Family Check-Up® For Children Meets HHS Criteria

Model effectiveness research report last updated: 2021

Model overview

Theoretical approach

Family Check-Up is a strength-based, family-centered intervention designed to support parents’ efforts to promote children’s behavioral and mental health and prevent behavior problems. The model is tailored to address the specific needs of each family. It can be integrated into a variety of service settings, including home visiting. The model can be delivered by telehealth with virtual sessions for parents and/or through a web-based application that allows asynchronous family engagement. View Revisions

Model services

Family Check-Up has two phases. Phase 1 includes three sessions: an interview, an assessment, and a feedback session. During the feedback session, the provider and the family collaboratively decide which follow-up services, if any, would be beneficial. In Phase 2, the provider can refer the family to additional community services as needed and/or may deliver the Everyday Parenting family management training curriculum to the family.* The Everyday Parenting curriculum provides a basis for more intensive parenting support and is designed to enhance parent skills in reinforcing positive behavior, setting healthy limits, and building relationships. Phase 2 services, which the provider tailors to the family’s needs, may also include support for the child’s school success or services to address the parent’s behavioral or mental health needs.

When used as a health maintenance model, Family Check-Up involves yearly behavioral and mental health check-ups in which families complete Phase 1 and participate in Phase 2 as needed. This annual contact enables providers to track family and child behavior over time and continue to motivate families to change persistent areas of difficulty.

The Family Check-Up curriculum details objectives for the initial interview, assessment, and feedback sessions and the process skills needed to accomplish these objectives. It also provides tips and strategies to deliver the model.

The Everyday Parenting curriculum manual presents session outlines and materials organized into three skill areas: (1) supporting positive behavior, (2) setting healthy limits, and (3) building family relationships.

*Family Check-Up may be delivered without the Everyday Parenting curriculum, but the effectiveness of the model has only been evaluated when offered in conjunction with the Everyday Parenting curriculum.

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Intended population

The intended population for this model is families with children who are at risk for conduct problems and academic failure and face familial adversity including socioeconomic disadvantages and maternal depression.

Families with children ages 2 through 17 years old are eligible for Family Check-Up. The HomVEE review only included studies that used home visiting as the primary service delivery method, incorporated the Everyday Parenting curriculum, and focused on families with children ages 2 through 5 years old. Thus, for the purpose of the HomVEE review, HomVEE uses the name Family Check-Up for Children to describe Family Check-Up that incorporates the Everyday Parenting curriculum and is delivered in the home to families with children ages 2 through 5 years old.* There are few differences between the implementation of Family Check-Up and Family Check-Up for Children, so the information in this profile applies to Family Check-Up broadly, unless specified otherwise.

*Family Check-Up is a flexible model that can be delivered to children and adolescents in the home or in other settings. Family Check-Up for Children is HomVEE’s designation for the group of studies on Family Check-Up that HomVEE reviewed. Family Check-Up for Children does not appear as a version of Family Check-Up on the developer’s website because the requirements for implementing Family Check-Up for Children do not differ from those for Family Check-Up.

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Where to find out more

Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Dr. Anne Marie Mauricio
Chris Hazen
Family Check-Up and Everyday Parenting Developer and Implementation Team

Phone:
 415-685-0023
Email:
 fcu@uoregon.edu
 chris@nwpreventionscience.org
Website:
 https://fcu.uoregon.edu
 http://www.nwpreventionscience.org

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