Includes resources on best practices in parent education for families involved in the child welfare system.
Child Welfare Involved Parents and Pathways Triple P: Perceptions of Program Acceptability and Appropriateness
Feely, Seay, Fedoravicis, & Kohl (2016)
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(12)
Explores Pathways Triple P, an evidence-based parenting intervention used with families in the child welfare system. Interviews were held with parents investigated for child maltreatment, and participants were asked after the program about their satisfaction and fit. Findings showed the program is a promising strategy to improve behavioral health outcomes for maltreated children and increase positive parenting behaviors for child welfare involved parents.
Child Welfare Organizing Parent Project Leadership Curriculum
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2018)
Outlines a program that trains parents involved in the child welfare system to become parent advocates. The course educates parents on their rights and responsibilities within the child welfare services, shows them how to engage in advocacy and engage in leadership opportunities.
Common Components of Parenting Programs for Children Birth to Eight Years of Age Involved With Child Welfare Services
Barth & Liggett-Creel (2014)
Children and Youth Services Review, 40
Reviews the effectiveness of parent training programs and prominent parenting intervention models for children ages zero to 3 and 4 to 8. The research related to parenting interventions indicates that some interventions have limited evidence behind their effectiveness and further research is needed.
Evidence-Based Parenting Programs for Maltreating Parents: Views of Child Protective Services Caseworkers (PDF - 140 KB)
Pinna, Lewis, Karatekin, Lamb-Onyiga, Hirilall, & Jones (2015)
Journal of Public Child Welfare, 9(4)
Explores barriers to implementing the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) with maltreating parents and seeks to address a gap in the literature on this topic. Focus groups used in the study examined caseworkers' views and the extent to which their views varied as a function of trainings on these programs.
Kansas Intensive Permanency Project (KIPP) Program Manual
University of Kansas School of Social Welfare & Kansas Department of Children and Families (2016)
Examines KIPP's implementation process by sharing reflections, lessons learned, and practical implementation experiences. This manual can assist others in replicating KIPP or implementing similar programs tailored to their local communities.
One Step at a Time: A Parent-to-Parent Guide to the Child Welfare System (PDF - 4,116 KB)
Rise Magazine (2015)
Compiles articles written by parents with experience navigating the child welfare system.
Parenting and Family Support Within a Broad Child Abuse Prevention Strategy
Prinz (2016)
Child Abuse and Neglect, 51
Examines the need for parent-focused intervention as a key piece of a child abuse prevention strategy and argues that the term "parent education" does not accurately capture the depth and range of the interventions and supports necessary to help parents.
Quality Parenting Initiative
Discusses ways the Quality Parenting Initiative delivers training to parents and caregivers involved in the child welfare system in California. Used in over 75 jurisdictions in 10 States, the approach focuses on foster or relative caregivers to ensure they can provide the loving, committed, skilled care.
Results from a Randomized Control Trial of a Parenting Intervention for Highly Stressed Families: Make Parenting a Pleasure (PDF - 266 KB)
Parenting Now (2016)
Evaluates the efficacy of a group-based parenting education curriculum, Make Parenting a Pleasure, which assists highly stressed families in improving protective factors that are associated with reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect. The results of the study showed that the program significantly reduced symptoms of depression and increased parenting skills.
Toolkit for Transformation
International Parent Advocacy Network and Rise
Presents a toolkit for parents involved with the child welfare system that helps them learn from and relate to each other's experiences. The toolkit seeks to build the power of parents involved with child welfare to advocate for change, support other families going through the system, and connect with parent advocates.
What Are the Key Elements for Sustaining, Expanding, and Spreading Parent Partner Programs?
Casey Family Programs (2020)
Offers suggestions for ways to sustain and expand parent partner programs from staff members of seven different parent partner programs across the country. Their suggestions deal with aligning the priorities and values of agency leadership, creating a culture of parent engagement and voice, supporting parent partners, improving culturally responsive programming, implementing evidence and communication, sustaining funding, and more.