Child-Parent Center Program (Chicago, IL)

This is a child-centered early intervention program that provides educational services and support to socially vulnerable families.
The centers are located near early childhood education institutions and seek to increase parental involvement in the school to improve parent-child interactions and attachment to the school.
The program includes:
1) Activities to promote educational and social success;
2) A parent program to promote participation in the school;
3) Outreach activities, including home visits; and
4) A comprehensive program to assist in the transition to elementary school.
Parental participation in the program is essential, and most family services focus on increasing participation in the child’s education at home and at school.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that participants in the intervention were less prone to criminal behavior and depressive symptoms, and completed school at a higher level than the control group [1].
The study had a quasi-experimental design with a sample of 1,539 predominantly African American children born in 1979 or 1980, who grew up in a high-poverty area in the city of Chicago [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Reynolds, A. J. & Ou, S.‑R. (2011). Paths of effects from preschool to adult well-being: A confirmatory analysis of the child-parent center program. Child Development, 82(2), 555–582. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01562.x

Information source

Crime Solutions