The Center for Parents and Children is an implementation and training site for the Family Check-Up and its associated parent skills training program, the Everyday Parenting program, created by Model Developer, Dr. Tom Dishion. The Family Check-Up is an evidence-based intervention model designed to prevent the development of behavior problems in children.
With our colleagues at New York University, Alan Mendelsohn and Caitlin Canfield, we also facilitate the implementation of the PlayReadVIP, an empirically supported intervention that promotes language development and school readiness among children birth through age five.
Brief description: The directors of the Center for Parents and Children have been successfully implementing and training others in the effective use of The Family Check-Up (FCU) since 2000. The Family Check-Up is an evidence-based intervention serving children from infancy through age 17 and has been implemented with families living in Pittsburgh for nearly two decades.
What the CPC offers: Our staff are certified trainers and consultants with the FCU and are able to provide ongoing support to enhance an agency’s implementation capacity through the provision of training, supervision for certification in the FCU model, as well as consultation services. Support also includes collaborating with agencies in order to make adaptations that will enhance the model fit within each agency.
Brief description: The Everyday Parenting program is the parent-skills training program associated with the Family Check-Up. This program is designed to follow the FCU components, but can be offered as a standalone service as well. The Everyday Parenting program is a research-based family management training program that focuses on supporting positive behavior, setting healthy limits, and building family relationships. The Everyday Parenting program can be used for guiding individual therapy, leading parent groups, and training counselors to utilize experiential and reflective techniques for working collaboratively with parents and caregivers of children and adolescents.
What the CPC offers: Our staff are certified trainers and consultants in the Everyday Parenting Program and are able to provide training, supervision for certification, and consultation services. Support also includes collaborating with agencies in order to make adaptations that will enhance the model fit within each agency.
Brief description: The PlayReadVIP is an evidence-based parenting program that uses videotaping of parent-infant interaction and subsequent feedback to parents to promote school readiness. Parents gain knowledge about appropriate toys, books, and resources, as well as skills in using pretend play, shared reading, and daily routines to strengthen early development and literacy for their children. PlayReadVIP sessions take place in pediatric clinics on days of routine well-child visits. At each session, families meet individually with an interventionist for approximately 25 minutes.
What the CPC offers: If you and your agency are interested in learning more about PlayReadVIP and implementation, we will be happy to talk with you about the program and facilitate an introduction to Alan Mendelson, the model developer.
