TYRO Champion Dads Project Study

Impact Evaluation of the TYRO Champion Dads Project in Dallas, Texas

This impact evaluation aims to determine if the addition of 10 hours of domestic violence prevention programming is effective at improving outcomes among those program participants who are randomly assigned to the treatment group. Both study groups will receive standard TYRO Champion Dads services (the TYRO Dads and TYRO Core Communication evidence-based curricula, plus support services), but only the treatment group will be offered the additional Ray of Hope curriculum hours focused on mitigating risk factors related to domestic violence.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fathers
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Standard Servies + Ray of Hope Curriculum; Other: Standard Services

Detailed Description

Anthem Strong Families (ASF) is reviewing the Ray of Hope curriculum as a possible addition to standard TCD services to better meet the needs of populations that may have unmet needs to address domestic violence in their families. The Ray of Hope curriculum is designed to help participants develop communication and conflict management skills like Core Communication but is a more robust approach since it adds a sharp focus on the dynamics of domestic violence and related risk factors.

The impact of the addition of the Ray of Hope curriculum will be assessed by comparing outcomes for participants who receive standard TYRO Champion Dads (TCD) services, which includes the TYRO curriculum plus support services, and participants who receive both standard services plus 10 Ray of Hope curriculum hours.

Goal 1: determine if treatment group participants who receive enhanced TCD services report healthier parenting attitudes compared to control group participants who receive only standard TCD services 6 months after TCD enrollment.

Goal 2: determine if treatment group participants who receive enhanced TCD services report healthier partner relationship behavior compared to control group participants who receive only standard TCD services 6 months after TCD enrollment.

Goal 3: determine if treatment group participants who receive enhanced TCD services report healthier parenting behavior compared to control group participants who receive only standard TCD services 6 months after TCD enrollment.

Goal 4: determine if treatment group participants who receive enhanced TCD services report healthier co-parenting behavior compared to control group participants who receive only standard TCD services 6 months after TCD enrollment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 748
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75254
      • Anthem Strong Families

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult (age 18 and older)
• Father (children must be no more than 24 years of age)
• must have no open criminal cases (can be deferred)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Minor (under the age of 18)
• Not a father
• Has an open criminal case

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment-Enhanced Services (Standard + Ray of Hope); Treatment group participants receive standard and enhanced services. Standard services are delivered as primary services to participants in both study groups under a shared condition, and they are: 20 hours of TYRO Dads curricula and 6 hours of Core Communication curricula. Finally, only the treatment group receives 10 hours of the Ray of Hope curriculum as an enhanced service. Optional services are available to both study groups by selecting 1-3 hours of coursework from a menu of courses in the Mini-Clinic that address a variety of needs.	Other: Standard Servies + Ray of Hope Curriculum; Standard services delivered as primary services to participants in both study groups under a shared condition are: 20 hours of TYRO Dads curricula and 6 hours of Core Communication curricula. Optional services available to both study groups by selecting 1-3 hours of coursework from menu of courses that address a variety of needs.; Other: Standard Services; Standard services delivered as primary services to participants in both study groups under a shared condition are: 20 hours of TYRO Dads curricula and 6 hours of Core Communication curricula.
Experimental: Control-Standard Services; Only standard services are delivered to participants in the control group under a shared condition with the treatment group, and they are: 20 hours of TYRO Dads curricula and 6 hours of Core Communication curricula. Optional services are available to both study groups by selecting 1-3 hours of coursework from a menu of courses that address a variety of needs.	Other: Standard Services; Standard services delivered as primary services to participants in both study groups under a shared condition are: 20 hours of TYRO Dads curricula and 6 hours of Core Communication curricula.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Primary Outcome Measures 1: Healthy Parenting Behavior	What is the impact of enhanced TCD services (treatment) compared to standard TCD services only (control) on healthy parent behavior 6 months after TCD enrollment?; Average of 11 survey items that relate to frequency of positive interactions with participant's youngest child using categories on a five-point scale where 1 is never and 5 is every day or almost every day; Higher scores are always positive The 11 items are measured as a construct. All items are added together and divided by 11 to create the construct score. maximum score of 5.0, minimum score of 1.0	change from baseline to 6-months after enrollment
Primary Outcome Measures 2: Healthy Parenting Behavior	What is the impact of enhanced TCD services (treatment) compared to standard TCD services only (control) on healthy parent behavior 6 months after TCD enrollment? • 1 survey item measures the reported frequency of fighting with their child on a five-point scale where 1 is never and 5 is every day or almost every day o A lower score is better maximum score of 5.0, minimum score of 1.0	baseline to 6-months after enrollment
Primary Outcome Measure 3: Healthy Co-parenting Behavior	What is the impact of enhanced TCD services (treatment) compared to standard TCD services only (control) on healthy co-parent behavior 6 months after TCD enrollment? • 11 survey items measure the reported frequency of agreement with key co-parenting behaviors using categories on a 5-point scale (1 'Strongly Disagree', 2 'Disagree', 3 'Neither Agree Nor Disagree', 4 'Agree', 5 'Strongly Agree'). The 11 items are measured as a construct. All items are added together and divided by 11 to create the construct score. The higher the score, the better the outcome. maximum score of 5.0, minimum score of 1.0	change from baseline to 6-months after enrollment
Primary Outcome Measures 4: Healthy Partner Relationship Behavior	• Average of 8 survey items related to frequency of disagreement with partner on different topics using categories on a 5-point scale where 1 is never and 5 is always Lower scores are positive and show a better outcome. The 8 items are measured as a construct. All items are added together and divided by 8 to create the construct score. maximum score of 5.0, minimum score of 1.0	change from baseline to 6-months after enrollment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Secondary Outcome Measure 1: Healthy Parenting Attitudes	What is the impact of enhanced TCD services (treatment) compared to standard TCD services only (control) on healthy parenting attitudes 6-months after TCD enrollment? • 7 survey items measure the reported frequency of healthy parenting attitudes using categories on a 5-point scale (1 'Always', 2 'Often', 3 'Rarely', 4 'Sometimes', 5 'Never'). The 7 items are measured as a construct. All items are added together and divided by 7 to create the construct score. The lower the score, the better the outcome. maximum score of 5.0, minimum score of 1.0	baseline to 6-months after enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Midwest Evaluation & Research
• Collaborators: Anthem Strong Families
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Matt D Shepherd, PhD, Midwest Evaluation & Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): August 29, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 21, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 11, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: #2021/03/35

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All participant data will be confidential and aggregated. No individual participant data will be released unless requested by the courts. This study looks at data as a whole.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No