Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect
Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is an adaptation of Multisytemic Therapy for families who come to the attention of child protective services. MST-CAN aims to prevent child abuse and neglect, ensure child safety, and keep families together by averting placement into foster care or other out-of-home placements. It also aims to reduce emotional and behavioral health problems and increase social support. MST-CAN is delivered to families by a team that includes therapists, a crisis caseworker, and a part-time psychiatrist. A supervisor helps to coordinate and oversee the services and staff. Services are individualized based on each family’s particular needs. MST-CAN is intended for children between the ages of 6 and 17, as well as their families. Families may receive MST-CAN services for six to nine months. They may participate in three to five sessions per week and can access services around the clock, as needed. Usually services are delivered in the family’s home, but location can be flexible based on the needs of the family. All staff receive standard MST training, MST-CAN-specific training, and trauma treatment training. Additional training is offered through weekly phone calls and quarterly on-site booster trainings.
MST-CAN does not currently meet criteria to receive a rating because no studies of the program that achieved a rating of moderate or high on design and execution demonstrated a favorable effect on a target outcome.
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: Jun 2019
Sources
The program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information was informed by the following sources: The California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare, Crime Solutions, the program or service developer’s website, and the studies reviewed.
Program/Service Description Updated: Week of August 24, 2020
This information does not necessarily represent the views of the program or service developers. For more information on how this program or service was reviewed, visit the Review Process page or download the Handbook.
Target Population
MST-CAN serves families with children between the ages of 6 and 17. Families who participate in MST-CAN are typically identified by child protective services due to neglect and/or abuse.
Dosage
Families can receive MST-CAN services for six to nine months. Families may participate in 3 to 5 sessions per week and can access services around the clock, as needed.
Location/Delivery Setting
Recommended Locations/Delivery Settings
MST-CAN is usually delivered in the home, but can be used in any location that is convenient for the family.
Education, Certifications and Training
MST-CAN is delivered by therapists with master’s degrees in social work or counseling, crisis caseworkers with bachelor’s degrees, and psychiatrists. These staff also have relevant experience and knowledge. They are supervised by individuals with a PhD or master’s degree who also have experience with child protective services, family therapy, and crisis management. In addition, all staff must participate in five days of standard MST training, four days of MST-CAN specific training, and four days of trauma treatment training. Additional training is offered through weekly phone calls and quarterly on-site booster trainings.
Program or Service Documentation
Book/Manual/Available documentation used for review
Swenson, C. C., Penman, J., Henggeler, S. W., & Rowland, M. D. (2010). Multisystemic Therapy for child abuse and neglect. Family Services Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina.
Available languages
Materials for MST-CAN have been translated into Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swiss German.
Other supporting materials
For More Information
Website: http://www.mstservices.com/mst-can-child-welfare-program
Phone: 843-876-1800
Email: info@mstservices.com
Note: The details on Dosage; Location; Education, Certifications, and Training; Other Supporting Materials; and For More Information sections above are provided to website users for informational purposes only. This information is not exhaustive and may be subject to change.
| Results of Search and Review | Number of Studies Identified and Reviewed for Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect |
|---|---|
| Identified in Search | 2 |
| Eligible for Review | 1 |
| Rated High | 0 |
| Rated Moderate | 1 |
| Rated Low | 0 |
| Reviewed Only for Risk of Harm | 0 |
| Outcome | Effect Size
 and Implied Percentile Effect
|
N of Studies (Findings) | N of Participants | Summary of Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child safety: Child welfare administrative reports |
0.51
19 |
1 (2) | 86 |
Favorable:
0 No Effect: 2 Unfavorable: 0 |
Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention group and a negative number favors the comparison group.
| Outcome | Effect Size
and Implied Percentile Effect
|
N of Studies (Findings) | N of Participants | Summary of Findings |
Months after treatment when outcome measured
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child safety: Child welfare administrative reports |
0.51
19 |
1 (2) | 86 |
Favorable:
0 No Effect: 2 Unfavorable: 0 |
- |
| Study 10053 - Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect vs. Enhanced Outpatient Treatment (Swenson, 2010) | |||||
| New Report of Abuse of Child in Treatment |
0.60
22 |
- | 86 | - | 12 |
| Report of Parent Abusing Any Child in Family |
0.42
16 |
- | 86 | - | 12 |
*p <.05
Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention group and a negative number favors the comparison group. Effect sizes and implied percentile effects were calculated by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse as described in the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Section 5.10.4 and may not align with effect sizes reported in individual publications.
Only publications with eligible contrasts that met design and execution standards are included in the individual study findings table.
Full citations for the studies shown in the table are available in the "Studies Reviewed" section.
The participant characteristics display is an initial version. We encourage those interested in providing feedback to send suggestions to preventionservices@abtassoc.com.
The table below displays locations, the year, and participant demographics for studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Participant characteristics for studies with more than one intervention versus comparison group pair that received moderate or high ratings are shown separately in the table. Please note, the information presented here uses terminology directly from the study documents, when available. Studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution that did not include relevant participant demographic information would not be represented in this table.
For more information on how Clearinghouse reviewers record the information in the table, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.
| Characteristics of the Participants in the Studies with Moderate or High Ratings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Study Location
|
Study Year
|
Age or Grade-level
|
Race, Ethnicity, Nationality
|
Gender
|
Populations of Interest*
|
Household Socioeconomic Status
|
| Study 10053 - Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect vs. Enhanced Outpatient Treatment | ||||||
| Characteristics of the Children and Youth | ||||||
| Charleston County, SC, USA | 2000 | Average age: 13.88 years; Age range: 10-17 years |
69% Black 22% White 9% Other |
56% Female | 100% Physical abuse determination by Child Protective Services system; 23% Of families had a prior CPS report | -- |
| Characteristics of the Adults, Parents, or Caregivers | ||||||
| Charleston County, SC, USA | 2000 | Average age: 41.79 years | -- | 65% Female |
100% Parents; 58% Single parents |
31% Family annual income, all sources more than $30,000 12% Family annual income, all sources $25,001-30,000 14% Family annual income all sources, $20,001-$25,000 4% Family annual income all sources, $15,001-$20,000 14% Family annual income all sources, $10,001-$15,000 25% Family annual income all sources, Less than $10,000 |
“--” indicates information not reported in the study.
* The information about disabilities is based on initial coding. For more information on how the Clearinghouse recorded disability information for the initial release, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings. The Clearinghouse is currently seeking consultation from experts, including those with lived experience, and input from the public to enhance and improve the display.
Note: Citations for the documents associated with each 5-digit study number shown in the table can be found in the “Studies Reviewed” section below. Study settings and participant demographics are recorded for all studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Studies that did not report any information about setting or participant demographics are not displayed. For more information on how participant characteristics are recorded, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.
Studies Rated Moderate
Study 10053Swenson, C. C., Schaeffer, C. M., Henggeler, S. W., Faldowski, R., & Mayhew, A. M. (2010). Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect: A randomized effectiveness trial. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(4), 497-507. doi:10.1037/a0020324
Dopp, A. R., Schaeffer, C. M., Swenson, C. C., & Powell, J. S. (2018). Economic impact of Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 45(6), 876-887. doi: 10.1007/s10488-018-0870-1
This study was conducted in a usual care or practice setting (Handbook Section 6.2.2)Studies Not Eligible for Review
Study 10391
Schaeffer, C. M., Swenson, C. C., Tuerk, E. H., & Henggeler, S. W. (2013). Comprehensive treatment for co-occurring child maltreatment and parental substance abuse: Outcomes from a 24-month pilot study of the MST-Building Stronger Families program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(8), 596-607. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.04.004
This study is ineligible for review because it is not a study of the program or service under review (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.6).
Study 10392
Brunk, M., Henggeler, S. W., & Whelan, J. P. (1987). Comparison of Multisystemic Therapy and parent training in the brief treatment of child abuse and neglect. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(2), 171-178.
This study is ineligible for review because the publication date is prior to 1990 (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.1).
Study 10393
Hefti, S., Perez, T., Feurstenau, U., Rhiner, B., Swenson, C. C., & Schmid, M. (2018). Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect: Do parents show improvement in parental mental health problems and parental stress, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. (Online Advance) doi: 10.1111/jmft.12367
This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).
Study 10394
Hebert, S., Bor, W., Swenson, C. C., & Boyle, C. (2014). Improving collaboration: a qualitative assessment of inter-agency collaboration between a pilot Multisystemic Therapy Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) program and a child protection team. Australasian Psychiatry, 22(4), 370-373. doi: 10.1177/1039856214539572
This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).