Parent Involvement Works! Mary Lindsey, Ph.D. Director, Florida HIPPY Training & Technical Assistance Center Dabaram Rampersad Assistant Director, Florida HIPPY Training & Technical Assistance Center Marsha M. Black, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Department of Child and Family Studies University of South Florida Tampa, Florida

Workshop Agenda Welcome & Introductions Background/History of HIPPY Essential Features of the HIPPY Model: Staff, Curriculum, Role Play, Home Visits/Group Meetings HIPPY Program Demonstration Model for Building Parent and Child Involvement Highlights from Parent Involvement Research/Evaluation Findings Questions & Answers

What is HIPPY? HIPPY is an international evidence-based home visiting early childhood intervention program focused on parent-involved learning for preschool age children. The goal of HIPPY is to increase parental involvement in early educational activities to promote children’s school readiness and long term school success.

HIPPY International 9 Countries Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, and USA

Serving more than 15,000 families HIPPY USA 135 Local Sites 21 States & District of Columbia Serving more than 15,000 families

Florida HIPPY 11 Counties 1,600 Children 11 Coordinators 70 Home Visitors

Background/History of HIPPY Established in 1969 at Hebrew University in Israel as a research and demonstration project for : Families experiencing economic disadvantage Limited English proficiency Immigrant families Established in the US in 1984 and serves more than 15,000 families across 135 communities in 21 states. Currently in 9 countries.

Essential Features of the HIPPY Model

Cost per Child $1,500 - $2,000* Approximately Program operating with Based on Program operating with approximately 150 children Program is in its 3rd year of operation or beyond * HIPPY USA national figures.

Promoting Parent Involvement Program Factors Low supervisory caseload Stable funding Low levels of staff turnover Program’s ability to offer tangible incentives such as goods and services Parent Involvement in Family Support Programs: An Integrated Theory. Karen McCurdy and Deborah Daro, Family Relations, 2001, 50, 113-121. The structure and capacity of a program to support its workers shapes the content in which services are delivered. Low supervisory caseload – ensures that direct service personnel receive the support they need to avoid frustration and burnout. Stable funding – Promotes smooth service delivery and reduces staff turnover Low levels of staff turnover –avoid service disruption Program’s ability to offer tangible incentives such as goods and services – entices parents to remain in the program

How HIPPY Parent Involvement Works!

Parent Involvement

What Research Says About Parent Involvement

Parent Involvement in Home Educational Activities National Research Experimental study to examine the effects of HIPPY on children’s early language skills, emergent literacy and parent involvement. Randomized control trial design was used with a sample of low-income immigrant Mexican American families. Mothers reported significant more involvement with their children after 15 weeks of HIPPY compared to the control group in providing home based literacy and language opportunities, quality instruction and interaction, and frequent modeling of literacy activities. Necoehea. D.M. 2007 – unpublished doctoral dissertation

Parent Involvement in Home Educational Activities National Research HIPPY researchers in Texas investigated the relationship of HIPPY parents to mothers’ involvement in education at home and school, student school readiness in kindergarten, and student academic outcomes in the third grade. Parent involvement surveys were administered at the start of HIPPY and again after one program year to 87 HIPPY mothers (79% Latina and 76% Spanish-speaking). Results: Within group analysis revealed a significant increase in report parent engagement in academic-related activities at home. Johnson, Martinez-Cantu, Jacobson & Weir, 2012

Parent Involvement in Home Educational Activities National Research HIPPY researchers in Texas conducted a quasi-experimental research study to investigate the effects of HIPPY on parents and children. A randomly selected sample of 54 HIPPY mothers and 54 wait-listed parents completed a one-time assessment on the HOME (Home Observation Measurement of the Environment) Results: Families in HIPPY had more learning materials in their home and offered their preschool children a greater variety of learning experiences than families on the waiting list. Nievar, Jacobson, Chen, Johnson, & Dier (2011)

Parent Involvement in Home Educational Activities Florida Research Parents completing their first year of a HIPPY program were surveyed on type and level of direct involvement with their young children. Responses of a matched sample of 366 pairs of HIPPY parents and 366 parents from the 2007 National Household Education Survey data set were compared on a number of home and community based educational activities using propensity scoring matching procedures. Results: HIPPY parents were found to not only engage in more frequent early literacy activities with their preschool age children, they also reported significantly higher use of research based dialogic reading strategies and a higher level of participation in community based educational activities compared to a demographically matched national sample of parents.

Parent Outcomes Enriched home language environment. Improved confidence and parenting efficacy High levels of involvement when children enter school. Gain confidence in their role as their child’s most influential teacher.

Parent Outcomes Learn to initiate, monitor and direct children’s educational experiences in the home. Become familiar with child development concepts Increase their communication skills

Child Outcomes Acquire skills and values that display a predisposition to learning Are more self-confident in their role as learners Gain increased self-reliance and self-sufficiency Increase literacy in home environments