Evaluating the Impact of a Family-Based Intervention on Child Abuse and Neglect, Malaria Control, and Education Outcomes in Liberia

Given  the evidence  that poor parenting  practices—which affect  the long term development  of children—are common in Liberia,  and that educational indicators such as  reading comprehension are low, the IRC has  implemented a parenting program that includes  skills hypothesized to improve health and education  outcomes in young children. The core parenting intervention seeks to improve the relationship between parental practices and positive outcomes for children. Parents attended parenting sessions  over the course of 10 months (one session per month), and parents and children participated in the randomized impact evaluation, which included observational measures in addition to standard qualitative and   quantitative measures of parenting practices, health outcomes, education, and child wellbeing. A total of 270 families participated in the impact evaluation, which used a randomized waitlist controlled trial. Results show  that the intervention reduced the use of harsh punishment and improved positive parenting practices, but there was no immediate impact on malaria prevention or early childhood development outcomes. Using findings from this impact evaluation, the IRC revised the intervention and improved evaluation design to address outstanding questions around the impact of parenting on child outcomes.