This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
Child Welfare Outcomes: Safety, permanency, and child/family well-being.
Type of Maltreatment: Not specified
Target Population: Parents with limited formal education and resources who have young children.
Brief Description:(The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff.)
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) has been rated by the CEBC in the area of Home Visiting. HIPPY is a parent involvement, school readiness program that helps parents prepare their three, four, and five year old children for success in school and beyond. The parent is provided with a set of carefully developed curriculum, books, and materials designed to strengthen their child’s cognitive and early literacy skills, and social, emotional, and physical development.
The HIPPY Curriculum contains 30 weekly activity packets, 9 storybooks, and a set of 20 manipulative shapes for each year. In addition to these basic materials, supplies such as scissors and crayons are provided for each participating family. The program uses trained coordinators and community-based home visitors who go into the home and role-play the activities with the parents and support each family throughout their participation in the program.
HIPPY is a home-based, family-focused program that helps parents provide educational enrichment for their preschool child. HIPPY believes that parents play a critical role in their children’s education. The HIPPY program seeks to support parents who may not feel sufficiently confident to prepare their children for school, and is designed to remove barriers to participation in education. HIPPY’s primary goal is to increase vulnerable children’s success in school and, ultimately, in life. Since HIPPY is highly rated on the Scientific Rating Scale, information on available pre-implementation assessments, implementation tools, and fidelity measures was requested from the program representative. Please see the program's separate Implementation Information page for details
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) was not designed to be conducted in a group.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) has not been tested for use in a group setting.
Recommended intensity: Home visitors engage their assigned parents on a weekly basis. Service delivery includes home visits and group meetings. A home visit consists of a one-hour, one-on-one interaction between the home visitor and their assigned parents. On alternate weeks, one or more cohorts of parents meet in a group setting with the coordinator and their assigned home visitor(s). Group meetings also include an enrichment activity and last approximately two hours. In either case, role play of the curriculum is featured.
Recommended duration: 30 weeks
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) includes a homework component.
Description: In the sessions, curriculum is role played between the parent and the home visitor. For homework, the parent role plays the curriculum with his/her own child. There are also extension activities to complete, if desired.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is typically conducted in a(n): Adoptive Home, Birth Family Home, and Foster Home.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) was designed with a Parent Component.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Low literacy level
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) was designed with a Child Component.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Limited exposure to reading readiness skills
Age range(s): 0-5
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) was not developed for children with developmental delays.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) has not been tested for children with developmental delays.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) has materials available in a language other than English.
Language(s) available:
English and Spanish in the United States. Please contact the program representative on the bottom of the page for information on specific materials. HIPPY International is also in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, and South Africa. The contact person is for HIPPY International is Miriam Westheimer, Director, email: mwestheimer@hotmail.com.
There is a manual that describes how to implement this program.
There is training available for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY).
Training contact: Gayle Hart, National Program Director, Email: mghart@hippyusa.org, Phone: 501-537-7731
Number of days/hours: 5-day new coordinator pre-service training in August, Biennial National conference (in-service), 3 days, Annual site visits
Training is obtained: National — pre-service and national conference, Regional— state office sponsored trainings, Local—on site visits from a national trainer
There currently are additional qualified resources for training.
List of additional qualified resources: In addition, there are eight state directors and four state contacts that can be identified through the national office.
The typical resources for implementing Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) are: Office space and staffing from the local target population.
Once the program is implemented, it is conducted in the child’s home setting, but the office remains open to maintain paperwork and training. If there is not enough room in the office, biweekly meetings happen in community settings, such as a church, school, community center, etc. Supplies that are not always commonly found in a home setting are provided by the program, such as markers, highlighters, plastic sheet covers, etc.
The home visitors live in the community they serve and work with the same group of parents for three years. They receive comprehensive on-going training to well equip them to serve their assigned families effectively. The training also encourages them to seek further education: many home visitors earn advanced degrees in early childhood education. Educational requirements are established by the implementing agency and are usually a high school diploma or GED.
The coordinator, who trains the home visitors and oversees the local program, is expected to have a college degree.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is rated a "2 - Supported by Research Evidence" on the Scientific Rating Scale based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The practice must have at least one rigorous randomized controlled trial with a sustained effect of at least 6 months. For more information on the rating of a "2 - Supported by Research Evidence," please see the Scientific Rating Scale.
Baker, A. J. L., Piotrkowski, C. S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1998). The effects of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on children’s school performance at the end of the program and one year later. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13(4), 571-588.
Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial in two separate cohorts
Number of participants: Cohort 1: 69, Cohort 2: 113
Population:
Location/Institution: New York State
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) Families were randomly assigned to HIPPY or to a control group. Children’s cognitive skills were assessed at baseline using the Cooperative Preschool Inventory (CPI). Family demographics were also collected using the National Evaluation Information System. Following the program children were reassessed with the CPI and also on the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), a standardized test completed in kindergarten. Adaptation to the classroom was assessed with teacher ratings on the Child Classroom Adaptation Index (CCAI), which included evaluations of enjoyment of learning, attention, self-direction, and motivation and readiness to learn. At one-year follow-up in the first grade, performance was assessed with school records and repeat assessment with the CCAI. Researchers note that Cohort 1 was significantly older than Cohort 2 and scored higher on the CPI at baseline. Results showed that in Cohort 1 children in the HIPPY group showed higher on the CPI and classroom adaptation at the end of the program and higher on a standardized reading test and on classroom adaptation at the end of 1-year follow-up. However, no differences were found between intervention and control groups in Cohort II.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: 1 year.
Barhava-Monteith, G., Harre, N., & Field, J. (1999). A promising start: An evaluation of the HIPPY program in New Zealand. Early Child Development and Care, 159, 145-157.
Type of Study: Non-equivalent control group
Number of participants: Study 1, 781; Study 2, 58, Study 3, 57 from Study 2 and an additional 47 comparison children
Population:
Location/Institution: New Zealand
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) In study 1, scores were compared for children who attended em>HIPPY and children in the same schools on two reading tests: the Reading Diagnostic Survey, which assesses need for remedial reading tuition and the BURT Word Reading test which assesses word recognition. em>HIPPY children scored higher on all subscales and this difference was significant for concepts about print, the word test, and the BURT mean. In Study 2, children who had been attending school for 6 months received the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT). em>HIPPY children scored higher on all subscales assessing school readiness, but the differences were not statistically significant. In Study 3, the same em>HIPPYand comparison children as in study two, plus an additional comparison group consisting of all available remaining children in that school were assessed on the Behavioral Academic Self-Esteem Scale (BASE) which measures classroom behavior as observed by teachers. Both em>HIPPY and original comparison group children had higher scores than the additional comparison group. The authors suggest that the original comparison group may have had a selection bias.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: Study 1 - 1 year, Studies 2 & 3 - 6 months
Van Tuijl, C., Leseman, P. M., & Rispens, J. (2001). Efficacy of an intensive home-based educational intervention programme for 4- to 6-year-old ethnic minority children in the Netherlands. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(2), 148-159.
Type of Study: Pretest/Postest with non-equivalent control group
Number of participants: Intervention: 123 Turkish, 85 Moroccan; Control: 62 Turkish, 62 Moroccan.
Population:
Location/Institution: The Netherlands
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) Note: Because this study assesses a program based on HIPPY, but using a different curriculum, it was not included in the Scientific Rating. Families were recruited for the intervention and matched with a comparison group on age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. At baseline children were assessed on IQ, Dutch language and native language vocabulary. At the conclusion of the program, they were tested on semantic-taxonomic, logo-mathematical, and number concepts, as well as on conservation and seriation skill. A test of numeracy and early mathematical competence was also given. The vocabulary tests in native language and Dutch were repeated. For Turkish children, those who had the program scored significantly higher on ordering concepts and general cognition and on emergent numeracy. There were no group differences for the Moroccan children.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.
Bradley, R. H., & Gilkey, B. (2002). The impact of the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on school performance in 3rd and 6th Grades. Early Education and Development, 13(3), 301-311.
Type of Study: Post hoc matched comparison group
Number of participants: 516 HIPPY, 516 Comparison group
Population:
Location/Institution: Arkansas
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) Children who had received the HIPPY program prior to entering elementary school were matched with current classmates, some of whom had other preschool experience. Children were assessed on 1) school attendance, 2) Official actions (e.g., suspension, assignment to special education services), 3) grade in math, reading, language arts, 4) standardized test scores, and 5) student behavior obtained from teachers on a short version of the Child Classroom Adaptation Inventory. There were no group differences in attendance. HIPPY children had fewer suspensions than the subgroup of comparison children who had other preschool experience. HIPPY children performed better in reading and language arts and had higher math grades than children with no preschool experience. The authors note that the effect sizes of differences in grade point average were small. On standardized tests, HIPPY students performed better in reading and language arts than the comparison groups, and had higher math scores than students with other preschool experience. Teachers rated HIPPY students higher on academic achievement than those with no preschool experience and higher on overall adjustment than both comparison groups. The authors caution that the lack of true experimental design could mean that differences were due to a selection bias across the HIPPY, other preschool and no preschool children, which could account for differences.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: 4 to 7 years after completion of HIPPY.
Lombard, A. (1981). Success begins at home. Lexington, MA: Heath.
Westheimer, M. (1997). Ready or not: One home-based response to the school readiness dilemma. Early Child Development and Care, 127(1), 245-257.
Contact name: Karen Greening
Affiliation/Agency: HIPPY USA
Email: kgreening@hippyusa.org
Phone: 501-537-6245
Fax: 501-537-7716
Website: http://www.hippyusa.org