Intercept®
Intercept®, formerly known as Youth Villages (YV) Intercept, provides intensive in-home services to children and youth at risk of entry or re-entry into out-of-home placements or who are currently in out-of-home placements (e.g., foster care, residential facilities, or group homes). The program is designed to reduce foster care utilization by providing prevention services to children and their families of origin. For children already in foster care, Intercept aims to reduce time spent in foster care by providing reunification services to children and their families of origin. Family Intervention Specialists use an integrated, trauma-informed approach to offer individualized services intended to meet the needs of children and their families of origin. Specialists address needs identified in children’s schools, peer groups, neighborhoods, and communities. Specialists also support the family in school or legal meetings and are on-call to provide crisis support 24/7. Intercept uses an online resource called GuideTree® to facilitate treatment. GuideTree includes a comprehensive resource library, access to Licensed Program Experts, and supports for developing and reviewing treatment plans.
Intercept is rated as a well-supported practice because at least two studies with non-overlapping samples carried out in usual care or practice settings achieved a rating of moderate or high on design and execution and demonstrated favorable effects in a target outcome domain. At least one of the studies demonstrated a sustained favorable effect of at least 12 months beyond the end of treatment on at least one target outcome.
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: Jan 2022
Sources
The program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information was informed by the following sources: the program or service developer’s website and the studies reviewed.
Date Program/Service Description Last Updated: Jan 2022
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
Intercept is designed to serve children from birth to age 18 who are at risk of entry or re-entry into out-of-home placements (e.g., foster care, residential facilities, or group homes) or who are currently in out-of-home placements. Intercept is designed to serve children who have emotional and behavioral problems or have experienced abuse and/or neglect.
Dosage
Family Intervention Specialists meet with children and their families of origin an average of 3 times per week. Specialists are also on-call to provide crisis support 24/7. Prevention services typically last 4 to 6 months. Reunification services typically last 6 to 9 months.
Location/Delivery Setting
Recommended Locations/Delivery Settings
Family Intervention Specialists provide services in participants’ homes and in community settings that are convenient for children and their families of origin.
Location/Delivery Settings Observed in the Research
- Home
Education, Certifications and Training
Family Intervention Specialists must have a master’s degree in a related field or a bachelor’s degree in a related field with at least one year of experience.
Specialists are guided by Licensed Program Experts, who are experts in the Intercept model. Family Intervention Specialists work as teams of four to five, with one Supervisor who provides day-to-day clinical and administrative oversight, as well as ongoing training and development for the Specialists.
Family Intervention Specialists complete an initial Clinical Foundations training provided by Licensed Program Experts. Licensed Program Experts also provide weekly consultation to Specialists and their Supervisors to ensure quality work and fidelity to the model. Ongoing training is provided through required quarterly clinical training sessions, field visits with leadership staff, online clinical trainings and resources, and other individualized training through individual staff development meetings. A program model fidelity review is conducted yearly to ensure clinical service delivery is consistent with the Intercept model.
Program or Service Documentation
Book/Manual/Available documentation used for review
Goldsmith, T. (Ed.). (2007). Youth Villages clinical protocols treatment manual. Youth Villages.
Available languages
Intercept materials are available in English and Spanish.
Other supporting materials
Clinical Portal and Consultation Process
Contact Information for Developers
Website: http://www.youthvillages.org/intercept
Phone: (901) 251-4835
Email: intercept@youthvillages.org
| Results of Search and Review | Number of Studies Identified and Reviewed for Intercept® |
|---|---|
| Identified in Search | 2 |
| Eligible for Review | 2 |
| Rated High | 0 |
| Rated Moderate | 2 |
| 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 permanency: Out-of-home placement |
0.40
15 |
2 (2) | 91778 |
Favorable:
2 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
| Child permanency: Planned permanent exits |
0.13
5 |
1 (1) | 4029 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 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 permanency: Out-of-home placement |
0.40
15 |
2 (2) | 91778 |
Favorable:
2 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
- |
| Huhr, 2020a | |||||
| Placement Into Out-of-Home Care |
0.46
*
17 |
- | 88032 | - | 31 |
| Huhr, 2021 | |||||
| Placement Into Out-of-Home Care |
0.28
*
11 |
- | 3746 | - | 12 |
| Child permanency: Planned permanent exits |
0.13
5 |
1 (1) | 4029 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
- |
| Huhr, 2020b | |||||
| Exit to Permanency |
0.13
*
5 |
- | 4029 | - | 7 |
*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.
Studies Rated Moderate
Study 10899Huhr, S., & Wulczyn, F. (2020a). Do intensive in-home services prevent placement?: A case study of Youth Villages' Intercept® program. The Center for State Child Welfare Data. https://fcda.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/YV-Intercept-Results-1-8-2020-final.pdf
Huhr, S., & Wulczyn, F. (2020b). Do intensive in-home services promote permanency?: A case study of Youth Villages' Intercept® program. The Center for State Child Welfare Data. https://fcda.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Permanency-YVIntercept-final-982020.pdf
Study 12839Huhr, S., & Wulczyn, F. (2021). The impact of Youth Villages' Intercept program on placement prevention: A second look. The Center for State Child Welfare Data.