Early Childhood Collaborative
Academic Co-Lead: Daniel S. Shaw PhD, University of Pittsburgh Center for Parents and Children
Community Co-Lead: Dannai Wilson, Allegheny County Health Department
Amy Malen, Community Co-Lead, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS)
Debra Bogen, Acting Secretary of Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Cara Ciminillo, Community Consultant, Trying Together
More than half of children in poverty have low school readiness and experience barriers to resources that support positive parenting strategies. The Early Childhood Collaborative focuses on addressing inequities by making evidence-based parenting programs more accessible, locating these programs at locations parents commonly frequent and typically trust (e.g., their homes in-person or virtually).
The Early Childhood Collaborative is not your typical research study. Together with the community, we put research into action with science-backed programs that support families and child thriving. Our goal is to establish and maintain a healthy, vibrant, and equitable community for the young children in our region. We are committed to achieving this goal by including local neighbors in the scientific process and expanding access to supportive programs and resources for all families in ways that directly address their needs
“Being a community partner has given me insight to how much thought, care, time, and consideration the Early Childhood Collaborative gives to ensure that the participants are respected, that their needs are met, and that they receive the services that young thriving families need.” -Citizen Scientist
Programs center on respect for the autonomy of caregivers and strengths-based practices. They test the effectiveness of support based on family strength/challenges and family choices in programming. Our key measure of success is school readiness.
THE FAMILY CHECK-UP
This evidence-based program capitalizes and builds family strengths to support parenting that promotes positive child behavior, including both cognitive and social development. LEARN MORE
EVERYDAY PARENTING
Everyday parenting serves as the caregiving curriculum for the Family Check-up, using evidence-based practices that empowers parents to create healthy relationships with their children that supports their cognitive and social development. LEARN MORE
PLAYREADVIP
This program takes advantage of well-childhood check-ups in the first 3 years (i.e., up to 15 meetings) to provide parents with immediate video feedback on their interactions with their young children to promote child cognitive and social development. LEARN MORE
Contact us to collaborate or become a Citizen Scientist: tpsec@pitt.edu
or call 877-369-5105
Publications
Weaver Krug, C., Mendelsohn, A. L., Wuerth, J., Roby, E., & Shaw, D. S. (2024). The Pittsburgh Study: A tiered model for supporting parents during early childhood. Journal of Pediatrics. https//:doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114396
Shaw, D. S., Mendelsohn, A. L., Morris-Perez, P. A., & Weaver Krug, C. (2024). Integrating equifinality and multifinality into the prevention programs in early childhood: The conceptual case for the use of tiered models. Development and Psychopathology, 36, 2357-2368. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942400021X
Dodge, K.A., Prinstein, M.J., Evans, A.C., Ahuvia, I.L., Alvarez, K., Beidas, R.S., Brown, A.J., Cuijpers, P., Denton, E., Hoagwood, K.E., Johnson, C., Kazdin, A.E., McDanal, R., Metzger, I.W., Rowley, S.N., Schleider, J., Shaw, D.S. (2024). Population mental health science: Guiding principles and initial agenda. American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001334
Roby E, Shaw DS, Morris P, Canfield CF, Miller EB, Dreyer B, Klass P, Ettinger A, Miller E, Mendelsohn AL. Pediatric primary care and partnerships across sectors to promote early child development. Academic pediatrics. 2021 Mar 1;21(2):228-35.
Shaw, D. S., Mendelsohn, A. L., & Morris, P. M. (2021). The Smart Beginnings model: Tiered prevention integrated in health care and home visiting to address poverty disparities in child development and promote school readiness. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 24, 669-683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00366-0