Best Start for Families: A Health Equity Approach

The “Best Start for Families-A Health Equity Approach” is based on the International Child Development Program (ICDP). It applies a comprehensive psycho-social (and psycho-educational) approach to strengthening adult caregiver/parent-child capacity and relationships. While parenting challenges can be very different according to children’s developmental stages, abilities, experiences and environments, most parents or caregivers benefit from support and guidance in parenting at some time. Regardless of the child’s age, empathy-based parent-child communications, interactions and positive relationships are crucial to the child’s optimum health and development.

Based on tenets of developmental and humanistic psychology, the program emphasizes empathy, competence-building, and communication between parents and children (Sherr et al., 2013; Skar et al., n.d.). Empathy is modeled as a foundation of parenting values. This enables caregivers to confidently experience and communicate their love as they guide the positive development of their children. Further, community-based, facilitated Caregiver/ Parent Learning Groups support caregivers to expand their "zone of empathy" more broadly, and supplemental children’s programming strengthens understanding and results for full families.

The “ICDP-USA: Best Start for Families-A Health Equity Approach” curriculum for adult caregivers/parents (including teen parents, grandparents/extended family, residential staff, etc.) is based on exploring new guidelines as questions each week. Trained facilitators introduce the questions and then engage caregivers in pairs, small and large group discussions of photo and video vignettes, where parents raise relevant and concrete experiences. Role-playing (improvisation) is also used to for parents to try out, practice and receive feedback on new ways to interact, communicate with and build relationships with children. Caregivers, as adult learners, use Caregiver Handbooks in-session and for home practice, reflection, observation, and self- assessment. They also receive Children’s Activty Booklets to supplement their parent-child interactions and support their children’s social/emotional learning at home. During the interactive sessions, trauma- informed facilitators support caregivers to gain confidence in learning and supporting the learning of others in the group, embedding a parallel process of establishing trust and attachment in the group and in adult-child relationships.

The program aims to improve the developmental opportunities for children through providing caregivers information about children’s psychosocial development and increasing their basic caregiving skills and ability to give social support to the children (Skar et al., n.d.). ICDP-USA is an internationally tested and supported program implemented by the Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation (CCWF) with partner organizations in Cook, DuPage, Dekalb, Kane, Kendall and McHenry counties in Illinois, and has been used by trained Facilitators (Kempe Center) in Denver, by Tulane University in New Orleans and at a Wisconsin school, as well, when funding was available. Partners include schools and early childhood centers; mental health/social service agencies; detention-jails/prison settings; community/ youth and faith-based organizations. CCWF also has a contract and serves Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) child welfare families, supplemented with individualized Parent Coaching sessions.

FORMAT: Caregivers participate in 1.25 to 2-hour weekly sessions (range 12-20 total hours, during the day or evenings-often beginning with a community meal before dividing into parent and children groups - or - via Zoom), over 9 to 16 weeks on average (covering the 16-session curriculum). Participants complete assessment measures during the first (pre) and last sessions (post) of each ICDP-USA learning group, focused on measures that assess parent self-efficacy, discipline, child strengths and difficulties, and positive parent-child interactions (see attachment).

OVERVIEW of ICDP Resources: The Best Start for Families - A Health Equity Approach: Parenting Learning Group Program and Children's Program (Spanish and English):
• Facilitator Manual
• Caregiver Handbook
• Children’s Activity Booklet
• Evaluation and Resource Toolkit
• Photo/Video Toolkits (Print and PowerPoint)
• Parent Coaching

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CCWF offers Professional Development for community-based Facilitators and Trains Trainers and Coaches. Trained Professionals receive NASW, CPDUs, Early Intervention or Early Childhood PD continuing education credit hours: Workshop 1-17 hours; Workshop 2-10 hours; Workshop 3-3 hours. Total 30 PD hours.

To partner within communities and organizations to train professionals, community and parent leaders so the “Best Start” program can reach and support all families, but especially marginalized or struggling families and communities; to build the strong family/home, school and community environments that are necessary to support positive mental health, confidence, resilience and hope to achieve health equity, academic and economic opportunities for positive futures for all.

The Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation (CCWF) mission is for every child and adolescent to be supported in positive development by caregivers and professionals within loving, non-violent families and peaceful communities. Through parent groups and educational workshops we strive to promote a sense of community and foster empathy.

Best Start evaluation results show evidence of increases in parental self-efficacy, positive parent-child interaction, and positive discipline, along with decreases in psychological and physically aggressive/abusive approaches to discipline. This provides preliminary evidence that caregivers/parents who receive Best Start may change their perception of child behaviors, perhaps indicating more developmental knowledge and emotional empathy for children’s behavior after having received the program. Further, the ICDP-USA: Best Start Parenting and social support program consistently demonstrated positive impacts on caregivers, children and families. These findings support the expansion of community-based, trauma-informed parenting programs with the potential to not only reduce aggression and maltreatment of children, but to support them to thrive in positive development.

Based on our evaluation results, as well as qualitative data collected from participants during and following programming, the Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation currently holds major contracts or agreements to deliver “Best Start” programs for:
Kane County Jail Detainee Parents/Caregivers (KC Adult Justice Center)
Illinois Department of Family & Children Services (DCFS)
Kendall County Jail Detainee Parents/Caregivers
Chicago Public Schools
Example: Coles Elementary School
U-46 Elgin School District - MTSS Agreement
Example: U-46 Illinois Park Early Childhood Center

OVERALL STATISTICS as of January 1, 2022:

1,890 Parent Participants - including shorter or incomplete programs

1,110 Certified Parents - attending at least 7 sessions

4,965 Children - Total from Parents/Professionals trained in CCWF programs + SEL@Home and in settings by Professionals (Measured Year of Training only - focus children)

605 Trained Professionals as facilitators in “Best Start” ICDP Methodology

81 Trained University Student Interns in “Best Start” ICDP Methodology

105 ACE-interface Professional Development for School and Community Agency Staff