Released in 2004 through 2024
Impact studies rated high or moderate quality
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Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up—Early Childhood (ABC-Early Childhood) serves caregivers of children ages 24 to 48 months. This includes caregivers of children who have experienced, or are at heightened risk for experiencing, early adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, disruptions in caregiving, housing instability, domestic violence, poverty, and/or parental mental health concerns or substance use. ABC-Early Childhood is an adaptation of the ABC-Infant model. In addition to promoting responsive parenting, ABC-Early Childhood aims to support the caregiver in calming a child who is struggling to manage their emotions or behavior.
Parent coaches conduct 10 weekly home visits lasting about 60 minutes each. The model is designed to help caregivers (1) provide nurturing care, (2) follow their children’s lead with delight, and (3) implement calming strategies and be present mentally and physically when their child is dysregulated. Parent coaches provide immediate feedback (referred to as "in-the-moment" comments) on the caregiver’s interaction with the child to help the caregiver notice and respond to the target behaviors. During visits, the parent coach and caregiver watch videos of the caregiver interacting with the child. The parent coach highlights the caregiver’s strengths, celebrates changes in behavior, and identifies areas for improvement.
Related Models:
Where to find out more
ABC Parenting Institute
1 Chestnut Hill Plaza, #1388, Newark, DE 19713
This model does not meet criteria established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for an evidence-based home visiting model because findings from high- or moderate-rated effectiveness studies of the model do not demonstrate favorable (statistically significant) impacts in at least two outcome domains within one sample OR the same domain for at least two non-overlapping samples.
Does not meet criteria for an evidence-based home visiting model for Indigenous peoples and communities.
For more information about manuscripts, search the research database.
For more information on the criteria used to rate research, please see details of HomVEEʼs methods and standards.
Released in 2004 through 2024
Eligible for review
Impact studies rated high or moderate quality
To see details on each manuscript HomVEE reviewed in well-designed research, click on the manuscript counts in the table.
Favorable:
A finding showing a statistically significant impact on an outcome measure in a direction that is beneficial for children and parents.
No effect:
Findings are not statistically significant.
Unfavorable:
A finding showing a statistically significant impact on an outcome measure in a direction that may indicate potential harm to children and/or parents.
Ambiguous findings are excluded from this table. An ambiguous finding is a statistically significant impact on an outcome measure in a direction that is not clearly beneficial for or potentially harmful to children and/or parents.
| Outcomes | Manuscripts | Favorable Findings | No Effects Findings | Unfavorable Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Development and School Readiness | View 1 Manuscript | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Child Health | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Family Economic Self-Sufficiency | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Linkages and Referrals | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Maternal Health | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Positive Parenting Practices | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Reductions In Child Maltreatment | Not measured | - | - | - |
| Reductions in Juvenile Delinquency, Family Violence, and Crime | Not measured | - | - | - |
Well-designed impact studies about this model were conducted in the following locations:
In this section:
Support Availability
Service Delivery
Model services, adaptions and enhancements, model intensity and length.
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up—Early Childhood (ABC-Early Childhood) is based on attachment theory and stress neurobiology. ABC-Early Childhood was developed in 2016 as an adapted version of ABC-Infant (linked below under “Related Models”) for toddlers that adds a focus on calming dysregulated children.
ABC-Early Childhood serves caregivers of children ages 24 to 48 months, including caregivers of children who have experienced, or are at heightened risk for experiencing, early adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, disruptions in caregiving, housing instability, domestic violence, poverty, and/or parental mental health concerns or substance use.
ABC-Early Childhood aims to improve positive parenting practices by helping caregivers:
Highlights
ABC-Early Childhood was developed by Mary Dozier, Ph.D., and the Infant Caregiver Project at the University of Delaware. National and international implementation support is available through the ABC Parenting Institute, which is led by Dr. Dozier.
The ABC Parenting Institute provides ongoing consultation, quality assurance, technical assistance, and program evaluation services as requested.
Highlights
ABC-Early Childhood is designed to be delivered by a parent coach in the family’s home or a residential facility, such as a homeless shelter. Parent coaches can also deliver the intervention virtually upon request by the family or if in-person services are not possible.
The curriculum is designed to outline the focus for each session.
Throughout the home visiting session, the parent coach comments on the caregiver’s interactions to help the caregiver increase target behaviors, including using nurturing and calming behaviors and following the child’s lead with delight. Additionally, the caregiver is encouraged to notice and respond to the child’s signals to decrease overwhelming or frightening behaviors.
The parent coach and caregiver also watch video clips of the caregiver demonstrating ABC target behaviors to highlight their strengths and celebrate change over the course of the program.
Home visiting requirements:
ABC-Early Childhood is delivered in weekly sessions lasting about 60 minutes each.
Service duration:
ABC-Early Childhood is a 10-week program.
Additional requirements:
There are no additional requirements for ABC-Early Childhood service delivery.
ABC can be culturally adapted by maintaining the core components of the model but modifying the language, examples, and certain activities. Any modifications must be approved by ABC Parenting Institute and/or developed in partnership with ABC Parenting Institute. For more information about cultural adaptations, please consult with the model developer.
In partnership with Dolores Bigfoot, Ph.D., ABC is developing guidelines for implementing ABC-Early Childhood with American Indian communities. These guidelines have not yet been applied at community sites or with partners.
Related Models:
Highlights
Education and supervisory requirements:
Staff. ABC-Early Childhood is implemented by parent coaches who conduct home visits. Parent coaches are supervised by clinical supervisors and fidelity supervisors who ensure adherence to ABC’s in-the-moment fidelity standards (described further under "Supervision" below).
Education and experience. There are no education or experience requirements for the parent coaches. However, all prospective parent coaches must pass a screening process that involves a 30- to 60-minute video interview with ABC Parenting Institute staff. The purpose of the interview is to assess the prospective trainee’s openness to attachment theory, their ability to provide in-the-moment comments about caregiver–child behavior, and their agencies’ readiness for implementation. Parent coaches are considered trainees until they become certified following a six (or more)-month supervision period and assessment of their adherence and fidelity to the model.
Supervision. Parent coaches are considered trainees until they become certified after a six-month supervision process and assessment of their adherence and fidelity to the model. This process takes 12 months for parent coaches who complete the combined ABC-Infant and ABC-Early Childhood training. Each week for six or 12 months, parent coach trainees must participate in two video conferences with a supervisor from the ABC Parenting Institute (or their local agency, if it has a trained and certified supervisor on staff). These meetings are explained below:
Ongoing supervision is recommended but not required after parent coaches complete the certification process. The ABC Parenting Institute can provide ongoing clinical or in-the-moment supervision for quality assurance.
Training and professional development:
Pre-Service Training. The model requires parent coaches to participate in pre-service training from the model developer. Parent coach trainees can participate in training in one of three ways:
Please contact the model developer for additional information on the pre-service training requirements.
Supervisor Training. Fidelity and clinical supervisors must be certified ABC parent coaches and participate in training provided by the ABC Parenting Institute. Fidelity supervisors must participate in eight to 10 weeks of training. Clinical supervisors must participate in six to 12 months of training.
Ongoing Professional Development. ABC-Early Childhood requires that, every two years, parent coaches view a webinar and complete a quiz that assesses adherence and fidelity to the model to be re-certified as an ABC-Early Childhood parent coach.
There are currently no requirements about the type or characteristics of organizations that can implement ABC-Early Childhood. The model is primarily implemented by agencies that conduct home visits with caregivers of children who have experienced, or are at heightened risk for experiencing, early adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, disruptions in caregiving, housing instability, domestic violence, poverty, and/or parental mental health concerns or substance use.
ABC-Early Childhood requires parent coaches to adhere to ongoing fidelity guidelines. Please contact the model developer for additional information about these guidelines.
Highlights
HomVEE requests input and feedback from the model developers on their profiles. The information in this implementation profile reflects feedback, if provided, from this model’s developer. HomVEE reserves the right to edit the profile for clarity and consistency. The description of the implementation of the model here may differ from how the model was implemented in the manuscripts reviewed to determine this model’s evidence of effectiveness. Model developers are encouraged to notify HomVEE of any changes to their contact information on this page.