Childhaven’s long-term research shows that those who receive Therapeutic Child Care are better adjusted in school, two and half times less likely to abuse drugs, and six times less likely to commit serious and violent crimes as teenagers. Now, we want to further our research to provide yet more scientific evidence of the impact of our early intervention and therapeutic services.
We are currently seeking funding for a $314,000 study to compare Childhaven children to two groups of “non-treated” children in terms of school readiness, physical health, and emotional and social well-being. The study would augment and further validate the agency’s first longitudinal study completed in the mid-1990s.
The study would raise awareness of the effectiveness of our approach, help us improve our programs, and eventually lead to better funding so we could serve more children. Currently less than 3 percent of abused and neglected children in Washington State are getting the developmental and therapeutic help they need.
“With more scientific evidence and government support,” says Childhaven President Debra Ronnholm, “we can strengthen more families and give more at-risk children the best start in life.”