Cluster RCT of Embedded Parenting Intervention to Prevent Recurrence and Reduce Impairment in Young Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

The current cluster randomized trial examines the efficacy of embedding two different parenting interventions within child protection services for young children (0 to 4) who have been exposed to domestic violence and who are at moderate to high risk for recurrent experiences of maltreatment. Interventions are "embedded" in recognition of the significant role played by child protection case workers in identifying families in need of intervention, referring/engaging families in intervention, and being able to use information resulting from intervention (e.g., reports from the intervention program, observations of parenting behaviour changes made as a result of intervention) to improve decision-making in their child protection practice. Thus in this trial, ongoing child protection case workers for families are randomly assigned to receive professional development training, supervision support, and priority client access to parenting interventions in the following four conditions: a) embedded mother-child dyadic intervention (Mothers in Mind); b) embedded fathering intervention (Caring Dads); c) both mother-child dyadic and fathering intervention; d) service as usual. Mothers in Mind (MIM) is a dyadic mother-child intervention aimed at preventing child impairment resulting from exposure to domestic violence. Intervention focuses on increasing mothers' awareness of the impact that exposure to family violence/trauma may have had on their infants and themselves as mothers, helping identify and promote positive parenting skills such as sensitivity and responsiveness to infant needs, promoting parental competence and emotional closeness and decreasing mothers' social isolation. Mothers in Mind uses an attachment and trauma-informed psycho-educational process approach in 12 weekly sessions (10 group and 2 individual). Caring Dads (CD) aims to prevent recurrence of child exposure to domestic violence by intervening with fathers. Caring Dads includes 15 group sessions, an in