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Key Findings

1. Almost 1,500 families received Safe Start services (and about 1,250 received comparison group services) across ten sites.
2. Analyses found positive change in many outcomes, with families in six of the studies showing statistically significant improvement in their primary outcomes over time.
3. However, there was no strong evidence that the intervention groups improved more than the comparison groups on the outcomes examined.
4. Taken as a whole, the results suggest that more information is needed about what interventions help children exposed to violence.

Although rates of children's exposure to violence have been declining in the United States, the problem remains extensive. The most recent study found that more than half of children in a national sample had been exposed to violence in the past year.^[1] Children who have been abused or witnessed violence are more likely than other children to develop mental health problems and engage in risky behaviors. Some of these problems can persist into adulthood.