Founded in 1965, ParentChild+ works across 17 states in the United States and in six other countries and has served over 70,000 families, over 80% of whom have an annual income under $25,000. The organization has two models: the One-on-One model and the Home-Based Child Care Model.

The One-on-One model is a long-term home visitation program for families with children 16-months-old to 4-years-old. In it, ParentChild+ reaches families through community partners such as schools, immigrant aid societies, homeless services organizations, community centers, and housing authorities. Working with the child’s parents for two years over a total of 92 half-hour sessions, an Early Learning Specialist (ELS) provides a three-pronged curriculum to ensure children are school ready: verbal interaction techniques, positive parenting behavior, and supporting the child’s social-emotional competence. ELSs support parents in leading the interactions with their children and setting goals for the program.

The Home-Based Child Care model supports child care providers in building school readiness skills in the children they care for. The model pairs an ELS with a child care provider caring for small groups of children in a home environment. An ELS visits the provider’s home twice a week over a period of 24 weeks to support the provider’s work environment, community, and goals, while the children are present. As part of the model, ParentChild+ introduces home-based child care providers to other providers through a Communities of Practice program that continues beyond the initial 24 weeks for discussion and resource sharing.

Both models provide high-quality books and educational materials for home use and match clients with ELSs who share their language and cultural background. In fact, over 30% of ELSs are parents who have been through the program themselves with their children.

An evaluation in King County, Washington found that 44.6% of ParentChild+ graduates were ready for kindergarten, compared to 29.6% of their socio-economic peers not in the program.[2] A randomized controlled trial in Queens, NY, in which 100% of parents reported as being Latino and born outside of the U.S., found that program children had higher average English language scores. When they reached kindergarten, program graduates were three times less likely to be referred for increased support services than the control group.[3]

The One-on-One model also has longer-term impacts. A randomized controlled trial found that ParentChild+ graduates are 50% less likely than their peers to need special education services by third grade.[4] In the longer term, 84% of ParentChild+ participants graduate from high school, the same rate as their middle-class peers and 30% higher than their socio-economic peers.[5]

Additionally, a third-party evaluator found that providers who participated in the Home-Based Child Care model demonstrated significant improvements in the quality of care, measured by industry standards. Parents of children cared for by providers in the program also reported noticeable changes in their children’s skills across early literacy, executive function, and social-emotional domains.[6]

ParentChild+ receives 91% of its funding from philanthropic sources, with the rest coming from site training and replication fees. Philanthropic support also allows ParentChild+ to expand to new communities, improve its training, and enhance data collection and analysis efforts. Learn more at https://parentchildplus.org/.

All Our Kin partners with family childcare providers to build high-quality, sustainable programs that offer accessible, reliable childcare for parents; strong developmental and educational outcomes for young children; and better livelihoods for childcare providers. Nurse-Family Partnership is a home-visitation program that reduces the impact of toxic stress by supporting parents and improving access to services that ensure better health for the entire family. For more on improving early childhood outcomes and educator quality, see CHIP’s Early School Success Primer, Early Childhood Toolkit, and High Impact Philanthropy to Improve Teacher Quality donor investment guide 

Notes

[1] Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Three Core Concepts in Early Development. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Retrieved August 7, 2023, from https://devhcdc.wpengine.com/resources/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/

[2] ORS Impact. (2016). Long-Term Academic Outcomes of Participation in the Parent-Child Home Program in King County, WA. https://www.uwkc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Long-Term-Outcomes-PCHP-2-10-16.pdf

[3] Astuto, J., Allen, L., & Medellin, C (2018). A Randomized Control Trial of the ParentChild_ Program: Building on the Strengths of Latino Children Prior to School Entry

[4] Lazar, I. & Darlington, R. (1982). Lasting Effects of Early Education: A Report from the Consortium of Longitudinal Studies. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 47 (serial #195).

[5] 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, 267-285.

[6] ORS Impact. (2018). PCHP Family Child Care Evaluation Overview. https://www.parentchildplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ORS-PCHP-FCC-Evaluation-Report.pdf