Parents Anonymous®

About This Program

Target Population: Parents, grandparents, relative and kin providers, foster parents, or anyone serving in a parenting or caregiver role and children and youth of all ages with behavioral health, substance use disorders, and wellness concerns

For children/adolescents ages: 0 – 18

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 18

Program Overview

Parents Anonymous® is designed to be both a prevention and treatment program that strengthens families that are at risk of becoming (or already are) involved in the child welfare system, have behavioral health challenges, substance use disorders or face other family issues. It is open to any parent or caregiver in a parenting role who is seeking emotional support, personal growth and change, and to improve parent, child and youth well-being regardless of the age or special challenges of their children or youth including severe emotional concerns. Services include weekly support groups, peer parent partner services (such as advocacy, kinship navigator services, in-home parenting, and supportive services including linkages to community resources), and helpline services. The Parents Anonymous® program aims to mitigate the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) for parents/caregivers and prevent the occurrence of ACEs for their children and teens. The program also aims to build on the strengths of all family members and enhance family well-being by increasing protective factors through trauma-informed practices and decreasing risks, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

Program Goals

The goals of Parents Anonymous® are:

For parents:

  • Improve social, emotional, and behavioral well-being
  • Prevent abusive and neglectful parenting
  • Mitigate the impact of their own Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
  • Increase resilience
  • Achieve positive personal growth and change
  • Improve family functioning, self-esteem, compassion, and happiness
  • Achieve safety, permanency, and reduce out-of-home placements for child-welfare-involved families and increase reunifications
  • Prevent and reduce hospitalizations for mental health problems
  • Prevent and treat substance use disorders
  • Prevent and address domestic violence

For children and youth:

  • Improve social, emotional, and behavioral well-being
  • Prevent ACEs from occurring
  • Increase protective factors, reduce risk factors, and significantly eliminate harmful behaviors towards children
  • Increase resilience
  • Achieve positive personal growth and change
  • Improve family functioning, self-esteem, compassion, and happiness

Logic Model

View the Logic Model for Parents Anonymous®.

Essential Components

The essential components of Parents Anonymous® include:

  • Staff and Parent Leaders who have met research-based competencies and provide:
    • Building Family Strengths Interview: To administer National Outcome Survey, explain the program, review Online Guidelines and ask Parents to identify personal goals for themselves and all their Children & Youth
    • Weekly Online Parents Anonymous® Parent Group (2 hours on Zoom Telehealth): With a Trained Group Facilitator and Parent Group Leader engage in Four therapeutic processes resulting in positive outcomes for parents, children, and youth:
      • Mutual support
      • Parent leadership
      • Shared Leadership®
      • Personal growth and change to foster well-being
    • Ensure cultural responsiveness that is antiracist, anticlassist, and antisexist
      • All Parents receive a “I am a Parents Anonymous® Parent” and “Stand with Families” booklets
    • Weekly Online Parents Anonymous® Children & Youth Groups (2 hours on Zoom Telehealth with Parent Supervision based on their age): Trained Children & Youth Group Facilitators utilize 12 Monthly Themes and Structured Activities with developmentally appropriate groups
    • Helpline: Emotional Support provided by Trained Counselors through calls, live chats, text and emails to address underlying emotional issues
    • Supportive Services are provided by Peer Parent Partners for support and linkages to concrete resources and other services

Program Delivery

Child/Adolescent Services

Parents Anonymous® directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:

  • Depression, anxiety, lack of self-compassion, low self-esteem, serious emotional problems, disruptive social behavior, diminished family and peer relationships, lack of impulse control, mental health concerns, substance abuse disorders, delinquency, and school problems

Parent/Caregiver Services

Parents Anonymous® directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

  • Depression, anxiety, lack of understanding in child development and age-appropriate expectations, lack of communication skills, poor discipline techniques, lack of knowledge on parental roles and effective parenting strategies, anger management issues, mental health concerns, substance use disorders, safety issues, lack of self-care, social isolation, impulse control, and low self-esteem, interpersonal violence, impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, and lack emotional and health well-being
Services Involve Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: Family members, friends, and community supporters are welcomed by the parents to provide support and encouragement.

Recommended Intensity:

Weekly 2-hour group sessions; more than 2 hours per week for Supportive Services, Mental Health, Substance Use, In-Home Parenting, Parent Partner and Navigator Services, and Helpline Services

Recommended Duration:

For at least 3 months. For child-welfare-involved families, for at least 12-18 months (or more) with the program's services such as: Supportive services, groups, in-home parenting, parent partner and kinship navigator, and helpline services. For parents with children and youth with severe emotional challenges, 12-18 months with the program's services such as: Groups, ongoing supportive services, and helpline services.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

  • Community Daily Living Setting
  • Foster / Kinship Care
  • Hospital
  • Outpatient Clinic
  • Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
  • Group or Residential Care
  • Justice Setting (Juvenile Detention, Jail, Prison, Courtroom, etc.)
  • Other
  • Public Child Welfare Agency (Dept. of Social Services, etc.)
  • School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
  • Shelter (Domestic Violence, Homeless, etc.)
  • Virtual (Online, Telephone, Video, Zoom, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Parents Anonymous® has materials available in a language other than English:

Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

  • Certified Program Staff and Parent Leaders, Trained Adult and Children & Youth Group Facilitators, and Parent Group Leaders
  • Parents Anonymous® manuals and outreach and program materials for parents and children promoting Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength®, National Parent Helpline®, National Parent Leadership Month®, and Parent Leadership Network
  • Online National Database
  • Program Fidelity and Assessment Readiness Tools
  • Validated National Outcome Survey administered over time
  • Link to Parents Anonymous® Inc. websites, Facebook, and Twitter accounts
  • A safe and welcoming location accessible to families in the community to be served
  • Online Zoom Telehealth
  • A private meeting room to accommodate 8-15 parents/caregivers
  • Separate meeting rooms for different age groups of children and youth with educational toys and materials utilized in structured activities
  • Flyers and cards to promote the California Parent & Youth Helpline or National Parent Helpline®
  • Promotion of Stand with Families Campaign
  • Activities to celebrate National Parent Leadership Month®

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

Parents Anonymous® Adult and Children & Youth Group Facilitators should have a Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in social work, psychology, early childhood education, or other behavioral science or credentials as a teacher, clergy, or nurse, as well as experience and expertise in providing primary prevention and family strengthening programs to diverse populations in urban, suburban and rural communities and settings.

Parents Anonymous® Inc. trains and certifies all Program Staff and Parent Leaders are expected to develop research-based competencies that ensure the successful implementation the Parents Anonymous® Therapeutic Processes of Mutual Support, Parent Leadership, Shared Leadership®, and Personal Growth and Change through Trauma Informed-Practices curricula.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Manual information:

  • Parents Anonymous. (2021). Parents Anonymous® operations manual. Author.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:
Training Type/Location:

Parents Anonymous® Inc. partners with funders and agencies to ensure model fidelity of Parents Anonymous® and Online 40 hours of Training and Shadowing of Groups is required of all Group Facilitators.

Number of days/hours:

Parents Anonymous® Group Facilitator Initial Training is 40 hours, shadowing and subsequent trainings occur to ensure all competencies are met at the developed or well-developed levels including Training Manuals and Toolkits. Guided practice occurs through shadowing and supervision by Certified Trainer. Parent Group Leaders are trained and receive Training Manuals for up to 8 hours and ongoing.

Additional Resources:

There currently are additional qualified resources for training:

  • Competency-Based Training Modules linked to the National Standards of Practice for each specific role within in Parents Anonymous® programs
  • Program Materials on specific therapeutic interventions are available

Implementation Information

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Parents Anonymous® as listed below:

A tool is used to assist the organization in determining their readiness, but it is not publicly available. Contact the program representative (see bottom of page) to arrange an initial telephone call to discuss the implementing organization’s readiness, organizational capacity, and needed resources to implement the Parents Anonymous® program.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of Parents Anonymous® as listed below:

Parents Anonymous® Inc. is responsible for all implementation, training, guided practice, consultation, and technical assistance to ensure Model Fidelity of Parents Anonymous® Programs worldwide. Also National Leadership Certification, Peer Parent Partner Services and Shared Leadership® in Action are available to enhance the social capital and systems change work. Consultation on data collection, research and program evaluation is also available. Online Data is collected and analyzed in the Program Tracking System and results of the National Outcome Surveys.

After reviewing the information at www.parentsanonymous.org, all organizations should contact the program representative (contact information at bottom of page).

Fidelity Measures

There are fidelity measures for Parents Anonymous® as listed below:

Parents Anonymous® Inc. requires site visiting and administration of validated fidelity tools at least once a year; for new programs, quarterly is preferred. There are specific Site Visiting Tools for the Adult Group and the Children and Youth Groups. Parents Anonymous® Inc. ensures fidelity through the administration, analysis, and report of all essential components of the Parents Anonymous® program utilizing the Group Fidelity Tools for Site Visitor, Parent Participants, and Adult and Children & Youth Group Facilitators. Furthermore, a validated National Outcome Survey is administered to all participants their first time at Parents Anonymous® and every 3 months thereafter. For more information, contact the program representative (contact information at bottom of page).

Established Psychometrics:

Psychometrics have been established in the Polinsky, Pion-Berlin, Williams, & Wolf (2010) article.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are implementation guides or manuals for Parents Anonymous® as listed below:

An Operations Manual, Best Practice Training Manuals, Tool Kits, and program implementation materials are available Contact the program representative (contact information at bottom of page).

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Parents Anonymous®.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Parents Anonymous®.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

Lieber, L. & Baker J. M. (1977). Parents Anonymous: Self-help treatment for child abusing parents: A review and an evaluation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 1(1), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(77)90057-6

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 613

Population:

  • Age — Parents: Mean=29.3 years; Children: Mean=5.9 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Parents: 69% Anglo, 20% Other or no answer, 4% Black, 3% American Indian, 2% Mexican-American, and 1% Asian-American; Children: Not specified
  • Gender — Parents: 83% Female, 17% Male; Children: Not specified
  • Status — Participants were recruited from questionnaires mailed to all (356) identified Parents Anonymous® Chapters. 

Location/Institution: Tucson, Arizona

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of Parents Anonymous® on the lives of its members. Participants were divided into categories determined by the amount of time they had been in the Parents Anonymous® program. Measures utilized include Parents Anonymous – Your Personal Profile developed by the researcher. Results indicate that a decrease in reported frequency of physical abuse appeared to almost immediately take effect upon entering the Parents Anonymous® program. This decrease in physical abuse did not significantly change with time in the program. In contrast, though a decrease in verbal abuse was also shown, this decrease continued over time in the program. Additionally, increases in positive statements about self and increases in reported frequency of social contacts were both shown to be significantly correlated to increases in length of time in the Parents Anonymous® program. The evaluation results also showed that the Parents Anonymous® program has demonstrated a statistically significant impact on the participants’ knowledge in areas of child behavior and development, showing that their behavioral expectations for children became more developmentally and age appropriate as time in the program increased. Limitations include the lack of a control group, reliance on self-report, lack of standardized measures, and the lack of follow-up data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Roth, H. J. (1985). Relationship between attendance at a Parents Anonymous adult program and children's behavior at the Parents Anonymous child care program. Children and Youth Services Review, 7(1), 39–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/0190-7409(85)90038-6

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 22 children

Population:

  • Age — 1-14 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status — Participants were parents and their children involved in the Parents Anonymous® Program.

Location/Institution: Durham, North Carolina

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the statistical relationship between the proportion of parent group meetings attended by parents involved in a Parents Anonymous® Adult Program (now called Parents Anonymous®) and the number of positive behavioral ratings received by children who attended the Parents Anonymous® Child Care Program. Measures utilized include a list of rated statements developed by the researcher and parent attendance records. Results indicate that the correlation between group attendance and children’s positive behavioral ratings during the Child Care Program was statistically significant. Children whose parents had attended more than 50% of the parent group meetings had a mean behavior rating of 7.98. The children whose parents attended 50% or less of the parent group meetings had an adjusted mean behavior rating of 4.61. Limitations include the small sample size, the lack of standardized measures, the lack of a control group, and lack of follow-up data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Hunka, C. D., O’Toole, A. W., & O’Toole, R. (1985). Self-help therapy in Parents Anonymous. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 23(7), 24–32. https://doi.org/10.3928/0279-3695-19850701-09

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 18

Population:

  • Age — Mean=29-30 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — 83% Female and 17% Male
  • Status — Participants were members of two Parents Anonymous® groups. 

Location/Institution: An urban area in Ohio

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of Parents Anonymous® on parents’ abuse-related attitudes and behaviors towards their children. Results indicate that from pretreatment, the change in 10 abuse-related attitudes and behavior dimensions following participation in Parents Anonymous® was statistically significant. Parents’ average pretreatment rankings were towards the abusive end of the scale; after involvement in Parents Anonymous®, parents’ average rankings on these dimensions were closer to the opposite end of the scale. Among other improvements, parents who attended Parents Anonymous® 18 months or more tended to have higher change scores than those who had attended less than 18 months. Limitations include the use of only two Parents Anonymous® groups, a small sample size, the use of a retrospective self-report measure, lack of standardized measures, the lack of a control group, and the lack of follow-up data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Polinsky, M. L., Pion-Berlin, L., Williams, S., Long, T., & Wolf, A. M. (2010). Preventing child abuse and neglect: A national evaluation of Parents Anonymous® groups. Child Welfare, 89(6), 43–62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48623282

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 206

Population:

  • Age — Not specified
  • Race/Ethnicity — 48% African American, 42% White, and 10% Other
  • Gender — 91% Female
  • Status — Participants were parents new to Parents Anonymous® groups.

Location/Institution: 54 Parents Anonymous® groups in 19 states

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to assess whether participation in Parents Anonymous® mutual support groups (now called Parents Anonymous®) was associated with child maltreatment prevention. Results indicate that all parents showed improvements in child maltreatment outcomes, risk factors, and protective factors. Parents starting out with particularly serious needs showed statistically significant improvement on every scale.  Limitations include the lack of a control group, low recruitment rates, lack of follow up, and a lack of information on the measures that were used.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Polinsky, M. L., Pion-Berlin, L., Long, T., & Wolf, A. M. (2011). Parents Anonymous outcome evaluation: Promising findings for child maltreatment reduction. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 1(1), 33–47. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/236317.pdf#page=39

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 206

Population:

  • Age — 19-63 years (Mean=35 years)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 48% African American and 42% White
  • Gender — 91% Female
  • Status — Participants were members of Parents Anonymous®.

Location/Institution: 54 Parents Anonymous® groups in 19 states

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study used the sample from Polinsky et al. (2010). The purpose of the study was to describe the findings of a national evaluation of Parents Anonymous® by assessing whether participation in Parents Anonymous® is associated with changes in child maltreatment outcomes and in risk and protective factors. Measures utilized include the Child Abuse Potential Inventory, Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale, Life Stress Scale, Parenting Stress Index Short Form, Conflict Tactics Scale, Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, Quality of Life Scale, Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire, Parenting Sense of Competence, and the McMaster Family Assessment Device. Results indicate that after attending Parents Anonymous® mutual support group meetings, parents indicated statistically significant reductions in risk factors for child abuse and neglect. Limitations include possible selection bias, the lack of a control group, and threats to internal validity.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Burnson, C., Covington, S., Arvizo, B., Qiao, J., & Harris, E. (2021). The impact of Parents Anonymous on child safety and permanency. Children and Youth Services Review, 124, Article 105973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.105973

Type of Study: Pretest-posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 4,267

Population:

  • Age — Children: 0-18 years; Parents: Not specified
  • Race/Ethnicity — Children: Not specified; Parents: Comparison: 74% Hispanic/Latinx, 14% Black/African American, 12% White, and 1% Asian; Treatment: 74% Hispanic/Latinx, 14% Black/African American, 12% White, and 1% Asian
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status — Participants were parents who had been involved in the child welfare system.

Location/Institution: Two large California counties

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of Parents Anonymous in improving outcomes in child safety and permanency. Participants were a sample of parents who received Parents Anonymous services compared to a sample who did not. Measures utilized include data from the child welfare administrative data system. Results indicate that two outcomes were statistically significant. A referral for child abuse or neglect and a substantiated child abuse or neglect finding were both significantly less likely in the Parents Anonymous group than the comparison group at 12 months post-treatment. No other statistically significant results were identified in the analysis. Limitations include lack of randomization, differences in outcomes observed could have been associate with factors that were not accounted for at baseline matching, and inability to definitively identify parents that had “completed” the Parents Anonymous program.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 months and 1 year.

Additional References

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2014). New directions in child abuse and neglect research. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18331

National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD). (2008, March). Parents Anonymous® outcome evaluation: Promising findings for child maltreatment reduction. https://search.issuelab.org/resource/parents-anonymous-outcome-evaluation-promising-findings-for-child-maltreatment-reduction.html.

Pion-Berlin, L., & Long, T. (2017). Shared Leadership®: An innovative approach to child abuse and neglect prevention. In R. Alexander & S. Alexander (Eds.), Research in child maltreatment prevention (Vol. 2, pp. 202-216). STM Learning Inc.

Contact Information

Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Agency/Affiliation: Parents Anonymous, Inc.
Website: www.parentsanonymous.org
Email:
Phone: (909) 575-4211
Fax: (909) 621-0614

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: September 2021

Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: October 2021

Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: August 2010