Parenting skills classes are an effective means of preventing and remediating juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and child maltreatment. In particular, juvenile delinquency and child maltreatment disproportionately affect low-income African American families. Unfortunately, data from most parenting classes suggest dismal attendance and participation rates for racial- and ethnic-minorities from low-income backgrounds. The lack of effective recruitment may be due, in part, to the level of cultural competency inherent in the design, content, and implementation of existing parenting classes. Using semi-structured interviews and the qualitative methodology of grounded theory, this study explored the self-reported parenting beliefs, values, and struggles of a sample of low-income African American mothers whose children are at high risk for juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and child maltreatment and explicated a theory that connects such beliefs to parenting skills classes. These data may be useful in guiding parenting program design to increase the relevancy and effectiveness of parenting skills classes for this population.