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Optimizing Parent Participation in Evidence-Based Intervention in a Large School District in the US

Thu, March 21, 4:00 to 5:30pm, Hilton Baltimore, Floor: Level 2, Key 9

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Embedding evidence-based parenting interventions in early education settings is a potentially powerful Family Engagement model. Family Engagement, defined as “a process used to build genuine relationships with families… to support overall family well-being and children’s healthy development,” has been a hallmark of Head Start and is increasingly recognized as an essential aspect of high quality early education programs. There is strong evidence for the impact of group-based, skill-building parenting interventions on both child and family well-being (e.g., Incredible Years, Triple P), including efficacy trials with low-income and racially and ethnically diverse families and successful cultural adaptations for African American and Latino families. Yet the scant evidence for the reach of these widely implemented interventions at scale indicates that as few as 5-10% of parents participate.

Innovative and theoretically-grounded strategies to optimize parent participation are emerging as implementation scientists work to effectively transport university-tested interventions to the real world. Our paper describes an approach to developing and testing a bundle of strategies to optimize participation through the interdisciplinary lens of behavioral economics. We do not assume that all parents should prioritize participating, but we believe that all parents deserve to be offered the opportunity, in ways that enhance relationships and support decision-making by parents. Strategies are low-cost, scalable and include both text messaging and in-person communications.

In partnership with the largest urban school district in the country, we are scaling-up ParentCorps in pre-K programs in both schools and early education centers. ParentCorps is a family-centered intervention that aims to help parents and early childhood teachers create environments in which children thrive. Intervention includes professional learning (PL) for teachers and leaders, a Social-Emotional Learning program for classrooms, and a Parenting Program that all families are invited to as part of the pre-K experience. We partner with district- and school-based leaders to deliver ParentCorps as an enhancement to pre-K in historically disinvested neighborhoods, centering racial equity and the voices of people of color throughout all aspects of intervention and evaluation.

Method: We take a mixed-methods approach to learning from families and implementation teams. The evaluation includes two hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials to study ParentCorps, relative to ParentCorps PL alone and other resources provided by the district. The trials were launched in 2017, with 81 schools and 23 centers being randomized to condition. The study population is primarily children of color (55% Latino, 25% Black, 10% Asian, 10% White).

Results: This paper utilizes implementation data from pre-K centers randomized to ParentCorps and presents a) formative work with parents and implementation teams about initial messaging and feasibility, b) fidelity to the bundles of core and innovative parent outreach packages, c) parent participation at the population level (initiation and dose), d) site-based predictors of participation and e) the added value of the innovative bundle.

Conclusions: Embedding family-centered intervention in pre-K holds great promise as an effective model for Family Engagement and ultimately for reducing socioeconomic and racial disparities in learning, behavior and health.

Authors