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ParentChild+ One-on-One (Core) Model

Category

Family Support

Child's Age

2-3 years

Participant

Children, Parents/Guardian

Languages

English, Spanish

Brief Description

The ParentChild+ One-on-One (Core) Model promotes parent-child interactions and positive parenting practices to enhance children’s cognitive and social-emotional development through intensive home visiting that prepares participants for pre-k and kindergarten. The Core model enhances adult-child interaction, increases child social-emotional and early language and literacy skills, builds the skills necessary for school readiness, and helps parents/caregivers maintain a positive learning environment at home.

Expected Impact

  • PC+ Core graduates receive average or above average scores on school readiness assessments.
  • PC+ Core graduates continue to receive average or above average scores on statewide assessments through third grade.

Core Components for Model Fidelity

  • One-on-One Home Visiting Model: Through the Core model, early learning specialists (ELSs) meet one-on-one with parents/caregivers and their 2–3-year-old child in their home. Families receive 46 high quality educational toys and books and 46 curricular guide sheets that provide tips on building vocabulary, imaginative play, engaging conversation, social-emotional development and more.
  • Curriculum delivered by ELSs: The curriculum includes verbal interaction techniques, positive parenting behavior, social emotional development, and curriculum materials (24 books and 22 toys distributed to families).

Languages Materials are Available in

English, Spanish

Delivery Mode

In-person home delivery (participating caregiver and child must be present).

PC+ Core can also be provided virtually and/or via an in-person/virtual planned combination.

Dosage

Home visitors meet with families twice a week for 46 weeks, with each visit lasting 30 minutes, totaling 92 visits per family.

Infrastructure for Implementation

Materials: Required materials include the books and toys provided by ParentChild+.

Staffing Requirements

Staffing requires ELSs and Site Coordinators.

  • ELSs: ELSs are paid paraprofessionals who are a cultural, linguistic, and community match with families participating in the program. ParentChild+ hires locally. ELSs participate weekly supervisory meetings run by the local site coordinator and one on one support as needed. ELSs are trained to coach parents on embedding the curriculum in their home through play, reading, and talking with their child. 30% of ELSs are former program parents. 
  • Site Coordinators: Site Coordinators are responsible for implementation of PC+ and are typically professionals in a relevant field, such as early childhood, parenting education, nursing, psychology, or social work.

NCPC strongly recommends staff receive training in the Standards of Quality for Family Support and Strengthening. Contact Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina (PCANC) or National Family Support Network (NFSN) for more information, training, and certification. 

Training for Model Fidelity

ELSs must complete an initial 16-hour training led by the site coordinator and receive additional training in 2-hour weekly supervision sessions.

Site Coordinator training is conducted by the national center twice a year, with regional training scheduled on an as-needed basis and continuous learning is available through ParentChild+’s online learning management system. The National center training is now provided virtually over a two-week period, 5 hours per day for six days.

Contact Information

https://www.parentchildplus.org/one-on-one-model/

516-883-7480

info@parentchildplus.org

Angela “Angie” Drakeford: NC Program Director, adrakeford@parentchildplus.org; 704-777-1207

Cost Estimates

Startup training and 2-year Technical Support for data entry system and assessment completion support = $10,000 (tech support, online training archives, and other support provided by the IT department is provided for the duration of the partnership with PC+).

Average cost per family for 92 visits = $5,000 (includes but is not limited to expenses such as books and toys, staff technology/equipment, staff travel for home visits, staff salary, and annual membership fees).

Purpose Service Code (PSC)

5525 – Intensive Home Visiting

Program Identifier (PID)

ParentChild+

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:

  • The Parenting Interaction with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcome (PICCOLO) for pre/post

NCPC Evidence Categorization

Evidence Based- 7 publications demonstrate support for using ParentChild+ One-on-One (Core) Model. Includes randomized control trials, nonrandomized control trials, and posttest studies.

Research Summary

Three of the most recent publications on ParentChild+ Core include the following study designs: a nonrandomized comparison group,1 a one-group pretest-posttest,2 and a nonrandomized control trial.3 Sample populations included diverse racial/ethnic groups, low-income families, aboriginal groups, and families recruited through child welfare services. Results indicated that children who received PC+ Core were at high-risk of being unprepared for school but, when assessed in kindergarten, showed no differences in early literacy or social emotional skills. Some evidence indicates that their expressive vocabulary improved, compared to their peers of similar age and socio-economic status who did not participate in PC+ Core. PC+ Core’s home visits increased the quality of the home environment, leading to higher quality parent-child interactions and child behaviors conducive to learning.

Additional publications on PC+ include three randomized control trials4, 5, 6 and one posttest study.7

  1. ^ See Allen, Sethi, & Astuto (2007). This study used a nonrandomized comparison group to evaluate academic performance of ParentChild+ Core graduates and their non-participant peers, all of whom were in kindergarten at the time of the study. Sample populations included diverse racial and ethnic groups and low-income families. Research measures included PPVT, Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA), Academic Rating Scale, Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), Kochanska Inhibitory Control Battery, Social Skills Rating Scale, and Family Involvement Questionnaire. Results indicated that ParentChild+ Core graduates showed no differences from the comparison group of non-participant peers on social emotional skills or early literacy skills, despite entering the program at a much higher risk of being unprepared for school. Some differences were noted on standardized literacy and verbal skill tests but may be attributed to the higher number of Latino children who received the intervention. Parents in the intervention group were less likely to volunteer at school and provide home-based activities for children’s learning.
  2. ^ See Gfellner, McLaren, & Metcalfe (2008). This study used a one-group pretest-posttest design to evaluate ParentChild+ Core in Western Manitoba, Canada. Sample populations included aboriginal/indigenous groups and families recruited through child welfare services. Research measures included Child Behavioral Traits (CBT) Scale, Parent-Child Together (PACT) Inventory, and Home Session Behavior Scale. Results indicated that increasing the quality of the home environment in terms of both parent and child behaviors led to child behaviors conducive to learning and higher quality parent-child interactions.
  3. ^ See Manz et al. (2016). This nonrandomized control trial sampled families with children approximately 2.4 years old. Sample populations included primarily Latino and African American children who were enrolled in ParentChild+ Core as well as a control group of children from the same communities. Research measures included the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test Revised (EOWPVT-R). Results indicated that children in the treatment group improved their expressive vocabulary compared to their peers of similar age and socio-economic backgrounds.
  4. ^ See Madden, O’Hara & Levenstein (1984). This randomized control trial sampled families with children ages 21-33 months. The sample population was primarily African American and referred by public and private agencies. Families were randomly assigned to no-treatment control groups or a treatment group that received materials but no home visits. Research measures included Cattell Developmental and Intelligence Scale, Child Behavior Traits Measure, Stanford Binet Intelligence Test, the Reading and Arithmetic subscales of the Wide Range Achievement Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), and the Maternal Interactive Behavior Record. Results indicated short-term effects in treatment families including higher levels of desirable behaviors in maternal interactions and higher scores on SB test and program-developed achievement test. At the 3-year follow up, IQ levels were near national norms across all cohorts.
  5. ^ See Scarr & McCartney (1988). This randomized control trial sampled Bermudian families with children ages 2 years. Families were randomly assigned a treatment or control group. Research measures included Stanford Binet Intelligence Test, Bayley Scale of Mental Development, Infant Behavior Record, and Cain-Levine Social Competency Scale. Results indicated that children in the treatment group performed significantly better at a designated sorting task and their mothers rated their communication skills higher.
  6. ^ See Levenstein et al. (1998). This randomized control trial sampled young adults who had been recruited to participate in ParentChild+ Core when they were two years old, as well as a randomized control group of their peers who did not participate in ParentChild+ Core. Research measures included Child’s Behavior Traits, Parent and Child Together, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). Results indicated that young adults who participated in ParentChild+ Core as toddlers were significantly less likely to drop out of high school and were more likely to graduate.
  7. ^ See Levenstein, Levenstein, & Oliver (2002). This posttest study compared school readiness scores of ParentChild+ Core program graduates to population data. Participants were in the first grade at the time of the study and sample populations included primarily African American children who were referred to ParentChild+ Core for risk factors in early childhood. Research measures included the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery, a standardized assessment administered to all first graders in South Carolina. Results indicated that ParentChild+ Core graduates were more likely to pass the CSAB compared to their peers who did not receive treatment.

Researched Population

  • Families with 2 and 3-year-olds who face obstacles to educational and economic success, such as homelessness, poverty, immigrant status, indigenous peoples, and more

Clearinghouse and Compendium References

California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare - 3 Promising Research Evidence

Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness- Does not meet criteria

National Home Visiting Resource Center- rated Emerging

Allen, L., Sethi, A., & Astuto, J. (2007). An evaluation of graduates of a toddlerhood home visiting program at kindergarten age. NHSA Dialog, 10(1), 36-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/15240750701301811

Gfellner, B. M., McLaren, L., & Metcalfe, A. (2008). The Parent-Child Home Program in Western Manitoba: A 20-year evaluation. Child Welfare, 87(5), 49-67. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19402359/

Levenstein, P., Levenstein, S., & Oliver, D. (2002). First grade school readiness of former child participants in a South Carolina replication of the Parent-Child Home Program. Applied Developmental Psychology, 23(3), 331-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(02)00112-0

Levenstein, P., Levenstein, S., Shiminski, J. A., & Stolzberg, J. E. (1998). Long-term impact of a verbal interaction program for at-risk toddlers: An exploratory study of high school outcomes in a replication of the Mother-Child Home Program. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 19(2), 267-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)80040-9

Madden, J., O’Hara, J., & Levenstein, P. (1984). Home again: Effects of the Mother Child Home Program on mother and child. Child Development, 55(2), 636-647. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129975

Manz, P. H., Bracaliello, C. B., Pressimone, V. J., Eisenberg, R. A., Gernhart, A. C., Fu, Q., & Zuniga, C. (2016). Toddlers' expressive vocabulary outcomes after one year of Parent-Child Home Program services. Early Child Development and Care, 186(2), 229-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2015.1025228

Scarr, S., & McCartney, K. (1988). Far from home: An experimental evaluation of the Mother-Child Home Program in Bermuda. Child Development, 59(3), 531-543. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130555



Local Partnerships Currently Implementing

Local Partnerships in purple have adopted ParentChild+ One-on-One (Core) Model. Local Partnership contact information can be found here.