If someone is in need of help and sees a block parent sign, they know there is someone home who can help them and call the appropriate emergency service if necessary.

RCMP detachments in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island have abandoned the program, as have local police in major centres including Toronto and Ottawa.

Factors in the decline include fewer parents at home (as more join the outside workforce), a greater reliance on mobile telephones or other communication technologies as an alternative to seeking assistance from neighbours, and more onerous police background checks in the post-9/11 era.

Block Parent programs happened in the United States as far back at the late 1960s.

The signs placed in windows at that time were orange or white square, approximately 12x12 inches, with a large black 'X'.