Florida HIPPY parents successfully prepare their children for kindergarten

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home-based intervention for parent engagement and kindergarten readiness. Using a quasi-experimental design, this research sought to determine whether the HIPPY intervention increased children's likelihood of passing the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener and being promoted to the first grade. The sample included 730 children, of whom 379 participated in the intervention group (i.e., HIPPY) and 351 were identified for the comparison group using propensity score matching techniques. Among families at risk due to poverty and limited English language proficiency, the odds of passing the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener were almost two times greater for children whose parents participated in the HIPPY program and their odds of being promoted to the first grade were five times greater than a matched sample of non-participants. This research provides evidence of a successful HIPPY scale-up in real-world contexts and among a diverse sample. The discussion includes implications for policy and directions for future research. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.