Evidence & Evaluation
If you want to talk about a research design or have your own Parent Café evaluation findings to share with us, please contact us.
Be Strong Families Parent Cafés: A Research-Informed Practice
Drawing on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors research base, Be Strong Families Parent Cafés are proven to benefit families in profound ways.
The effectiveness of Parent Cafés is supported by more than a decade of independent evaluation and research across diverse communities. Results show that Parent Cafés are effective in achieving outcomes for families, laying the foundation for lasting well-being.
More than 32,000 participants across diverse populations and settings, in multiple independent evaluations spanning 12 years (2012-2024), demonstrate how Parent Cafés help families get strong and keep kids safe:
92% learn new stress management strategies
92% gain skills for parenting challenges
83% make lasting connections with other parents
97% know how to use the Protective Factors to keep their families strong
Why This Matters: Addressing Public Health Crises
Managing stress, accessing mutual support, and building connections are essential for child and family well-being, not just nice extras.
The challenge: In back-to-back advisories (2023 and 2024), the U.S. Surgeon General identified loneliness and parental stress as urgent public health crises. Nearly half of U.S. adults report measurable loneliness, which increases the risk of premature death by 29%. Forty-eight percent of parents say their daily stress feels "completely overwhelming." And when parents are stretched thin—financially, emotionally, or socially—children suffer.
The evidence: Research shows that parental resilience and social connection lead to better outcomes for children, including improved academic achievement, social adjustment, and emotional regulation.
The solution: Parent Cafés are proven to build the connection and resilience that families need to thrive.
Independent Research on Parent Cafés
Be Strong Families is always working to strengthen the research and evidence base for Parent Cafés. As a recent addition to the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), Parent Cafés are recognized as manualized, replicable model with a clear theory of change.
Independent evaluations of Parent Café efforts conducted by partners have found statistically significant increases in:
Mean scores on combined Protective Factors to reduce child maltreatment and on family functioning and resiliency
Cross-ethnic group social interactions
Ability to listen carefully to children, family members or friends
Quality of interactions and relationship with their children
Ability to handle stressful situations with their children or other family members
Motivation to become involved in their community or their child's school
Overall summary score for the Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale
What Parent Café Participants Say
About Connection:
"I felt loved, supported, and as a result, more alive. I realized I've been practicing a type of 'hiding' because I've felt so inadequate. Sharing and listening today has made me feel part of the human race again—accepted. THANK YOU."
"Cafés provide so many little moments and big moments, that there's no doubt in my mind that Cafés help people release that isolation."
"Wow, I was amazed at how I came in and didn't know anyone and left feeling really connected."
About Resilience:
"Every Monday I look forward to these classes. Being able to talk freely and opening up to other women who may be going through or experienced some of the same things I am or that I have brings a lot of joy and strength to me personally."
"Here I have learned many important things for myself and my family. For example, communication in the family and respecting the turns that everyone should have to speak. Also, the resilience to face life together as a family… Thank God for these parent cafés, for me they are a magical place."
About Support:
"That's the best thing about the Parent Café. That you now know that you have people you can reach out to. If you can't get it from your family, you have friends and neighbors who can help. It gives you a way of reaching out to people instead of being all alone."
"The session's focus on the deeply rooted and significant protective factors that we need in order to advocate for and take care of our families really resonated with me. I came away with new tools, like the importance of allowing my community into my world to help me. Before, I was proud to say I was a single mother who did it all myself. I never thought for a second that it would be feasible for me to maintain pride and sense of decency in my household and still allow someone to step in and support me."
About Growth:
"I learned a lot of things from the Parent Café as far as communication, as far as listening, and as far as becoming friends with people. Now I take the time to find out who's living in my community, who they are as a person, and communicate with them. Those are things I wouldn't do before."
"I try to make sure I actively have all 5 protective factors working in my life at all times and stages of my life."