Mission Statement

The Center for Effective Parenting positively impacts children by helping parents and those who work with parents enhance their knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding parenting.  The Center focuses on training, service, and research in order to have a broad impact in facilitating the healthy growth and development of children.

History

The Center for Effective Parenting (CEP) was established in 1990 by Dr. Nicholas Long at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  In 1997 the Center for Effective Parenting, in collaboration with the Jones Center for Families (Springdale, Arkansas), obtained funding from the U.S. Department of Education for a Parental Assistance Center (the Department of Education later renamed these centers Parental Information and Resource Centers – better known as PIRCs).  This funding was active from 1997-2011 and focused on parental involvement (in children’s learning and schools) as well as early childhood parenting education services.  For the duration of this grant project there were two centers in Arkansas (one in Springdale and one in Little Rock).  At the present time, the Center for Effective Parenting has only one location which is on the campus of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.   As of January 2012, the Center for Effective Parenting serves as the home of the Arkansas Home Visiting Training Institute.  This grant-funded program involves developing and offering training programs and materials for home visiting programs in Arkansas.

Director & Founder

Nicholas Long, Ph.D. is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of Pediatric Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  Dr. Long is an extensively published scholar in the areas of parenting, parent education, and family influences on child behavior and adjustment.  He has over 80 professional publications and over 400 presentations at the regional, national, and international level.  Dr. Long has been appointed to the editorial boards of several professional journals and has served leadership roles in numerous state and national organizations.