Research on programs designed to support positive parenting

Supporting parenting in homeless families is particularly important because the nature of homelessness itself may directly affect a parent’s capacity to be an effective parent. Shelters and supportive housing sites offer an important portal for service delivery because they often are grassroots agencies, embedded in communities, with strong local ties. In this chapter, a brief overview of evidence- based parenting programs to promote children’s healthy adjustment under conditions of adversity is presented. Following that, the very limited research that has been published to date on empirically supported parenting programs delivered and/or tested in shelters or supportive housing settings for families experiencing homelessness is reviewed. The barriers to implementing effective parenting programs in shelters and housing are discussed, followed by recommendations for strategies to address those barriers.