One Parent at a Time: The Journey to Creating CPP - Individualized

For more than twenty years, the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) has brought parents together in community centers, schools, and Head Start programs to strengthen relationships with their young children and build confidence in managing behavior. As the program expanded, its developers began hearing a consistent message from the field: some clinicians were informally adapting CPP for one-on-one use because many parents could not attend group sessions. The intent was practical, but results varied. “The approach wasn’t evidence-based or replicable,” recalls CPP co-developer Dr. Debbie Gross.

Designing a More Flexible Path Forward
That realization prompted CPP’s next evolution. If a more flexible option was needed, why not create one designed with intention—preserving the model’s integrity while meeting providers and families where they are? The result is the Chicago Parent Program–Individualized for Families (CPPi), a structured one-on-one adaptation for families facing scheduling constraints, transportation barriers, or needing more individualized support. Grounded in CPP’s core principles, CPPi expands access while maintaining fidelity. “CPPi was created to honor parents and clinicians and the realities they face every day,” says Gross. “It’s about bringing the program to people in the most accessible way.”

From Informal Adaptations to a True Model
The CPP team’s first task was to transform what had been happening informally into a coherent model. “Clinicians had long been using pieces of CPP individually when groups were impractical, and the goal was to meet that need without compromising the essential features of the program. CPPi retains the core components of CPP but allows clinicians to tailor each session to a family’s specific goals and circumstances. Because individualized delivery requires greater clinical nuance than a manualized group format, the team strengthened training and created clearer guidance to ensure fidelity.

Development was collaborative from the outset. Working with families and clinicians, the team refined the model and piloted CPPi across multiple child mental health clinics. “We realized early on those providers needed more support to feel confident,” Gross notes. “So we enhanced our training based on what we heard.” Technology further expanded reach: virtual sessions now help parents overcome barriers related to distance, schedules, or competing responsibilities, offering a more accessible option.

Tailoring the Program to Each Family
CPPi centers flexibility. Parents begin by identifying up to three priority parenting concerns and describing what improvement—or worsening—would look like. These goals anchor each session, allowing families and clinicians to track progress in meaningful ways and keeping the program parent-centered. Delivering individualized parenting support requires strong clinical judgment, so CPPi training is geared toward licensed professionals—such as counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers whose expertise enables them to adapt the program to parents’ individual needs while maintaining structure.

What a CPPi Study Reveals
Researchers recently tested an individualized version of the Chicago Parent Program (CPPi) in four child mental health clinics in Maryland and Virginia to determine whether this one-on-one format could effectively support families with more complex need or who cannot participate in group sessions. Early findings are promising: CPPi was associated with significant gains in parents’ confidence and reductions in children’s externalizing behaviors, and both parents and clinicians reported strong satisfaction with the model. A separate ongoing CPPi study, conducted with Baltimore City Head Start and Catholic Charities of Maryland and delivered virtually by registered nurses, is showing similar improvements in parenting and children’s behavioral health.

What’s Next for CPPi
The CPP team recognizes that lasting impact requires continually listening to parents, clinicians, and communities. “You can’t sit on your laurels,” Gross notes. “Programs, like the people they serve, have to grow and adapt.” That ongoing dialogue is at the heart of CPPi’s success—and its promise for the future. As CPP continues to evolve, Gross sees it not merely as a program but as a movement. “When you teach people these strategies, they live on in ways you don’t always see,” she reflects.