This program was delivered to parents of children who were 3 to 6 years old and was intended to impact parents and their children.

Parenting Our Children to Excellence (PACE), a behaviorally oriented, school-based, parent-training program, was designed to strengthen positive parent-child interactions in low- and high-risk families.

An internal evaluation with no comparison group and a 1-year follow-up found that higher levels of attendance and participation were related to increases in child coping competence and satisfaction in the parenting role. For parents at the highest risk for engaging in child abuse, higher levels of attendance and participation were related to an increase in satisfaction in the parenting role and decreases in parenting stress and child abuse potential. Additionally, higher levels of attendance were found to be related to an increase in parents' beliefs that they can parent effectively over time. These effects may be moderated by ethnicity. Higher levels of attendance and participation were related to an increase in child coping competence and a decrease in parenting stress over time only for African American parents. For European American parents, only higher levels of participation were related to a decrease in child behavior problems and an increase in satisfaction in the parenting role. An additional pretest/post-test study with no comparison group found that when parent-child automaticity was high at baseline, participants who completed five or more sessions experienced significant decreases in automaticity at post-test.

PACE intended to help parents enhance their child's coping skills, improve parental satisfaction in the parenting role, increase parental self-efficacy, decrease child behavior problems, reduce parenting stress, and lessen or eliminate the risk of parental engagement in child abuse.  PACE was specifically designed to address concerns and challenges surrounding parenting young children in a manner that promotes active participation in the sessions and encourages all group members to give and receive social support.  The sessions focused on the following topics:

• Bringing out the best in children - Recognizing children's strengths;
• Setting clear limits for children - Reducing child problem behaviors, increasing positive behaviors, and developing strategies for managing their own stress;
• Helping children behave at home and beyond - Teaching children to be respectful and compliant;
• Making sure children get enough sleep - Establishing bedtime routines;
• Encouraging children's early thinking skills - Enhancing critical thinking skills through talking, playing, and reading; learning about heritage; establishing family routines;
• Developing children's self-esteem - Strengthening children's self-esteem through play, positive feedback, and shared routines;
• Helping children do well in school - Increasing their children's academic success;
• Anticipating challenges and seeking support - Recognizing that parenting continues throughout their lives and requires managing a variety of sources of stress and finding community resources for supportive services.

Since 2002, PACE had been implemented in more than 50 preschool/daycare facilities in the Indianapolis area.

Training was required for those interested in implementing PACE and was handled through the program's intervention coordinator in close collaboration with the program developers.

Considerations for implementing a program similar to PACE might include acquiring preschool/daycare administrative support and buy in; locating and recruiting individuals who are eligible for facilitator training, which includes meeting specific criteria, such as experience working with families and schools, strong interpersonal and critical thinking skills, and a willingness to undergo an extensive training with multiple assessment components; recruiting and retaining parents; and determining the best time of day to hold the parent sessions.

If you are interested in implementing a program similar to PACE, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

PACE consisted of eight, 2-hour sessions that are delivered weekly to groups of 10 to 15 parents.

Information on implementation costs was not located.

To move PACE to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation utilizing a comparison or control group should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

This program is no longer available.

Begle and Dumas (2011); Begle, Lopez, Cappa, Dumas, and deArellano (2012); and Dumas, Begle, French, and Pearl (2010).