1-124 - Responding to family homelessness: Efforts to protect development and promote resilience in early childhood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Many children in homeless families show positive adaptation and resilience while others do not fare as well. Several promotive and protective factors have emerged in past correlational studies, such as positive parenting behaviors, aspects of the shelter environment, and connecting to and participating in needed non-housing services including high quality early childhood education.

The papers in this symposium represent efforts to act on this knowledge and begin to establish an evidence base for interventions and systemic approaches that target these factors. The first paper utilizes a cluster-randomized design to test My Babies First Teacher, an intervention designed specifically for parents in emergency shelter with an infant. Parents in the program showed increases in observed relationship quality in pre-post analyses.

The second paper considers the delivery of Triple P, an evidence-based positive parenting program, specifically in the context of emergency shelter. Using a pre-post design with a 3-month follow-up, analyses find fidelity in delivery as well as positive effects on parenting and child behavior.

The third paper considers how education and social service agencies use data to identify and engage families experiencing homelessness. Findings detail key barriers and challenges to cross-systems collaboration that hamper efforts to support young children experiencing homelessness.

The final paper describes Building Early Links for Learning, an initiative focused on improving shelter environments for families with young children while promoting links between housing and early childhood education systems. Longitudinal data suggest increases in developmental appropriateness of shelter environments and preschool enrollment by about 25% over 18 months.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• J. J. Cutuli, Rutgers University - Camden

Individual Presentations

• My Baby's First Teacher: Evaluation of a Parenting Intervention for Homeless Infants - Presenting Author: Janette E. Herbers, Villanova University; Non-Presenting Author: J. J. Cutuli, Rutgers University - Camden; Non-Presenting Author: Perrin B. Fugo, Villanova University; Non-Presenting Author: Michael J. Hartman, Villanova University; Non-Presenting Author: Elke Nordeen, Villanova University

• Decreasing the Risk of Maltreatment for Children Experiencing Homelessness: An Evaluation of Triple P Discussion Groups - Presenting Author: Jenna Montgomery Armstrong, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute; Non-Presenting Author: Mary E. Haskett, North Carolina State University; Non-Presenting Author: Caitlyn R. Owens, North Carolina State University

• Identifying Children Experiencing Homelessness for Early Care and Education - Presenting Author: Sara Shaw, Child Trends; Non-Presenting Author: Ashley Hirilall, Child Trends; Non-Presenting Author: Tamara Gail Halle, Child Trends

• Supporting young children in family homeless shelters through cross-systems collaboration: Building Early Links for Learning - Presenting Author: J. J. Cutuli, Rutgers University - Camden; Non-Presenting Author: Janette E. Herbers, Villanova University; Non-Presenting Author: Sara Shaw, Child Trends; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Vrabic, Villanova University; Non-Presenting Author: Teresa Cherry, Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services; Non-Presenting Author: Joe Willard, People's Emergency Center