Teachers from day one.
Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an evidence-based early childhood home visiting model that builds strong communities, thriving families, and children who are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. The PAT mission is to promote the optimal early development, learning, and health of children by supporting and engaging their parents and caregivers.
PAT empowers parents as their child’s first teacher, working with families from pregnancy through kindergarten. PAT services can be offered in various types of organizations, including but not limited to family resource centers, early childhood councils, non-profit organizations, school districts, and family literacy programs.
Model certified parent educators implement the PAT model and build strong relationships with families using the PAT fundamental approach: partner, facilitate, and reflect.
Impact
The PAT affiliate model is designed to achieve four primary goals:
- Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices
- Provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues
- Prevent child abuse and neglect
- Increase children’s school readiness and school success
25
sites
35
counties
1,721
kids served
15,897
visits
Model components
The PAT affiliate model has four dynamic components that together create a cohesive package of services for families with young children:
- Personal Visits: certified parent educators work with families to support parent-child interaction, developmental-centered parenting, and family well-being. Parent educators tailor the work with the family to the specific needs of the child, the challenges facing the parents and the family context. Parents choose the location of visits that best fits their needs. This is often the family home, but also includes parks library, or virtually through a video conferencing platform like Zoom.
- Group Connections: Social support is offered through group meetings. Families observe their children in a social setting and support their child’s development while building parenting skills.
- Health & Developmental Screenings: Developmental and health screenings are conducted to support early detection of delays or concerns for children. Screenings includes hearing, vision, dental, and safety. Screenings help parent educators tailor services based on the child’s individual needs.
- Resource Network: Parent educators connect families to local resources like housing vouchers, food, mental health services, early intervention, or other services.
Parents as Teachers Blue Ribbon Affiliates
The Parents as Teachers Quality Endorsement and Improvement Process helps ensure that Parents as Teachers affiliates are achieving fidelity to the Parents as Teachers model and facilitates continuous quality improvement.
Being named a Blue Ribbon Affiliate means these sites are nationally-recognized leaders in the home visitation and parent education field and among the very top programs implementing the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model with fidelity and quality.
To earn the designation, programs engage in a rigorous self-study and review process from the National Center. Those earning Blue Ribbon status are truly exemplary programs, delivering highest quality services to children and families.
Colorado PAT affiliates that have earned this distinction:
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Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council PAT |
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Berthoud & Loveland/ House of Neighborly Service |
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Bright Futures for Early Childhood & Families PAT |
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Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado |
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Colorado Springs School District 11 PAT |
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Community Partnership Family Resource Center PAT |
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Delta Family Center PAT |
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Family Star Montessori |
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Focus Points Family Resource Center PAT |
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Growing Home PAT |
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Hilltop Family Resource Center PAT |
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La Plata Family Centers Coalition PAT |
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Metropolitan State University of Denver PAT |
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Roots Family Center |
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Shiloh House PAT |
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Tri-County Family Care Center |
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