ABQ Times

The University of New Mexico is carrying out a significant long-term study to assess the impact of a home visiting program on family outcomes. The 22-year randomized controlled trial, conducted by the Center for Applied Research and Analysis within UNM’s Institute for Social Research, aims to evaluate the Joyful Parenting Partnership program established by CommonSpirit St. Joseph’s Children. This program involves professionals visiting families at their homes during the initial three years of a child's life, providing educational resources and connecting them with community support.

Paul Guerin, UNM's principal investigator, stated, "We have a lot of data on these families and their children, and we will be analyzing that data for years to come. We're reviewing the data, reporting it, and looking to publish." This study involves 376 families from New Mexico and is designed to investigate the program's effectiveness, providing essential insights into early childhood interventions within the unique cultural context of New Mexico.

Aaron Lenihan, a UNM research scientist, highlighted the importance of focusing on New Mexican communities by saying, "Home visiting has been researched in a variety of communities dating back to the 1960s. While many of these studies find improved child and maternal outcomes, these positive results don’t always replicate across contexts.”

The controlled trial emerged when more families showed interest in the program than there were available spots in 2014. This created an opportunity for a comparative study of families who received the service versus those who did not. Previous studies focused on program development and implementation led to this outcomes study, begun in 2016 and scheduled to end in 2037.

Currently, early data suggest the program is beneficial in domains such as child development and parenting attitudes. Lenihan noted, "The scores on the assessments for those who receive the service are consistently higher at multiple time points than those who are randomized not to receive it, suggesting that it’s aiding in child development and parenting attitudes." The study will continue to track children into adulthood, with researchers planning to interview the children at age 12.

The study's importance is underscored by New Mexico's continuous focus on early childhood welfare, as evidenced by the formation of an Early Childhood Trust Fund in 2020. Guerin emphasized the relevance of the research by stating, “It’s crucial to understand how early childhood education and home visiting programs can genuinely improve the lives of children in the context of New Mexico.”

The study, which explores long-term outcomes, hopes to reveal the influence of home visiting programs on areas like juvenile delinquency, family violence, and crime. Guerin explained, “Normally, we focus more on the back end, looking at outcomes, like crime and substance use, without understanding what occurred in early childhood. That’s one reason to conduct a study like this; it just takes a long time."