Parents as Teachers builds the capacity of parents to understand and support optimal healthy child development, develop effective parenting practices that strengthen the family foundation, and promotes school readiness. Research shows this model:
Develops school readiness by enhancing academic achievement in reading and math, increasing parenting skills related to child development, and improving overall family functioning.
- Parents as Teachers participation has a positive effect on improving child outcomes, school behavior, and parenting skills [Lahti, M., Evans, C. B., Goodman, G., Schmidt, M. C., & LeCroy, C. W. (2019). Parents as Teachers (PAT) Home-Visiting Intervention: A Path to Improved Academic Outcomes, School Behavior, and Parenting Skills. Children and Youth Services Review, 99(5), 451-460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.022]
- Parents as Teachers children show more age-appropriate adaptive behavior, higher developmental competence, and lower developmental dysfunction in the form of problem behavior [Schaub, S., Ramseier, E., Neuhauser, A., Burkhardt, S. C., & Lanfranchi, A. (2019). Effects of Home-Based Early Intervention on Child Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Parents as Teachers in Switzerland. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48, 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.03.007]
- Parents as Teachers participation increases maternal sensitivity, which positively effects language development [Neuhauser, A., Ramseier, E., Schaub, S., Burkhardt, S. C., & Lanfranchi, A. (2018). Mediating Role of Maternal Sensitivity: Enhancing Language Development in At‐Risk Families. Infant Mental Health Journal, 39(5), 522-536. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21738]
Reduces neglect and abuse by lowering the rate of substantiated reports among at-risk families and preventing child maltreatment recidivism.
- Parents as Teachers participation lowers the rate of substantiated Child Protective Services (CPS) reports among families identified as socially high-risk for child maltreatment [Chaiyachati, B. H., Gaither, J. R., Hughes, M., Foley-Schain, K., & Leventhal, J. M. (2018). Preventing child maltreatment: Examination of an established statewide home-visiting program. Child abuse & neglect, 79, 476-484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.019]
- Parents as Teachers participation prevents recurrent child abuse and neglect offenses, known as child maltreatment recidivism, by moderating caregiver depression [Jonson-Reid, M., Drake, B., Constantino, J. N., Tandon, M., Pons, L., Kohl, P., Roesch, S., Wideman, E., Dunnigan, A., & Auslander, W. (2018).caregiver Child maltreatment, 23(3), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559517751671]
Parents As Teachers serves families in 49 counties.