Parent Connectors: An
Evidence-based Peer-to-Peer
Support Program
Albert J. Duchnowski, Ph.D.
Krista Kutash, Ph.D.
University of South Florida
Oct 14, 2013
Federation of Families Conference
Washington DC
November 2013
1
Goal of the Parent
Connector Program
Assist parents of youth with behavioral
challenges to become fully engaged
as partners with the school and social
service systems.
2
How does the PC Program Work?
Parent Connectors call (no face-to-face
contact) Caregivers on the phone each week
for about 9 months and
•
•
•
Offer emotional support
Provide information about resources.
Encourage engagement with school and mental health systems
• PCs attend weekly supervision
meeting with a PC COACH
3
Who are the Parent Connectors?
• A diverse group of people with a
wide range of age, income and
cultural backgrounds.
• All unified by a shared experience
of raising a child with emotional
and behavioral challenges.
4
Who are the PC Coaches ?
• People with master’s level degrees and
clinical experience working with
families and youth with emotional and
behavioral challenges.
• Backgrounds include School
Psychologist, Social Worker, MH
Counselor, and Clinical
Psychologist.
5
Training of PCs and PC
Coach
Parent Connectors are given a 16-hour
training program on how to be a Parent
Connector.
The PC Coach (who has been provided
with four individualized hours of training
previously) assists with the training of
PCs.
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Training Content
Parent
Connector
Program
Attitude
Toward
Engagement
• Social Support
• Expected Benefit
• Perceived Control
Parent Connector
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Emotional Support
Why
Need?
Strategy
used by
PC
Strategies
Supported
by Giving
STIGMA
SelfDisclosure
BLAME
Discuss
Causes of
ED
STRESS
Encourage
Problem Solving
Skills and
Promote Self Care
AFFIRMATIONAL SUPPORT
Praise * Validate * Affirm
8
Core Program Components using
Theory of Planned Behavior to
increase Positive Attitudes and
Beliefs.
Social
Norms
Personal
Control
of Behavior
Behavior
Benefit of
Behavior
9
PC Coach role playing with a
PC during
a training
session
10
Who are the Participants in the
PC Program?
Mothers of children and youth who
are
•
•
•
•
Served in special education due to ED
At-risk for involvement in social service
system (prevention)
At-risk for re-admission to psychiatric
hospital
Served by multiple child-serving systems
(Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice and
Mental Health)
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Research
Results
12
Research Design
Three RCTS
 Nine month pre-post design
 Parent-Child dyads randomly
assigned to two conditions
Comparison
Group
Experimental
Group
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Study Objectives
• Is the program
model feasible?
• Would parents find
the intervention
acceptable and
engage with their
PC?
• Would the
program produce
positive outcomes
for parents and
their child?
• Could the program
be delivered with
fidelity
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Program was Feasible and
Acceptable
• Recruited and Trained PCs and PC
Coach.
• 82% of the parents who were called
by a PC engaged in their PCs.
• Ratings from participants indicated
high satisfaction with PC services.
15
Captured Five Dimensions of
Implementation Effectiveness
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Adherence (as measured by participants)
Dose
Participant Responsiveness
Quality of Program Delivery
Program Differentiation
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Outcomes for Caregivers
participating in the program
• Caregivers who had a PC and
experienced lots of stressors
– Improved their perceived benefit of
engagement with the education and
MH systems, and
– Improved the positive influence of
social norms.
This in turn….
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Outcomes for Caregivers
who has a Parent Connector
• Experienced more involvement in
MH health services.
– Parents who had a PC received more
consultation services from MH
providers.
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Students whose Caregiver
had a PC
• Received more school-based
mental health services from a MH
provider
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Students whose Caregivers
had a Parent Connector
• More days enrolled in school
• Less times suspended
21
In summary
• Parent Connector Program
–
–
–
–
–
–
is based on a theory of change,
Is time limited
with a manualized training curriculum,
is a highly supervised model
can be implemented with fidelity
Results in positive partnerships for
caregivers with child serving agencies with
youth and caregivers engaged in services.
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Next Steps
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