Research and Data Analysis
Parents as Teachers COVID-19 study
Increase children’s school readiness and success
The Parents as Teachers COVID-19 Study was conducted by LeCroy & Milligan Associates who is in year five of a randomized control trial with Blue Ribbon Parents as Teachers Programs. They include Arizona’s Children Association, Child and Family Resources, Catholic Charities, and Sunnyside School District. Enrollment in the study ended on June 20, 2022, with 705 families included.
Families are assessed at enrollment, six months, 12 months, 18 months and now also adding a kindergarten readiness time point when the child is nearing the age of kindergarten. This provides an exciting opportunity to learn about ongoing potential impacts of Parents as Teachers programming on kindergarten readiness, social-emotional well-being, and parent engagement.
Results were released from a sub-study during the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of families and home visitors participating in the study to understand the impact of the pandemic on Parents as Teachers service provision.
Results suggest that receipt of Parents as Teachers services reduced personal and family stress reported by caregivers and the overall impact families experienced during COVID-19, when compared to those in the control group. Findings also suggested that the hybrid model, born from the needs of the pandemic, may also have some advantages for families and parent educators with more than 80 percent wanting to see some type of virtual visits remaining available.
Data collection is ongoing and most findings will not be available until 2024 when follow-ups are completed.
Intervention N=97, Control N=73. ***p≤.01. Total Coronavirus Impact Score (t= 2.64, p=.01, d=.41).
Citation: LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Virtual Service Delivery on Parents as Teachers Families and Parent Educators. Tucson, AZ.
Quality Endorsement and Improvement
Parents as Teachers Quality Endorsement and Improvement Process (QEIP) is a comprehensive process of assessing and improving the quality of Parents as Teachers affiliates’ operations and services. Each year, a designated group of Parents as Teachers affiliates participate by completing and submitting a self-study that is reviewed and corroborated by the QEIP team at the National Center.
As the Quality Endorsement and Improvement process enters its seventh year, it is clear that this emphasis on fidelity and quality helps to ensure that families are truly receiving and benefiting from the Parents as Teachers model. Further, Blue Ribbon affiliates are playing a vital role in the kind of rigorous research that is essential to continued recognition
and sustainability of Parents as Teachers as an effective, evidence-based model for home visiting.
Parents as Teachers improves family economic well-being
Parents as Teachers National Center established a partnership with James Bell Associates to explore home visiting outcomes for caregivers using data from Penelope, the Parents as Teachers data management system, and a comparison group. Data from Penelope show that education and employment goals are among the top five types of goals set with families.
The data was collected for Parents as Teachers families (reported between January 1, 2015, and March 31, 2020) and a comparison group (collected annually in March) from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of Current Population Survey.
The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a national household survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, it collects information on education, employment, demographics, and other aspects of the U.S. population. Both samples were limited to individuals from age 15 to 45 years old. A total of 17,158 caregivers in the Parents as Teachers sample, and 70,196 participants in the CPS sample were included in the analysis.
Analysis
Entropy Balancing was used to create a sound comparison group by finding a set of weights that produced an exact balance on key characteristics between cohort groups, to ensure the baseline equivalence for covariates and diminish the selection bias among Parents as Teachers and comparison group. A difference-in-differences design was then utilized to measure the effects of Parents as Teachers program on employment and education outcomes over time.
Improve parent, child and family health and well-being
Employment: For Parents as Teachers caregivers not employed at baseline, there was a significant increase in likelihood of being employed over time (i.e., one year).
High School Education: For Parents as Teachers caregivers not enrolled in high school at baseline, there was a significant
increase in likelihood of enrolling in high school over time.
College Education: For Parents as Teachers caregivers not enrolled in college at baseline, there was a significant increase in likelihood of enrolling in college over time.
Citation: Evaluation conducted by James Bell Associates. James Bell Associates. (2022). Exploring family trends using Penelope data. Arlington, VA.