In response to requests from parents and program directors of Parent to Parent programs for efficacy data on Parent to Parent, a participatory action research team of parents and researchers conducted a 3-year national study to determine the effectiveness of parent to parent support for referred parents. Parents and researchers worked together to design the study, write the grant application; and carry out this important study involving 400 parents nationally. Dr. George Singer was the director of the study, and the results indicate that parent to parent support increases parents' acceptance of their situation and their sense of being able to cope. Moreover, parent to parent support helps parents to make progress on the need they present when they first contact a Parent to Parent program, and over 80% of the parents found parent to parent support to be helpful. In fact, the data indicate a direct correlation between the number of contacts referred parents have with their supporting parent and how satisfied referred parents are with the support they receive, the greater the number of contacts, the greater the satisfaction. Interviews with parents suggest that the kind of support Parent to Parent offers is unique and cannot come from any other source. Based upon these significant data, the research team recommends that Parent to Parent support should be an essential component of a comprehensive family support system.

Parent to Parent USA endorses and promotes the evidence-based practices identified through this National Study. View the following in pdf format:

• Endorsed Practices for Parent to Parent Support - A Brief Summary
• Endorsed Practices for Parent to Parent Support - Detailed
• Guidance for Recruiting and Training Support Parents
• Endorsed Practices for Matching and Follow-up

Thirty-four states have state-wide Parent to Parent networks. Parent to Parent USA conducts annual surveys of these statewide Parent to Parent programs to learn more about the services they provide, how they are funded and staffed, their organizational structure, and program developed materials they have to share.  These statewide organizations are committed to designing and developing programs based on family identified needs and priorities.  Statewide programs are committed to partnering with local, statewide and national organizations to assure that families have access to a continuum of information, resources and support.

The Beach Center on Disability has conducted research for and with families on family and policy issues related to disability - including research about Parent to Parent. To learn more about the Beach Center, its research, and its products and resources, visit their webpage at www.beachcenter.org