African-American Males in Chicago: Pathways From Early Childhood Intervention to Reduced Violence.

PURPOSE: Extreme youth violence is a salient public health crisis in Chicago, particularly among African-American males. This article examines mechanisms through which a preschool intervention program, the Child-Parent Center program, in inner-city Chicago may divert high-risk males from pathways leading to violent criminal behavior. METHODS: We conducted a path analysis from early environmental factors to socioemotional competencies through parent involvement and achievement to violent arrest in emerging adulthood. African-American male participants (N = 677) were followed from age 3 to age 27. RESULTS: Child-Parent Center program attendance initiates a pathway to increased third grade academic achievement and parent involvement, which positively impacts socioemotional competencies and acting out behaviors in adolescence. High parent involvement and low acting out behaviors had direct effects on violent crime in emerging adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: High parent involvement in school, fostered by early childhood intervention, promotes adaptive behaviors in adolescence and reduces arrest for violent crime in emerging adulthood.

Scaling and Sustaining Effective Early Childhood Programs Through School-Family-University Collaboration.

We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive preschool to third grade prevention program for the goals of sustaining services at a large scale. The Midwest Child-Parent Center (CPC) Expansion is a multilevel collaborative school reform model designed to improve school achievement and parental involvement from ages 3 to 9. By increasing the dosage, coordination, and comprehensiveness of services, the program is expected to enhance the transition to school and promote more enduring effects on well-being in multiple domains. We review and evaluate evidence from two longitudinal studies (Midwest CPC, 2012 to present; Chicago Longitudinal Study, 1983 to present) and four implementation examples of how the guiding principles of shared ownership, committed resources, and progress monitoring for improvement can promote effectiveness. The implementation system of partners and further expansion using "Pay for Success" financing shows the feasibility of scaling the program while continuing to improve effectiveness.

Processes of Early Childhood Interventions to Adult Well-Being.

This article describes the contributions of cognitive-scholastic advantage, family support behavior, and school quality and support as processes through which early childhood interventions promote well-being. Evidence in support of these processes is from longitudinal cohort studies of the Child-Parent Centers and other preventive interventions beginning by age 4. Relatively large effects of participation have been documented for school readiness skills at age 5, parent involvement, K-12 achievement, remedial education, educational attainment, and crime prevention. The three processes account for up to half of the program impacts on well-being. They also help to explain the positive economic returns of many effective programs. The generalizability of these processes is supported by a sizable knowledge base, including a scale up of the Child-Parent Centers.

Multi-Site Expansion of an Early Childhood Intervention and School Readiness.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impacts of the expansion of an evidence-based full- and part-day early childhood development program on multiple indicators of school readiness, attendance, and parental involvement for a large cohort of low-income children. METHODS: This study involved the end-of-preschool follow-up of a nonrandomized, matched-group cohort of 2630 predominantly low-income, ethnic minority children who enrolled in the Midwest Child-Parent Centers (CPC) or alternative preschools in the fall of 2012 in 31 schools in Chicago, Illinois. The program provides comprehensive education, family support, and health services. In the preschool component assessed in this study, 1724 children aged 3 to 4 years in all 16 Chicago centers enrolled in the program. The comparison group included 906 children of the same age who participated in the usual preschool services in 14 matched schools. RESULTS: Relative to the comparison group who enrolled in the usual preschool services and adjusted for covariates, CPC participants had higher mean scores on all performance-based assessments of literacy (59.4 vs 52.4; P = .001), socioemotional development (57.0 vs 51.8; P = .001), and physical health (34.5 vs 32.1; P = .001). They also had higher ratings of parental involvement in school (5.3 vs 4.0; P = .04). Group differences also translated into higher rates of meeting national assessment norms. Program estimates were similar for children attending new and established CPCs and according to age, race/ethnicity, and family income status. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that expansion of the program to new schools and more diverse populations is feasible and effective in promoting school readiness skills and parental involvement.

Not Just Academics: Paths of Longitudinal Effects From Parent Involvement to Substance Abuse in Emerging Adulthood.

PURPOSE: By the 12th grade, half of American adolescents have abused an illicit drug at least once (Johnston et al., 2015). Although many substance misuse prevention programs exist, we propose an alternative mechanism for reducing substance use. There is evidence that parent involvement is related to reductions in children's behavior problems which then predict later substance abuse. We examine the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program, an early childhood intervention, as a strategy to impact substance abuse. METHODS: We conducted a path analysis from CPC to parent involvement through early adolescent problem behaviors and competencies to young adult substance abuse. Participants (N = 1,203; 51.5% female; 93.8% African-American) were assessed from age 3 to 26 years. RESULTS: CPC participation initiates a pathway to increased parent involvement and expectations, which positively impact adolescents' competencies and problem behaviors, lowering rates of substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Through early childhood education, increasing early parental involvement and expectations can alter life-course outcomes by providing children with a foundation for positive behaviors and encouraging adaptive functioning in adolescence.

Effective Partnerships in School Reform: Lessons Learned From the Midwest Child-Parent Center Expansion.

The Midwest Expansion of the Child-Parent Center Education Program (MCPC) is a pre-K to 3rd grade intervention program aimed at improving economically disadvantaged children's school success by enhancing continuity in instruction and increasing parental involvement. Opened in Chicago in the 1960s, this school reform model has undergone significant changes and is currently being expanded in five demographically heterogeneous school districts in Illinois and Minnesota. This paper describes the collaborative process that has contributed to effective implementation of the expansion project within at-risk communities. Three themes of collaboration are emphasized: (a) improving the quality of data, (b) establishing and maintaining implementation fidelity, and (c) using research to inform practice. We discuss lessons learned from our partnerships with a number of collaborators including those involved with implementing the pre-K program, researching and evaluating the project, and providing professional development to teachers. Consideration is given to advancing the field of implementation science by successfully initiating and enhancing exemplary partnerships in comprehensive school reforms through effective research design.

Association of a full-day vs part-day preschool intervention with school readiness, attendance, and parent involvement.

IMPORTANCE: Early childhood interventions have demonstrated positive effects on well-being. Whether full-day vs part-day attendance improves outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between a full- vs part-day early childhood program and school readiness, attendance, and parent involvement. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: End-of-preschool follow-up of a nonrandomized, matched-group cohort of predominantly low-income, ethnic minority children enrolled in the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) for the full day (7 hours; n = 409) or part day (3 hours on average; n = 573) in the 2012-2013 school year in 11 schools in Chicago, Illinois. INTERVENTION: The Midwest CPC Education Program provides comprehensive instruction, family-support, and health services from preschool to third grade. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: School readiness skills at the end of preschool, attendance and chronic absences, and parental involvement. The readiness domains in the Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment System include a total of 49 items with a score range of 105-418. The specific domains are socioemotional with 9 items (score range, 20-81), language with 6 items (score range, 15-54), literacy with 12 items (score range, 9-104), math with 7 items (score, 8-60), physical health with 5 items (score range, 14-45), and cognitive development with 10 items (score range, 18-90). RESULTS: Full-day preschool participants had higher scores than part-day peers on socioemotional development (58.6 vs 54.5; difference, 4.1; 95% CI, 0.5-7.6; P = .03), language (39.9 vs 37.3; difference, 2.6; 95% CI, 0.6-4.6; P = .01), math (40.0 vs 36.4; difference, 3.6; 95% CI, 0.5-6.7; P = .02), physical health (35.5 vs 33.6; difference, 1.9; 95% CI, 0.5-3.2; P = .006), and the total score (298.1 vs 278.2; difference, 19.9; 95% CI, 1.2-38.4; P = .04). Literacy (64.5 vs 58.6; difference, 5.9; 95% CI, -0.07 to 12.4; P = .08) and cognitive development (59.7 vs 57.7; difference, 2.0; 95% CI, -2.4 to 6.3; P = .38) were not significant. Full-day preschool graduates also had higher rates of attendance (85.9% vs 80.4%; difference, 5.5; 95% CI, 2.6-8.4; P = .001) and lower rates of chronic absences (≥10% days missed; 53.0% vs 71.6%; difference, -18.6; 95% CI, -28.5 to -8.7; P = .001; ≥20% days missed; 21.2% vs 38.8%; difference -17.6%; 95% CI, -25.6 to -9.7; P < .001) but no differences in parental involvement. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In an expansion of the CPCs in Chicago, a full-day preschool intervention was associated with increased school readiness skills in 4 of 6 domains, attendance, and reduced chronic absences compared with a part-day program. These findings should be replicated in other programs and contexts.

The Longitudinal Process of Early Parent Involvement on Student Achievement: A Path Analysis.

This longitudinal study investigated the process whereby early parent involvement in preschool effects student achievement from kindergarten through 6th grade. Participants were 1,539 low-income, mainly African American children and their mothers, in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Program children (N = 989) received one or two years of the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program - a preschool intervention that strongly promoted parents' development of parent involvement skills within the school and at home. Children from similar backgrounds who did not attend the CPC, but participated in available local resources (e.g. day care), were obtained as a comparison group (N = 550). Path analysis revealed an interactive process between parent involvement, academic achievement, and children's motivation. Early parent involvement directly influenced kindergarten achievement, which in turn influenced first grade student motivation. Highly motivated children then encouraged parents to continue involvement. The cyclic nature of this process across elementary school was observed. The model accounted for 61% of the variance in 6th grade achievement. Findings suggest that early parent involvement promoted in the CPC program, sets the stage for subsequent parent involvement, student motivation, and academic achievement throughout early and middle childhood.