NCJ Number
73207
Date Published
1980
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This is a report on the first year of the Parental Stress Line (PSL) services in Boston Massachusetts. PSL is a statewide, toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week telephone counseling service that focuses on preventing child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
The PSL program was initiated in October 1979 by the Parent's and Children's Services and established with the financial support of a number of community sources for a 2-year demonstration period. It offers an immediate response to parents who need counseling during crises with their children and who may wish to remain anonymous. Volunteers professionally trained and supervised by the staff of Parents' and Children's Services provide the counseling. In addition, appropriate services are found for parents who request and are ready to use them. This report describes the establishment of the PSL services, the planning necessary to implement the PSL and the on-line services, and the service statistics including type of caller and calls, their distribution, and volunteer service and training. The program evaluation, a cost-benefit analysis of the program, and a summary of the first year's experience are also included. The information on the sources of funding, project personnel, advisory council, and curriculum for training of parental stress line volunteers are appended.