The County-Wide Dissemination of Triple P Parenting Program: An Implementation Study

BACKGROUND: The Triple P Parenting system (Triple P) is an evidence-based parenting intervention designed to increase parental competence and decrease child behavioral problems. OBJECTIVES: To describe the county-wide implementation and coordination of Triple P at the community level and the evaluation conducted by the local evaluation team to (1) assess community awareness, (2) determine program reach, and (3) describe parent and child participants. METHODS: Parents attending a maternity fair were surveyed to evaluate community awareness. A comparison between at-risk areas and the location of trained providers assessed program reach. Additional data were collected from parents receiving Triple P services with three questionnaires: a family background questionnaire, the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) and The Parenting Experience Survey (PES). RESULTS: Awareness of Triple P increased and services were made available within at-risk areas. Baseline data from families served indicated everyday parenting challenges, which supports the need for parenting support programs. CONCLUSIONS: The collaborative implementation was successful in reaching predetermined goals of increasing awareness and training providers in at-risk areas. Families receiving services viewed parenting positively and reported child behavior problems under clinical levels.