n. Prevention programs remain ineffective even after 30 years of ongoing research. Extensive reviews of prevention programs, have shown that home health visiting programs are the most effective. It is unclear whether programs are simply inappropriate, too small, or being implemented improperly. It is also possible that behaviors are measured inaccurately, or that maltreating caretakers are inaccurately assessed as wanting change. Success rates of home visits can be found with the unmarried teenage mother population; those receiving visits during pregnancy and for two years following, show less cases of child abuse (Gelles, 1998, p. 1). This lack of effective prevention and intervention programs indicates a further need for effects assessment for different age groups.
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