Mitigating the Effects of Poverty and Crime: the Long-Term Effects of an Early Intervention Programme for Children who were Developmentally Delayed and Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine

Abstract

This study explores the long-term impact on participation in the Linda Ray Intervention Program (LRIP) for children (n = 54) who were developmentally delayed and prenatally exposed to cocaine. By identifying a group of programme graduates from a high crime/high poverty neighbourhood in Miami-Dade County using ArcGIS 10.2 software, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare children living in this area who participated in the centre-based modality (5 h a day; 5 days a week) to children living in this area who participated in the home-based modality (3 h per week) on their Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) reading and math scale scores in public school. The children who participated in the centre-based modality reported stronger outcomes in both math and reading FCAT scale scores at the p < .05 level and also out-performed their school-age peers on both math and reading FCAT scores at the p < .05 level.

Keywords:

• Crime
• developmental delays
• early intervention
• exposure
• FCAT
• GIS mapping
• high risk
• prenatal drug
• poverty