Celebrating the Home Visiting Class of 2023
On June 16th, we gathered to celebrate the Parents as Teachers (PAT) Home Visiting Class of 2023. These 8 families have been in the program for 2-7 years, some since pregnancy. The event was a wonderful time to recognize the hard work and successes of the graduating class.
During their time in the program, families have worked side-by-side with their Family Support Specialists (FSS) to make positive changes in their lives and strengthen their parenting. In home visits, the FSSs focus on strengthening parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting, and family well-being and promote parental resilience, knowledge of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence of children.
Visits include evidence-based screening tools for evaluating children on key developmental, emotional, and social milestones. If a delay or issue was identified, families were referred for additional assessments and intervention.
Another important part of the program is understanding the families’ unique needs and helping connect them with other community services, such as medical care, mental health resources, financial assistance programs, and employment and career development programs.
The families also gathered monthly with other PAT families for family connection events to increase parents’ social connection and build a feeling of community. In addition to building community, the events also provided opportunities for learning and skill-building with topics and presentations such as goal setting, creating a family budget, and children’s health screening.
We are so proud of these families and all the families in our program. Their hard work is creating a stronger community and thriving families with children who are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.
