This document summarizes a project to enhance the user-friendliness and evidence-base of the Miami curriculum used in the Legacy for Children parenting program. The program aims to reduce the impact of poverty on childhood outcomes by increasing positive parenting behaviors. As part of the project, a 134-page resource guide and 14-page spreadsheet were developed to better organize resources for intervention specialists using the curriculum. Organizing resources more clearly and making their most updated forms accessible can enhance the effectiveness of federally-run community programs. Future research should explore quality improvements from updating the Legacy curriculum.

1. Amanda Vasi
PH370
Dr. Osborne-Jelks
14 October 2016
Abstract
Title: Legacy for Children: Enhancing the Evidence-base Foundation and User-Friendliness of
the Miami Curriculum
Background: Poverty has long term effects on children’s development and lifetime health.
Efforts to increase positive parenting have been shown to reduce the impact of poverty on
childhood outcomes. Based on this research, Legacy for Children™ (Legacy) was developed to
increase positive parenting behaviors among low-income mothers through a group-centered
parenting program. Objective: This presentation provides an overview of a project to enhance
the Miami curriculum in order to ensure the best available science is included along with
increasing the user-friendliness of Legacy for intervention specialists (IS). Outcomes:
Development of a 134-page resource guide for the Miami curriculum (Years 0-5) that organized
the resource list accompanying each session into five categories: Resources to Find Out More,
References, Handouts/Brochures, DVDs, and Materials Needed. A 14-page Excel spreadsheet
was also created in which video resources were documented with their description and
publication year. Conclusions: By organizing resources more clearly and making their most
updated forms accessible to ISs, the user-friendliness and effectiveness of federally-run programs
can be enhanced. Once the Legacy curriculum is fully updated, future research should explore
the quality improvement implications before and after the update. The findings could help inform
the development or improvement of other national, community-based programs.
Sources:
Kaminski, J. et al. (2012). A public health research-to-practice model for improving child health
and development in low-income families: CDC’s Legacy for Children™. American
Psychological Association, CYF News. Retrieved on October 09, 2016 from
http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/newsletter/2012/07/public-health.aspx
Robinson, L. R., Perou, R., & Leeb, R. T. (2014). News from CDC: the Legacy for ChildrenTM
parenting model, partnering to translate research to practice for children in poverty.
Translational Behavioral Medicine, 4(3), 232–233. http://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-
0266-z