Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from The Chicago Community Trust to complete a far-ranging efficacy study of its Parenting Education Program. (PEP).

Launched in 1996, the bi-lingual program to strengthen families and prevent child abuse has reached more than 4,000 low-income Chicago families. Offering parenting education classes, home visits, referrals to social services, and ongoing support groups, PEP is targeted to reach urban parents by using teaching strategies and materials that are culturally and linguistically sensitive.

C4 launched the three-phased study supported by the Trust as a step toward becoming a national model.

“We know that our program has been successful in teaching effective parenting skills, but we wanted to demonstrate a scientific link between the program and its impact on actual parenting practices and benefit to children,” observes Katharine Bensinger, who founded PEP and now supervises the program.

The Trust’s 2009 grant will fund the final interview phase, data analysis, and dissemination of findings, which will be submitted to three national best-practice bodies, including the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“Completing the study is the first step toward PEP becoming a national model,” explains Bensinger, who said she plans to develop curriculum training materials and work with other Illinois organizations to implement PEP.

“Every year we get more requests from parents for our services,” Bensinger observes. “Given the very difficult economy, parents now face extraordinary financial stress.” She added that PEP offered a financial literacy component this year.

The most recent award marks the second $50,000 grant from the Trust in support of PEP’s efficacy study.

“We are deeply grateful for the Trust’s generous investment that will enable us to share our model with other communities in Illinois and beyond,” Bensinger said.

For 93 years, the Chicago Community Trust has connected the generosity of donors with the needs of the community by making grants to organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago. With assets of $1.8 billion, the Trust made a record-breaking $114 million in grants in 2007. From strengthening community schools to assisting art programs, from building health centers to helping lives affected by violence, the Trust works to enhance our region. Learn more at www.cct.org.

PEP is among several services offered by Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, a community mental health agency which serves more than 9,000 low-income men, women and children every year.