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Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP): Nurturing Skills for Families (Secondary Prevention)

Category

Family Support

Child's Age

Prenatal, 0-1 years, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years

Participant

Parents/Guardian

Languages

English, Spanish

Brief Description

Nurturing Skills for Families is an expansive, competency-based model of the Nurturing Parenting Programs (NPP) that combines information from other NPP models to provide flexibility to meet the needs of families with children ranging in age from prenatal to 19 years old (note that Smart Start funds are limited to the prenatal to 5 age range). This model uses a preliminary assessment to identify family needs and develop a customized program that meets their unique needs.

Expected Impact

  • Increase in parents’ understanding of child development and developmentally appropriate expectations for their children
  • Decreased use of corporal punishment
  • Improved parental empathy

Core Components for Model Fidelity

  • Facilitated Group Sessions: Weekly group sessions lasting 2 hours for at least 16 weeks are provided to groups of 8 to 17 parents/caregivers. Groups are facilitated by trained Parent Educators.
  • Assessment Tools: The Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2.5) and the Nurturing Skills Competency Scale (NSCS) are built-in assessment tools to assess parenting beliefs, knowledge, and skills. These tools are used as pre-, post-, and process assessments to measure the impact of the program in relation to identified needs and goals. 
  • The Family Nurturing Plan: The Family Nurturing Plan (FNP) promotes a partnership between parents and Parent Educators to work together in creating a parenting program that meets the specific needs of the family which are identified in the pre-assessment.
  • Parents’ Program and Competency in Core Lessons: Parent Educators use the Lesson Guide for Parents to facilitate the Parents’ Program. Throughout the program, parents demonstrate and improve their competence in the Core Lessons that form the foundation of Nurturing Parenting. The Parent Handbook and the Nurturing Parenting® Easy Reader Handbook match the content in the parent educators’ Lesson Guide and further support parents’ participation and competency.
  • Children’s Groups or Child Care: To reduce barriers to participation, concurrent childcare is provided in a separate space from the parents’ group. It is strongly recommended to create a Children’s Program for children ages 3 to 12 years using the Lesson Guide for Children which is compatible with the Parents’ Program.

Languages Materials are Available in

English, Spanish

Delivery Mode

Sessions are provided in-person, in groups of 8 to 17, in a familiar community location. Make-up sessions or additional one-on-one sessions can be provided in-person or virtually. 

Dosage

Based on the evidence, Nurturing Skills for Families consists of at least 16 weeks of facilitated group sessions, each lasting 2 hours. Additional weeks and home visits are provided as needed to meet family needs, including make-up sessions.

Infrastructure for Implementation

Materials: Lesson Guide for Parents; Parent Handbook and/or Nurturing Parenting® Easy Reader Handbook; Lesson Guide for Children.

Space: Dependent on in-person or virtual format. 

Other: Incentives are provided to reduce barriers to attending the group. Examples include a gas card, concurrent childcare, meals, access to internet, and gift cards to grocery stores.

Staffing Requirements

Nurturing Skills for Families groups are facilitated by two NPP-trained Parent Educators. Parent Educators have a bachelor's degree in a relevant field, such as child development, family relations, social work, or early childhood. All Parent Educators must have experience working with the population they intend to serve. While Parent Educators are not always full-time staff members, each FTE provides 20 hours of direct service per week. Each family receives approximately 60 hours of direct services throughout the program. 

Sites or agencies implementing Nurturing Skills for Families groups may also have a Program Coordinator. One Program Coordinator serves a team of 5 Parent Educators. This role can be filled by an experienced Parent Educator.

Training for Model Fidelity

Parent Educators complete the Nurturing Parenting Program Facilitator Trainings, which are 3-Day Workshops that teach the philosophy of Nurturing Parenting and how to implement and facilitate the Nurturing Programs. Training workshops are provided virtually every month. For more information, visit Locate a Training Workshop - Nurturing Parenting Programs.

Training in NC is available. For more information, please contact the North Carolina Trainer/Consultant, Michelle Rogers, at michelle.rogers@nurturingparenting.com.

Contact Information

https://www.nurturingparenting.com

Dr. Amy Schlieve: amy.schlieve@nurturingparenting.com, 800.688.5822 

Family Development Resources, Inc.: 1-800-688-5822 

Michelle Rogers, LMSW: National Trainer/Consultant (NC); michelle.rogers@nurturingparenting.com

Myra Burrell: Grants Manager at the Partnership for Children of Johnston County; mburrell@pfcjc.org, 919-397-7820

Lauren Trogdon: Family Services Manager at the Partnership for Children of Johnston County; ltrogdon@pfcjc.org, 919-722-9622

Cost Estimates

  • Parent Educator Training: One-time cost of $450.00 per person (includes initial training materials).
  • Capacity Building: During year 3 of startup, the agency is invited to nominate an individual that has a minimum of two years' experience to become an Organizational Trainer to continue to build agency capacity. 
  • Program Coordinator(s) & Parent Educator(s): One coordinator serves a team of 5 Parent Educators. An experienced Parent Educator can serve in this role. Salary recommendations for both roles vary based on location and experience. 
  • Assessment Materials: The AAPI and NCSC cost approximately $10 per adult served. 
  • Program Materials: $15 per Parent Handbook.
  • Consumable Materials: Includes supplies including but not limited to arts and crafts materials, toys, books for families to take home. 
  • Incentives: Incentives are provided to reduce barriers to participation. This may include gas cards, gift cards to grocery stores, meals and child care during group meetings, and access to a tablet or hotspot for virtual sessions. Cost estimates vary.

Purpose Service Code (PSC)

5505 - Parent Education

Program Identifier (PID)

Nurturing Parenting Program - Nurturing Skills for Families

Minimal Outputs for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Number of parents/guardians participating†   

†Select Family Support Programs data collection will include basic demographic data for parent/guardian participants including Race, Ethnicity. Data on interpretation and transportation will be collected when appropriate.  

Minimal Outcomes for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Increase in positive parenting practices

Minimal Measures for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2) 

NCPC Evidence Categorization

Evidence Informed – One report from the Partnership for Children of Johnston County that includes evaluations from four individual years and the four years overall. 

Research Summary

The most recent and relevant study on the impacts of Nurturing Skills for Families is an evaluation report from the Partnership for Children of Johnston County (Partnership).1 The Partnership reported the program’s impacts from 2019 to 2023, including years when groups moved to a virtual format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Partnership assessed participant-level outcomes with the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) and found that graduates of the Nurturing Skills for Families program demonstrated an improved understanding of child development and developmentally appropriate expectations for their children, decreased use of corporal punishment, and greater parental empathy. These findings were consistent when disaggregated for priority populations, including Spanish-speaking participants, those with an annual household income at or below the federal poverty line for a household with 2 people ($25,000 or less), and parents who reported experiencing abuse as a child.

  1. ^ See Partnership for Children of Johnston County (2024). This report from the Partnership for Children of Johnston County (Partnership) evaluates the impacts of Nurturing Skills for Families from 2019 to 2023. The report includes outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic, when classes moved to a virtual format, as well as findings from the first year returning to a primarily in-person delivery mode in 2022-2023. The Partnership identified Nurturing Skills for Families as an appropriate fit for their community needs based on the percentage of children ages birth through five, which averages around 5%, and the rise in referrals for parent education from human service agencies seeking to reduce and prevent child maltreatment and improve positive parent-child relationships. Each series of Nurturing Skills for Families includes at least 16 weeks of facilitated group meetings lasting 2 hours. Additional sessions may be added to meet families' needs, including home visits or additional group meetings. The Partnership offers incentives for weekly participation and program completion in the form of child care, meals, gas cards, gift cards to grocery stores, and the Nurturing Parenting Board Game. Participants must complete at least 12 of the 16 sessions to be considered a graduate and receive the program completion incentives. Nurturing Skills for Families uses the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) as the primary outcome measure for participating parents. The AAPI is used as a pre- and post-assessment to identify initial goals and needs and monitor changes over time. The Partnership included results from each of four fiscal years as well as an aggregated report of the four years. The 2019-2020 fiscal year was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, only 12 participating parents/caregivers of children ages birth to 5 completed the Nurturing Skills for Families group. All participants identified as Hispanic. Most participants reported they had not experienced abuse as a child (n = 8) and they did not know their annual household income (n = 7). Participants' AAPI scores improved overall after completing Nurturing Skills for Families, with significant improvements on the constructs of Parental Empathy (p < 0.001) and Use of Corporal Punishment (p < 0.05). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Partnership provided Nurturing Skills for Families virtually during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. In this year, 30 participants completed the program. Participants primarily identified as White (50%) and Hispanic (37%). Half of participants reported an annual household income at or below $25,000 (n = 15) and no experiences of abuse as a child (n = 16). Participants' AAPI scores improved after completing Nurturing Skills for Families with statistically significant improvements on the constructs of Developmental Expectations (p < 0.01), Parental Empathy (p < 0.05), and Use of Corporal Punishment (p < 0.05). In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, Nurturing Skills for Families groups remained virtual. A total of 24 participants completed the program, most of whom identified as Hispanic (46%) and White (37%). The majority of participants reported they had not experienced abuse as a child (n = 15). About half of participants reported an annual household income at or below $30,000 (n = 10) while a third of participants did not know annual household income (n = 8). Post-assessment scores on the AAPI indicated improvements in all constructs, with the most significant improvements on the constructs of Parental Empathy (p < 0.05) and Use of Corporal Punishment (p < 0.01). Finally, during the 2022-2023 fiscal year everything, the Partnership was limited by staff and budget capacities and offered fewer Nurturing Skills for Families groups than in previous years. In this year, 11 participants completed the program. Most participants identified as White (55%) and Black (27%). About half of participants reported that they had not experienced abuse as a child (n = 6). Most participants reported annual household incomes above $30,000 (n = 8). Participants' AAPI scores after completing Nurturing Skills for Families improved on all constructs. Statistically significant improvements were observed on the constructs of Parental Empathy (p < 0.05) and Use of Corporal Punishment (p < 0.05). Across all four fiscal years, the Partnership provided 9 Nurturing Skills for Families groups (6 in English, 3 in Spanish). A total of 77 participants completed the program, most of whom identified as Hispanic (46%) and White (39%). The majority of participants were female (n = 69) and reported no experiences of abuse during their childhood (n = 45). A total of 91 children ages birth to 5 were impacted. Overall, participants moved from high risk levels of child maltreatment to moderate and low risk levels after completing Nurturing Skills for Families. Their AAPI scores improved significantly on the constructs of Developmental Expectations (p < 0.001), Parental Empathy (p < 0.001), and Use of Corporal Punishment (p < 0.001). These findings indicate that participants demonstrated improved empathy, greater understanding of developmental expectations for their child, and decreased use of corporal punishment after completing the program. Additionally, the Partnership found that improvements in participants' AAPI scores on the Parent-Child Family Roles construct approached statistical significance (p < 0.10). When disaggregating the overall data by priority populations, the Partnership found that results were consistently positive for Spanish-speaking participants, participants with an annual household income at or below the federal poverty line for 2 people in the household ($25,000 or less), and for participants who reported experiencing abuse as a child. The primary limitation to this study is the small sample size which can be attributed to the localized audience (one county supported by the Partnership, focused on children ages birth to 5) as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researched Population

  • Parents of children ages birth to 5 located in Johnston County
  • Families from diverse backgrounds, including parents who experienced abuse as a child, who primarily spoke Spanish and/or identified as Hispanic, and whose annual household income was at or below the federal poverty line for a household of 2 ($25,000 or less)

Partnership for Children of Johnston County. (2024). 2019-2023 Nurturing Parenting: Nurturing Skills for Families Report.



Local Partnerships Currently Implementing

Local Partnerships in purple have adopted Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP): Nurturing Skills for Families (Secondary Prevention). Local Partnership contact information can be found here.