ParentChild+^® Core Model

The ParentChild+^® model focuses on developing caregiver-child attachment and can be used one-on-one with parents and with family child care providers responsible for group care. (ParentChild+ was formerly known as the Parent-Child Home Program.) The information in this profile describes the ParentChild+ Core Model, the version of ParentChild+ used with parents in the home.

Building on the socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky, Bruner’s theory of language symbolism, research on the importance of play for toddlers, and attachment theory, the ParentChild+ Core Model focuses on increasing positive parent-child verbal and non-verbal interaction and building positive parenting skills. Increasing these interactions and skills is designed to promote children’s social-emotional and cognitive development, including the development of early literacy and language skills, such as receptive and expressive language.

Home visitors work to develop a strong relationship with and become trusted advisors to the families. They aim to empower parents to support their children’s learning. Rather than directly instructing parents, they model interactions with the child and reinforce learning through intensive services.

The ParentChild+ Core Model includes (1) twice-weekly home visits that must always include the primary caregiver (the primary caregiver is most often a parent but may also be a grandparent or other relative or foster parent) and may also include additional adult caregivers and siblings; (2) once a week distribution of books and educational toys to create a library in the family’s home; (3) referrals/connections to other social supports and educational services for the program child and other family members; and (4) assistance with transition to the next educational step for the program child.

During home visits, visitors facilitate and model playful verbal interactions between parents and children using the social-emotional and cognitive curriculum. Home visitors are encouraged to model verbal interactions such as providing information (for example, “This is a circle” and “That’s the yellow school bus”); eliciting information (for example, “Where is the yellow school bus going?”); and verbalizing social interaction (for example, inviting participation, taking turns, or following the parent’s and child’s lead).

The National Center requires that ParentChild+ Core Model sites use its social-emotional and cognitive curriculum, which includes reading and play activities that are shared with families during the home visits. The curricular materials—the books, toys, and activities that form the basis of the curriculum—follow a developmental continuum. The National Center does not mandate the use of particular books and toys, to allow individual sites to adapt the curricular materials to families’ cultural and language needs. The National Center provides a model curriculum reflecting the toys, books, and activities that are most frequently used nationally.

The National Center provides training and detailed materials on the criteria that the books and toys must meet, which program sites must refer to as they put together their own developmentally appropriate list of books and educational toys. The National Center also provides extensive guidance on recommended curricular materials and provides replication sites with curriculum guide sheets for a wide range of books, toys, and activities. The guide sheets provide parents with suggestions for learning opportunities for each toy, book, or activity; questions and comments to use with their children related to the toy, book, or activity; strategies for dialogue (such as dialogic reading); strategies for prosocial behavior (such as systematic play); and enrichment activities (such as songs, rhymes, and finger plays). Site coordinators receive training in how to create guide sheets for any new materials they may choose to meet the language or cultural needs of their replication sites.

The ParentChild+ Core Model serves families with multiple risk factors when the children are 2 and 3 years old. The model is designed for families with the following risk factors: low income, low levels of education, geographic isolation, teen parent and single-parent households, immigrant or refugee status, and literacy and/or language barriers.

The ParentChild+ National Center
163B Mineola Boulevard
Mineola, NY 11501

Phone: 516-883-7480
Website: http://www.parentchildplus.org

ParentChild+ (formerly the Parent-Child Home Program) focuses on promoting children’s social-emotional development and cognitive competencies by increasing and enhancing the quantity and quality of caregiver-child verbal and non-verbal interaction. ParentChild+ can be used one-on-one with parents and with family child care providers responsible for group care. The HomVEE review is based on the ParentChild+ Core Model, the version of ParentChild+ used with parents in the home. The ParentChild+ Core Model is designed for families with 2- to 3-year-old children and a variety of risk factors—such as parents with low levels of education and teen mothers. Families participate in 92 home visits over 46 weeks. The 46-week program is divided into two cycles of twice weekly visits over 23 weeks each to provide program sites flexibility in terms of how they implement the entire 46 weeks of programming. Home visitors model behaviors for enhancing children’s development, rather than directly instructing parents, and provide books, toys, and activities for parents to use with their children. Home visitors also provide referrals to social supports and educational services.

For more information, see the research database. For more information on the criteria used to rate research, please see details of HomVEE’s methods and standards.