Responding to the Children’s Mental Health Crisis

See an excerpt from Lesson 1 of the Family Resiliency Program

In 2021, as the pandemic took a further toll on children’s mental health, PEP began developing the PEP Family Resiliency Program. Designed particularly for families in under-resourced areas, this support-group style program helps parents and caregivers help their children cope with stress and anxiety. Offered in English and Spanish, the program includes PEP’s positive parenting approaches plus select content on mental health issues provided by our partner, Suburban Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine.

PEP received a $250,000 grant from the State of Maryland, along with grants from Suburban Hospital Foundation and the Mead Family Foundation, to develop and disseminate the program in Montgomery County and other Maryland counties beginning in the fall of 2022. The program’s impact will be evaluated in partnership with NORC of the University of Chicago, an independent research institution.

PEP in the News:

In the past year, PEP op-ed pieces were published in the New York Times and Bethesda Beat, highlighting the role that positive parenting can play to support children’s mental wellness and resiliency.