The family safety/applied behavior analysis initiative: An introduction and overview

The Family Safety/Applied Behavior Analysis Initiative at the University of Florida is part of a statewide project designed to serve foster caregivers and foster children under the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Currently, our primary method for addressing child problem behavior involves parent training, in the form of classroom instruction, and in-home services. However, in order to identify the most effective and efficient methods for disseminating information to foster parents, we will be conducting research that is specifically designed to evaluate the current caregiver-training program. In this paper, we review methodological issues in assessing and treating child behavior problems that have necessitated a departure from methodologies used in more typical behavior analysis service areas. Specific areas that may require alternative methodologies include the assessment and treatment of low frequency, high intensity, and covert behavior as well as innovative approaches to reinforcer identification, the assessment of treatment integrity, and the development of manageable interventions. Finally, areas for future research that address academic deficits and the efficacy of medications as treatment are discussed. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) provides services for a variety of populations in need of assistance. Currently within the DCF, there are five subdivisions: a) Family Safety, b) Developmental Services, c) Adult Services, d) Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health, and e) Economic Self-Sufficiency. Of the five major subdivisions, behavior analytic methodology has had its greatest impact in the area of Developmental Services. The Developmental Services subdivision is designed to provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities including residential support, therapeutic services, and job training. In part, as a result of the success of behavior analysis within Developmental Services, the DCF has extended the role of behavior analysis to include the subdivision of Family Safety. The Family Safety subdivision specializes in the treatment of children who have been abused (physically or sexually), neglected, or both. Prior to the development of the Family Safety-Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Initiative, abused and neglected children in the state of Florida received behavioral services from practitioners trained from a standard mental health perspective. That is, children were exposed to psychological testing, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and hypnotherapy (to name only a few) as treatment for severe problem behavior. Although those procedures are still in use today, the effectiveness has been called into question (Weisz, Donenberg, Han, & Kauneckis, 1995). In contrast, the ABA Initiative is designed to teach current and potential foster parents behavioral principles that have been empirically demonstrated, in order to reduce or eliminate problematic behavior and increase appropriate behavior of abused and neglected children, and to enhance parent-child relationships. One of the greatest challenges to the child protection system is the placement and maintenance of a substitute home environment for child victims of abuse or neglect (Friedman, Baron, Lardieri, & Quick, 1982; Kutash & Rivera, 1995; Webster, Barth, & Needell, 2000). For example, Webster et al. recently evaluated placement instability, defined as three or more moves after the first year in care, and found that 52% of children placed in non-relative care experienced three or more placement disruptions within an 8-year period. High levels of placement instability also may be correlated with decreased academic performance and increased levels of criminal behavior, delinquency, and drug abuse in adulthood. Windom (2000) reported that 31.2% of children who are abused or neglected are arrested as juveniles as compared to 19% of their peers. The sheer number of children in care in the United States makes the task of maintaining stable placements difficult. …