BACKGROUND: Despite being well-positioned to identify maltreatment in the children that they provide care for and being legally required to report suspected child maltreatment, early childhood professionals (ECPs) make a limited proportion of reports to child protective services. It is critical to identify evidence-based interventions to improve the reporting practices of this group of mandated reporters allowing for the better protection of children from maltreatment. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to determine if iLookOut, an online child abuse identification and reporting training for ECPs, results in differential gains in knowledge and attitudes towards child abuse and its reporting among ECPs, as compared to an online standard training. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Both interventions were completed online by participants recruited from licensed child care programs in Southern Maine from October 2017 to January 2020. Eligibility criteria included being at least 18 years of age, English-speaking, and working as paid or volunteer staff at a licensed child care program taking care of children 5 years of age or younger. Of the 1152 enrolled individuals, 1094 provided complete pre- and post-intervention data. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial comparing iLookOut with an online standard training. RESULTS: ECPs who completed iLookOut significantly outperformed those who completed Standard mandated reporter training in terms of both knowledge (d=1.09 vs. 0.67) and attitudes (d=0.67 vs. 0.54) relative to pre-test scores. CONCLUSIONS: iLookOut is a promising candidate for widespread use in meeting the need for evidence-based training on child abuse and its reporting.
BACKGROUND: Despite being well-positioned to identify maltreatment in the children that they provide care for and being legally required to report suspected child maltreatment, early childhood professionals (ECPs) make a limited proportion of reports to child protective services. It is critical to identify evidence-based interventions to improve the reporting practices of this group of mandated reporters allowing for the better protection of children from maltreatment. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to determine if iLookOut, an online child abuse identification and reporting training for ECPs, results in differential gains in knowledge and attitudes towards child abuse and its reporting among ECPs, as compared to an online standard training. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Both interventions were completed online by participants recruited from licensed child care programs in Southern Maine from October 2017 to January 2020. Eligibility criteria included being at least 18 years of age, English-speaking, and working as paid or volunteer staff at a licensed child care program taking care of children 5 years of age or younger. Of the 1152 enrolled individuals, 1094 provided complete pre- and post-intervention data. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial comparing iLookOut with an online standard training. RESULTS: ECPs who completed iLookOut significantly outperformed those who completed Standard mandated reporter training in terms of both knowledge (d=1.09 vs. 0.67) and attitudes (d=0.67 vs. 0.54) relative to pre-test scores. CONCLUSIONS: iLookOut is a promising candidate for widespread use in meeting the need for evidence-based training on child abuse and its reporting.
Authors: Karl M Kapp; Sarah Dore; Richard Fiene; Breanna Grable; Carlomagno Panlilio; Robert M Hamm; Chengwu Yang; Erik B Lehman; Claudia Mincemoyer; Nicole Verdiglione; Benjamin H Levi Journal: Online J Distance Educ Elearn Date: 2020-04
Authors: Christopher Wildeman; Natalia Emanuel; John M Leventhal; Emily Putnam-Hornstein; Jane Waldfogel; Hedwig Lee Journal: JAMA Pediatr Date: 2014-08 Impact factor: 16.193
Authors: Benjamin H Levi; Andrew Belser; Karl Kapp; Nicole Verdiglione; Claudia Mincemoyer; Sarah Dore; Jane Keat; Richard Fiene Journal: Early Child Dev Care Date: 2019-06-07
Authors: Ben Mathews; Chengwu Yang; Erik B Lehman; Claudia Mincemoyer; Nicole Verdiglione; Benjamin H Levi Journal: PLoS One Date: 2017-05-19 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Chengwu Yang; Carlo Panlilio; Nicole Verdiglione; Erik B Lehman; Robert M Hamm; Richard Fiene; Sarah Dore; David E Bard; Breanna Grable; Benjamin Levi Journal: PLoS One Date: 2020-01-08 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Kerryann Walsh; Elizabeth Eggins; Lorelei Hine; Ben Mathews; Maureen C Kenny; Sarah Howard; Natasha Ayling; Elizabeth Dallaston; Elizabeth Pink; Dimitrios Vagenas Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2022-07-05