together into Full-Circle Schools, schools that realize that the goal of educational excellence cannot be met until the entire community is integrated into the circle of support for students and families. The Madison County coalition of the schools, the faith community, and several public agencies and private non-profits have joined together to create a coordinated program of services that will provide a continuum of support for children and families within a safe and secure environment. The Research Department is responsible for evaluating the success of the Circle Project and determining its influence on the students, parents, teachers, schools, and communities involved. In addition, the research department is studying the relationship between the Circle Project and the development of social capital in the communities they serve.