Local Early Childhood Iowa Board secures new contract for Parents as Teachers services

The directors of the Jasper, Marion, and Poweshiek Early Childhood Iowa Area Board (JMP ECI), a tri-county collaboration to support children under the age of five and their families, announced a new collaboration with Short Years Partnership to provide Parents as Teachers (PAT) home visitation services to families in Jasper and Marion Counties.

“Parents as Teachers is such a valuable program,” Amy Blanchard, JMP ECI director, said. “Parenting is challenging for everyone, even for the best-prepared families. This program provides insights, tools, and support for families of young children that are evidence-based and, more importantly, useful and fun.”

Parents as Teachers was started in 1984 in Missouri to support parents to better prepare their children for school and support overall healthy development. The program is relationship-focused, helping build healthy relationships between parent and child and between parent and PAT educator to ensure children develop optimally and achieve their full potential.

PAT home visitation programs in Iowa undergo a rigorous credentialing process. Through regular home visits, a parent educator offers personalized support to young children and their families by focusing on developmental milestones, family goal setting, and connecting families to additional services as needed. “As a new mom in Missouri, I benefitted from a PAT parent educator and I carry the skills I learned still to this day,” Blanchard said. “We’re so happy to find a new provider of these services for Jasper and Marion Counties.”

The Short Years Partnership currently offers family support and parenting education services and programs in Warren, Dallas, and Madison Counties. The nonprofit submitted a proposal to serve Jasper and Marion Counties after Marion County Public Health unexpectedly terminated their service contract in June. The Parents as Teachers program is available at no cost to qualified families in the service area with a child aged birth through kindergarten entry. Short Years also offers group-based education for parents and providers through the Short Years Training Center. The program was recently recognized by the national PAT offices as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate, the highest quality endorsement a program can receive for executing an exemplary service model.

“We are thrilled to expand our service area to include Jasper and Marion Counties,” Sheena Sullivan, executive director of Short Years Partnership, said. “We at Short Years are driven by our belief in the power of nurturing parent-child relationships, and we can’t wait to share our program with these two new communities.”

Families that are interested in learning more about Parents as Teachers can contact Short Years Partnership at info@shortyears.org. Persons interested in applying to become a parent educator can learn more at www.shortyears.org.

The JMP board is currently seeking applications for new members to serve on the board, particularly a Marion County representative. Blanchard encourages anyone who is committed to making a difference in early childhood education to contact her at 641-236-5518 to inquire about serving the JMP Early Childhood Iowa mission or complete an application found on the board’s website, www.jmpeci.org.

JMP is a nonprofit partner organization of the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation. More information can be found at www.jmpeci.org or www.greaterpcf.org