Family Resilience Program Evaluation
Problem
Families need to develop skills to support student academic growth.
Research shows that parental support can help foster student academic success. However, in some cases, parents need to develop skills to be able to offer support. The Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) leads a program for parents and caregivers to nurture the mental health, resilience, and academic achievement of their children. Through partnerships with local school districts, employers, health care providers and other organizations, PEP teaches them skills to foster healthy and positive child development. But PEP also wanted to address a critical question: How can parenting programs contribute to building strong and harmonious family relationships that foster essential values such as respect, cooperation, and competence in children?
Solution
NORC implemented a tailored approach to evaluate and strengthen the Family Resiliency Program.
In response to the growing need for evidence on the effectiveness of parenting programs, PEP partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago to assess and enhance the impact of its Family Resiliency Program (FRP). NORC crafted a nuanced evaluation approach that meets the multilingual needs and literacy levels of the study population. Working closely with PEP, we developed a program assessment instrument that aligns with PEP’s goals and draws upon existing, valid, and reliable scales from diverse parenting programs. We also conducted rigorous psychometric and outcome analyses to provide PEP with a preliminary understanding of the program’s effectiveness and identify reliable metrics for future use.
Result
Insights from our evaluation will inform and improve parenting programs nationally.
NORC’s preliminary findings show positive impacts associated with FRP in all of the outcomes that were measured, which include:
- Parent-child relationships
- Parent confidence and knowledge in involvement with child’s schoolwork
- Parent report on child behavior
- Parent-child communications
- Self-sufficiency
- Self-efficacy
- Positive and negative parenting
- Parental adjustment
As PEP continues to implement the program with additional participants, the base year sample will be augmented and allow for the investigation of parent and child factors that are associated with positive outcomes and inform adaptations of FRP for maximum impact. Subsequent research will explore factors that may be associated with positive program impacts on parents and families. Investing in this type of evaluation will benefit PEP and contribute to the advancement of other parenting programs and family well-being.
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FAQ for Study Participants
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Project Leads
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Joy Zacharia
Senior Research Director IIProject Director -
Elizabeth Mumford
Senior FellowPrincipal Investigator -
Will Fisher
Research ScientistProject Director
FAQ for Study Participants
The intent of the survey is to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of the Parent Encouragement Program’s Family Resiliency Program (FRP) and contribute valuable insights to the broader field of parenting programs, supporting evidence-based practices and enhancing the overall well-being of families.
The survey is funded by a State of Maryland grant and sponsored by the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP), in collaboration with NORC at the University of Chicago.
You were selected to participate in this important survey due to your participation in PEP’s Family Resiliency Program.
NORC will collect data on the FRP’s structure, content, and delivery, as well as participant feedback on their experiences. The data will cover aspects such as the effectiveness of the FRP in building strong family relationships, the impact of critical values like respect and cooperation, and insights into the overall well-being of families. Additionally, the survey will capture demographic information to contextualize the responses and facilitate a comprehensive evaluation of the program’s impact.
Your participation is encouraged but not required. Likewise, should you choose to participate, you may skip any questions that you do not wish to answer.
The survey will take approximately 1 hour to complete.
NORC is a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the University of Chicago that conducts survey research in the public interest for government agencies, educational institutions, private foundations, non-profit organizations, and private corporations. NORC collects data to assist policy makers, researchers, educators and others with crucial issues facing the government, organizations, and the public. Past uses of NORC's work have included shaping public policy, drafting laws, and determining how tax dollars and other resources are utilized.
If you have any questions or concerns pertaining to your participation in this survey, please contact NORC at the University of Chicago by email at PEP-Evaluation@norc.org.
