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   Shay Bilchik, Administrator
 November 1998  
Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation

David Olds, Ph.D., Peggy Hill, and Elissa Rumsey

Introduction

Program Overview

Key Program Components

Reducing Risks for the Development of Antisocial Behavior in Childhood

Cumulative Risk

Program Costs and Cost Savings

Growing National Interest

Summary

For Further Information

References


NCJ 172875


Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Table

From the Administrator

A stitch in time saves nine. An ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of
cure. Folk wisdom is replete with
such adages for a good reason—
because they are true. Clearly, in
the realm of delinquency and child
abuse, prevention is always better
than picking up the pieces. For 20
years, Dr. David Olds and his colleagues have been developing and
testing a prevention program that
helps low-income, first-time mothers
deliver healthy babies, give them
proper care, and avoid substance
abuse and criminal behavior. More
important, this program of prenatal
and early childhood home visitation
also reduces juvenile offending.

A major factor in the program’s
success that distinguishes this model
from other, similar programs is its use
of trained, experienced nurses, one
of several key program components.
In addition, the authors discuss the
program’s impact on risks for developing antisocial behavior in childhood. They also report estimates of
impressive cost savings: four times
the initial expenditure by the time
high-risk children reach age 15.

This Bulletin offers exciting news that
holds great promise for children who
would otherwise come into a world of
significant risks and bleak prospects.
I hope that policymakers and other
concerned citizens will support
replication of this effective program
in areas where it is sorely needed.

Shay Bilchik
Administrator
Table

Acknowledgments

David Olds, Ph.D., is Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Preventive Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Director of the Kempe Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health. He has devoted his career to investigating methods of preventing health problems in low-income families and developmental problems in children.

Peggy Hill, M.S., is the Associate Director of the Kempe Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health. She has experience in community organization and in home visitation program design, management, evaluation, and training. Ms. Hill assists in translating research into practice and supporting national dissemination of the nurse home visitation program.

Elissa Rumsey, M.S., is a program manager in the Research and Program Development Division at OJJDP. Ms. Rumsey manages a demonstration and evaluation of the prenatal and early childhood visitation model at five Weed and Seed sites and one Safe Futures site.

The authors wish to thank Charles Henderson, Jr., John Eckenrode, Pamela Morris, and Jane Powers, Cornell University; Robert Cole, Harriet Kitzman, and Kim Sidora, University of Rochester; Lisa Pettitt, University of Denver; and Dennis Luckey, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, for their contributions to this research on prenatal and early childhood nurse home visitation.

All photos ©1998 PhotoDisc, Inc.

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