HOPES Final Evaluation Report
The Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing was contracted by the Texas DFPS Prevention and Early Intervention Division (PEI) to conduct an evaluation of the Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES) program.
HOPES seeks to address child abuse and neglect prevention in Texas by implementing community-based and evidence-based interventions for families with children between the ages of 0 to 5.
This final evaluation report covers the work of 22 HOPES programs sites from 2014 to 2018, covering four fiscal years (FY2015 to FY2018).
HOPES is implemented by a two-pronged approach of:
- Providing evidence-based parenting programming to families at no cost. Families are eligible to participate if they have at least one child who is five years old or younger and have at least two risk factors that impact family functioning, mental health, and parenting.
- Supporting child welfare and/or early childhood welfare community coalitions to increase community knowledge and capacity for child maltreatment prevention programming.
In addition to evidence-based programming, HOPES participants gain access to a variety of services through participating agencies. Services offered include basic needs assistance (e.g., accessing food, transportation), case management, therapeutic counseling, or childcare services. This coordination of services supports families in a systems-based approach addressing multiple factors to prevent child maltreatment.
Researchers used a mixed-methods approach for data collection to gather information for this
evaluation. Evidence shows HOPES programming helps communities prevent child maltreatment.
Read the full report:
Recommended Citation:
Faulkner, M., Nulu, S., Gerlach, B., Tennant, P. S., LaBrenz, C., &McKerlie, K., (2019). Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support: Final Evaluation Report. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin.