Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs

Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.


Fathering in 15

Fathering in 15™ is an interactive, online tool that helps organizations build the skills of fathers anytime, anywhere. Fathering in 15™ takes fathers through 15 interactive, engaging topics, each in 15 minutes. It is accessible on any computer or mobile device, and can be used a stand-alone, self-paced resource or to complement an existing group-based fatherhood program. Each topic follows the same framework using text written at 5th-6th grade reading level, along with short videos and interactive graphics to engage fathers in learning.

Topics:

Parenting Education Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Promoting First Relationships (PFR)

Promoting First Relationships (PFR) is an evidence-based curriculum for service providers who work with families of young children (0-5). Through this training, participants learn consultation and intervention strategies that they can integrate into their work with families and young children. The approach can be used one-on-one with parents, in the clinic or in home, and also with child care providers and early childhood teachers responsible for group care. The training incorporates various learning approaches including video case studies, role-playing, and reflective dialogue. These approaches allow participants to apply the framework directly to issues faced in their work environment.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Benchmarks:

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Family Spirit

Family Spirit is an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program designed for and by American Indian communities. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally focused, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. From pregnancy through the child’s 3rd birthday, parents gain knowledge and skills to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, optimizes local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional health care workforce in low resource communities. Evidence from three randomized controlled trials has documented important results including: increased parenting knowledge and involvement; decreased maternal depression; increased home safety; decreased emotional and behavioral problems of mothers; and decreased emotional and behavioral problems of children. The Family Spirit curriculum modules cover: Prenatal Care, Infant Care, Your Growing Child, Toddler Care, My Family and Me, and Healthy Living.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening Reproductive Life Plan Safe Sleep Smoking Abstinence Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)

STEP provides skills training for parents dealing with frequently encountered challenges with their children that often result from autocratic parenting styles. STEP is presented in a group format, with optimal group size of 6 – 14 parents. The program is typically taught in 8 or 9 weekly, 1.5-hour study groups facilitated by a counselor, social worker, or individual who has participated in a STEP workshop. Parents engage in role-plays, exercises, discussions of hypothetical parenting situations, and the sharing of personal experiences.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

The Nurturing Parent Programs

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are a family-centered trauma-informed initiative designed to build nurturing parenting skills as an alternative to abusive and neglecting parenting and child-rearing practices. The long term goals are to prevent recidivism in families receiving social services, lower the rate of teenage pregnancies, reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency and alcohol abuse, and stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors.

Lessons can be delivered in home setting, group setting, or combination. Nurturing Parents offer targeted programs for prenatal families, parents of babies and toddlers, parents of older children, Spanish speaking parents, parents of children with health challenges, teen parents, military parents, parents in substance abuse treatment and recovery, and more.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Legacy for Children

Legacy for Children is primarily a group-based intervention approach, featuring regular group meetings of mothers, that include mother-only time and mother–child time. The meetings provide mothers with an opportunity to develop and explore goals for their children with other mothers in similar circumstances. Intervention specialists assist mothers in identifying and practicing ways to help their children realize those goals. The group sessions encourage exploration and trying out a variety of ideas and practices that have been associated with positive outcomes, allowing mothers to decide what is right for themselves and their children. Legacy also includes one-on-one sessions with mothers.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

The Incredible Years

The Incredible Years (IY) Series is a set of interlocking and comprehensive training programs for parents, teachers and children. There are four basic parenting programs that target key developmental stages: IY Baby Program (0-8 months); IY Toddler Basic Program (1-3 years); IY Preschool Basic (3-6 years); IY School Age Basic (6-12 years) plus three adjunct parent programs focusing on cross-cutting issues. IY program goals include: Improved parent-child interactions, improved parental functioning, increased parental social support and problem solving, prevention and treatment of early onset conduct behaviors and emotional problems in children, and promotion of child social competence, emotional regulation, academic readiness and problem solving. For children over age 3, there are two child programs and one Incredible Teacher Classroom Management Program for teachers of children ages 3-8 .

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Reading to Child Daily

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

Effective Black Parenting Program

CICC’s Effective Black Parenting Program (EBPP) is the country’s first culturally-adapted parenting skill-building program for parents of African American children. EBPP consists of 14 3-hour training sessions and a graduation ceremony. The program contains culturally-specific parenting strategies, general parenting strategies, basic parenting skills taught in a culturally-sensitive manner, using African American language expressions and African proverbs, and special program topics such as single parenting and preventing drug abuse. Targets families with children 0-18.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Play and Learn Strategies (PALS)

The PALS curriculum was developed to facilitate parents’ mastery of specific skills for interacting with their infants and toddlers that lead to better child outcomes, particularly in children from high-risk families. PALS was designed as a preventive intervention program to strengthen the parent-child bond and stimulate early language, cognitive, and social development. The PALS Infant curriculum consists of 10 sessions and is appropriate for parents of infants from about age five months to one year. The PALS Toddler curriculum consists of 12 sessions and is appropriate for parents of toddlers from about age 18 months to 3 years.

Topics:

Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.