Robin Hood supports SCO’s replications of two research-proven parenting-education programs, the Nurse Family Partnership (N.F.P.) and the Parent-Child Home Program (P.C.H.P.). Both provide low-income families with at least two years of home visitation aimed at improving later-life outcomes for the children involved. SCO also runs two Single Stop sites.
The Nurse Family Partnership focuses on healthy births, training in parenting skills, increasing healthy behavior in the mothers and attention to the mothers’ personal development with education and employment as key concerns. The subject of several rigorous, longitudinal studies using random assignment, the N.F.P. produces clear results. For moms and kids—15 years out—participation in risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use and involvement in criminal activity markedly decrease, as does the incidence of abuse and neglect. Participation in the program also links to increases in high school graduation for the mother and improved school readiness for the children.The thrust of the interaction between the nurse and mother and other family members is therapeutic and involves assessment, counseling and case management. Nurses begin making home visits while the mother is still pregnant and continue through the first two years of the child’s life. Each visit is designed to contribute to mother’s and child’s development in these key domains: personal health, environmental health, life course development, the maternal role, social support through family and friends, and health and human services.
Much like the N.F.P., the P.C.H.P. is a research-tested program being replicated across the country. It addresses early literacy through teaching mothers how to stimulate their children’s verbal development. The subject of a random assignment study that followed up with participants 20 years later, the P.C.H.P. program demonstrates a significant increase in the rate of high school graduation for participants over non-participants. Each site is run by a coordinator hired by the local sponsoring agency and trained by the P.C.H.P.'s national center. Site coordinators then recruit and train home visitors. Typically, families participate in the two-year program when their child is two and three years old. A child can, however, enter the program as young as 16 months, and some sites serve families with children up to four years old. A home visitor is assigned to the participating family and visits them for 30 minutes on a semiweekly schedule that is convenient for the parents.
The Nurse Family Partnership is featured on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Robin Hood Stories. To hear this or other Robin Hood Stories, visit www.sirius.com/robinhood.
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