Parenting Inside Out

Parenting Inside Out (PIO) is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral parent management skills program created for incarcerated parents through a six-year collaboration of scientists, policy makers, practitioners, and instructional designers. Both the information in the program and the way that information is presented were informed by knowledge derived from research and practice.

At the core of Parenting Inside Out is the Oregon Social Learning Center’s Parent Management Training (PMT) curriculum, which appears on numerous national-level best practice lists, including those created by the American Psychological Assoc., the US Department of Health & Human Services, and the Office of Victims of Crime, the US Department of Justice. PMT includes communication, problem solving, monitoring, positive reinforcement and non-violent discipline techniques. Researchers built upon the PMT curriculum to make it effective within the context and restrictions of parents and families involved in the criminal justice system. In addition to the professionals who contributed to PIO, inmates and their families were extensively interviewed to ensure the program addressed the real needs and issues they experience. PIO was the subject of a $2.1 million, National Institutes of Mental Health study, the largest ever done of a parenting skills program for this population.

There are three versions of the curriculum — prison, jail and community — that differ in the number of instructional hours they contain and several of their activities.

Additional information about Parenting Inside Out can be found at parentinginsideout.org.