Free Parenting App Shows Promise in Boosting Child Development, Engagement with County Services
Larimer County's Colorado Works program has achieved a 96 percent satisfaction rating on whether the assistance helped participants' children, significantly outperforming the state average of 88 percent, following integration of a free parenting resource designed to support early childhood brain development.
The county's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program partnered with the Bezos Family Foundation and research firm Mathematica to study whether introducing Vroom, a science-based parenting app, would improve both child outcomes and participant engagement with case management services.
The results exceeded expectations on both fronts, according to Nancy Kelly, Deputy Division Manager with Larimer County's Benefits and Community Support Division, who presented findings to the Board of County Commissioners November 3.
"Participants in the action group were more likely to say that learning about Vroom improved their experience overall with TANF and they also had modestly higher rates of attending a subsequent case management session with their coach," Kelly said.
Science-Based Tips Transform Routine Moments
Vroom provides parents and caregivers with simple activities based on early childhood development research that can be incorporated into everyday routines. The app, website, and text message service offer more than 1,000 tips in over 15 languages designed to build children's brain power during the critical period from birth to age 5.
Research from Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child indicates the brain forms more than 1 million new neural connections every second during these early years, establishing the foundation for future learning, behavior, and health.
The tips focus on turning ordinary moments into brain-building opportunities. One example for a 4-year-old suggests talking about emotions by describing times when the parent felt sad, tired, scared, or excited, helping children learn to identify and manage their feelings. For a 1-year-old, a tip recommends whispering and using very quiet voices to teach listening skills that will later support classroom learning.
"It really is meant to kind of help parents and children interact in ways that are healthy and are designed to kind of build brain power," Kelly said. "These tips are really designed to do kind of during everyday life as a way of teaching children things that help them, especially when they become school age and have to learn how to pay attention and how to moderate their voice."
Study Shows Improved Program Engagement
The Larimer County study ran from late 2023 through summer 2024, comparing two groups of TANF participants with children ages 0 to 5. One group received a coach-led introduction to Vroom during their first or second meeting with case managers, while a control group simply received written information about the resource among other community materials.
Participants who received direct coaching about Vroom reported better overall experiences with the Colorado Works program and attended follow-up appointments at higher rates than those who only received written information, according to the study results.
"Vroom can build trust with parents. It shifts the tone of these meetings from compliance because they are mandatory to collaboration," Kelly said, quoting feedback from case managers. "Vroom creates an opportunity for positive interactions and a feeling of genuine interest in the family's well being as a whole."
The resource also opened doors for more authentic conversations between case managers and families. "It invites storytelling. The parents share how they try a Vroom activity and it opens the door for authentic conversation which again continues to build trust and it really helps our families in terms of resolving those barriers and moving themselves forward," Kelly said.
Two-Generation Approach Addresses Family Stability
The Vroom integration reflects Larimer County's two-generation approach to poverty reduction, which addresses the needs of both children and adults in families receiving assistance rather than focusing solely on adult employment outcomes.
"We view TANF program as an entire family program and not just for the adults who are in the household," Kelly said. "Because there are a large number of families with young children in the household, it really kind of created an opportunity to see whether there was greater usage of this through introducing it through TANF."
Research from the Urban Institute and Aspen Institute indicates that TANF programs integrating early childhood supports see greater participant engagement, higher program completion rates, and improvements in both adult self-sufficiency and children's developmental outcomes.
The approach has proven particularly valuable as Larimer County faces significant budget constraints that have forced cuts to many ancillary support services in the TANF program, according to Heather O'Hare, Human Services Director.
"Our TANF team, our Colorado Works team under Nancy's leadership continues to be highlighted as one of the models in Colorado," O'Hare said. "We have really stripped a lot of the ancillary supports because of our budget constraints and yet continue to seek out opportunities like this and continue to build how we offer case management and how we try to support that TANF recipient in different ways."
Resource Available Free to All Families
The Bezos Family Foundation launched Vroom in 2014 to bring early childhood development science to parents through accessible daily activities. The foundation provides grant funding, technical support, and training materials to partner agencies implementing the resource.
Families can access Vroom through a mobile app, website at vroom.org, or by receiving weekly text messages with multiple tips in their preferred language. The service is entirely free and available to anyone, not just TANF participants.
"Anybody can go to the website, which is vroom.org and it is entirely free of charge," Kelly said.
Colorado counties including Jefferson, Denver, and Weld have also implemented Vroom through various social service programs and Family Resource Centers. Multiple other states have partnered with the foundation to integrate the resource into public assistance programs.
The Larimer County study represents one of several research projects Mathematica has conducted evaluating Vroom's effectiveness when embedded in social service delivery systems. Early reports from implementation sites in Washington, Louisiana, and Colorado have shown increases in positive parenting practices and family engagement with support services.
Commissioner Kristen Stevens praised the resource and suggested broader distribution. "I think this is a great tool. Really interesting to see how it improved people showing up to meetings. I bet a lot of community members will be happy to know about this," Stevens said.
County officials said they plan to share information about Vroom with additional departments and community partners, including the Public Health Department's Nurse Family Partnership, the Grand Family Coalition serving grandparents raising grandchildren, the Early Childhood Council, and the Youth Mental Health Task Force.
Residents interested in accessing Vroom tips can visit vroom.org or download the Vroom app on their mobile device.