BFF launches Parent Child Home Visit Program on The Eastside

Tony Bacon presents a check to United Way CEO Jon Fine to help launch the Parent Child Home Visit Program on the Eastside.

The Parent-Child Home Program is a research-based early literacy and school readiness program for hard-to-reach families. The program engages isolated, diverse, low-income families where it matters-in their homes-and coaches parents to become adept teachers for their young children.

Its focus is 2- to 4-year-olds and their parents. At the family's invitation, specially-trained visitors come twice weekly over a two-year period with gifts of books and educational toys. Using these materials, the visitor teams with the parent in exercises to stimulate the child's development.

The program has proven highly successful, raising participants' high school graduation rates to those of higher-income students. It also builds the "protective factors" in families that are shown to reduce child abuse and neglect.

Building on the work of the Business Partnership for Early Learning, which brought the program to the region, United Way plans to extend the Parent-Child Home Program to any family living in poverty in King County that is interested and can benefit. The expansion of the Parent-Child Home Program will help give every child in our community an equal chance to succeed.