Parents as Teachers

Sharing stories and experiences offer some of the strongest ways to connect, reflect, and enrich our community.  In celebration of Father's Day, Mario Drain, a Fatherhood Involvement Specialist at the Milwaukee Health Department and a 2026 National Home Visitors of the Year recipient joins us to share his story.

Goal setting is a part of service delivery and a proven strategy for supporting personal growth, yet it isn't always easy to do. Daniel Charles II, Director of the Mission United program and Program Manager of the Parents as Teachers initiative at United Way of Central Georgia, joins us to talk about why goal setting is so important, how we can help families identify, set, and prioritize goals thr...

Masks.  Social distancing.  School closures.  COVID was a stressful and confusing time for all, but did the pandemic leave long lasting effects on the development of children who were living through it?  Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician, neuroscientist, pediatric environmental health scientist, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University, joins us to talk about the latest researc...

Melissa Jonson-Reid, Director at the Center for Innovation in Child Maltreatment Policy, Research and Training at Washington University, joins us to share how home visitors can embrace their role in supporting families, building on strengths, and fostering safe, nurturing environments that promote child and family well-being—both during Child Abuse Prevention Month and throughout the year.

We feel good taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of nature, and research shows that exposure to nature can lower stress, boost attention, and improve engagement - especially in children.  Jennifer Smith-Simms, Public Programs Manager at the Missouri Botanical Garden, joins us to talk about how any interaction with nature – big or small – can be therapeutic no matter how old we are, and she sh...

Parents as Teachers exists to support parents as they raise children who are healthy, safe, and learning. So, what does that look like when families are involved in the Child Welfare System?  Sondra Horowitz, Senior Director of Quality Improvement at Parents as Teachers National Center, joins us to talk about how parent educators should think of their roles in Child Welfare situations, how they ca...

Working as a home visitor with families in the Child Welfare System can be uniquely challenging and rewarding.  Mia Dadiz-Gaspar, a Lead Parent Educator at Maui Family Support Services, joins us to share her personal experience in Wailuku, Hawaii.

Everyone at Parents as Teachers has a story, so how can we tell it so people will listen? At the National Center, we're often fielding requests from the media, brainstorming how to share stories effectively, and strategizing about the best channels for amplifying the partnerships between families and parent educators.  Jen Peters, a communications strategist with over a decade of experience suppor...

Season 2 is here!  Fresh stories, compelling conversations, and expert interviews with guests that can help us build strong communities, thriving families, and children who are healthy, safe, and learning.  

By bringing together a unique and comprehensive portfolio of evidence-based programs (including Parents as Teachers), Imprints Cares in Winston-Salem, NC addresses the developing social, behavioral, and academic needs of children while also studying the impact of these efforts on families. Dr. Anna Miller-Fitzwater and Maria Stockton join us to talk about Imprints Cares, its affiliation with Paren...

Curious about what integrated support at Imprints Cares looks like on a personal level?  Amber Shields, an Imprints Cares family educator, shares her story of working with families through every stage of the Imprints Cares program and why it matters.

Parent educators work with families through many life cycle events, including grief and loss.  Dr. Kirk Coverstone, a consulting psychologist, and Roschel Servantes, Director of Learning and Development at Parents as Teachers National Center, join us to talk about what home visitors might expect in the immediate aftermath of a death experienced by a family they work with and specific ways to provi...

In addition to a variety of workshops and breakout sessions, this year's annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico brought together researchers and practitioners from around the world to explore how Parents as Teachers is implemented in diverse cultural contexts.  In this episode, recorded at the conference, Parents as Teachers Board Director Pete Weldy moderates a panel of experts from Nigeria,...

We've heard from a doula, now let's hear from a mom.  Kima K., mother of three, shares her experience working with a doula and why she recommends a doula to every mom she meets.

How can we improve health outcomes for parents and children?  By starting early.  Parents as Teachers has been working with affiliates to bring certified doulas alongside our evidence-based model to improve outcomes for newborns and their families.  Guest host Rachel Giannini speaks to doulas and parent educators Robin Lloyd and Erica Baltrusaitis about their work and how they help families with t...

Parents as Teachers is rich with a multitude of backgrounds and languages, and we intentionally aim to engage families in responsive and relevant ways - at home and abroad - to optimize positive child and family outcomes.  Guest hosts Dr. Dipesh Navsaria and Rachel Giannini speak to leading specialists Jovanna Archuleta, Michael Huesca, Heidi Kranz, Bec Slater, and Chisom Adirika about their work...

Parents as Teachers is built upon a strong foundation of research and evidence-based programming. But what constitutes 'research', and what does "evidence-based" really mean?  Scientifically, how do we know the model works?  And how can we quantifiably measure impact? Guest host Dr. Dipesh Navsaria speaks to Allison Kemner, Chief Research Officer of Parents as Teachers, about the research behind h...

Traditionally designed to engage mothers, home visiting models have recently been expanded to include tools and techniques geared towards fathers.  Parents as Teachers has partnered with Show Me Strong Families to explore how to involve fathers in home visits, increase outreach, and establish parent educators as a trusted resource where fathers can turn for support.  Parent Educator Randall Hinton...

"Healthy, safe, and learning" applies to all of us, not just families! By staying on top of ongoing research and innovations in the field of home visiting, Family Support Professionals can benefit from learning and growth themselves. Janet Horras of the Institute for Advancement for Family Support Professionals, and Lakeeshia Sandlin, Program Director of TCR Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Progr...

Having a winning idea and implementing a winning idea are very different undertakings.  Today we're speaking with two 2024 Challenge Grantees, Cori Silvey of Changing Tides, Helping Hands in Washington, and Julie Rains of Valley Center Schools in Kansas, about what they've learned after a year of working  on their winning proposals for themselves and their community, and what future applicants can...

Caregivers know that raising a child isn't a one-size-fits-all endeavor.  But families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder may need specific family support in order to help their children realize their full potential and aid in the family's functioning.  Christy Roberts, a long-time parent educator and her son Will, an artist, gamer, athlete, speaker, and aspiring voice actor who is autistic...

(En Español) Mayelin Escobar, a family educator with Show Me Strong Families in St. Louis, MO, shares her story of how a chance meeting with a friend turned into a successful and rewarding career working with families, and all of the joys and challenges she's met along the way. (Translation in English below. --- Erinn Miller: [00:00:01] Parent educators are the beating heart of our organization. A...

Home visitors have a unique skill set that blends child development, social work, and early childhood education, with compassion, warmth, and a keen ability to truly connect with families.  Jane Lee, Alison Gee, and Allison Kemner join us to talk about who is doing this work on a daily basis, and what, as an organization with 40 years experience in the field, Parents as Teachers has learned about...

Parent Educators are the beating heart of our organization, and as people who work with families and children as closely as we do, we know that sharing stories and experiences offer some of the strongest ways to connect, reflect, and enrich our growing community.   In each of these special bonus episodes, we'll turn our spotlight onto the personal stories of the people who make the Parents as Teac...

In our series premiere episode, Constance Gully, President and CEO of Parents as Teachers, breaks down what home visiting is (and what it isn't), how home visiting fits into the ecosystem of families, and why it's so important to the health and well-being of both parents and their children."