A Bibliography of Intensive Family Preservation Services

The 40th Anniversary of IFPS provided an opportunity to compile a bibliography that best represents the history, impact, and effectiveness of intensive family preservation services. We want everyone involved in IFPS to be aware of the most important documents in this field. You can view the IPFS biography here.

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History of IFPS
Let’s begin with the history of IFPS. Portions of the earliest history of IFPS have now been preserved through reflections of the key players, and are available on the IFPS Website here.

And then there is IFPS—the movie! PBS did a special documentary on IFPS in 1992.

In the early days IFPS had its own publication, the Family Preservation Journal. All of the journal articles have been digitized and can be accessed for free. It’s a quick and easy way to review much of the history of IFPS. Here is the link to the first issue: (PDF, 10.6 MB)

Impact of IFPS
How did we know if IFPS was having an impact in “pre-viral” times? Take a look in the bibliography at the prestigious groups that wrote about IFPS:

  • Child Welfare League of America
  • Children’s Defense Fund
  • National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Center for the Study of Social Policy
  • Universities
  • Media

The articles by Frank Farrow and Jim Whittaker provide good summaries of the impact of IFPS.

Effectiveness of IFPS
And, let’s not overlook the importance of the research that has established the effectiveness of IFPS. A lot of the early research is captured in the Family Preservation Journal. The gold standard for research—random control trials—was first conducted by Betty Blythe in Michigan, and you won’t want to miss reading the summary of the outstanding results.

Ray Kirk has conducted frequent studies of IFPS over the past two decades. Read Dr. Kirk’s seminal findings on IFPS here.

Last Word on Bibliographies
A bibliography is like a treasure that you unearth in your back yard: a pleasant surprise you weren’t looking for that becomes a valued keepsake you look at frequently!
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Posted by Priscilla Martens, Director, National Family Preservation Network