Encouraging Family and Parent Education: Program Development and Evaluation in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Against the background of a European-wide strategy of governance aimed at improving support for parents and families, the following report details the conceptualization and evaluation of a federal state program4 in Baden- Württemberg (Germany) which was launched in 2008 to encourage fam- ily and parent education. Two program components, a voucher system for parents with a new-born child and an element that emphasizes educa- tional offers for families with special needs in particular living situations, were started to increase requests for educational courses. The aim was to establish and deepen cooperation between different public and private professional services that are in contact with parents and their children. The results show that main goals of the program were reached.