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Website: http://azpartnershipforchildren.org

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARIZONA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN PARENTS AS TEACHERS PROGRAM RECOGNIZED AS AMONG TOP PERFORMERS NATIONWIDE

Program Named Blue Ribbon Affiliate For Quality, Results of In-Home Training, Education

The Arizona Partnership for Children (AzPaC)’s Parents as Teachers Program in the southeast Valley has been named a Blue Ribbon Affiliate by the Parents as Teachers National Center as a top performer in the international network.

The Parents as Teachers Program serves families in Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek through home visits that equip parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a stronger start in life and greater success in school. The program served 329 families and 419 children during Fiscal Year 2018.

The program is a collaboration among Catholic Charities Community Services in central and northern Arizona, and Devereux.

“Ensuring that parents have the tools and resources to create a positive foundation for success for their children is vital,” said AzPaC PAT Program Manager Victoria Bray. “Earning this Blue Ribbon designation not only highlights the exceptional services our home visitors have provided for the past nine years, it also demonstrates that our program is strongly dedicated to continue meeting the needs of young families in the communities we serve.”

To earn Blue Ribbon Affiliate status, AzPaC Parents as Teachers underwent a rigorous self-study and National Center review process to confirm they are meeting standards of
fidelity and quality, which are critical elements in establishing a program’s effectiveness in accomplishing goals and outcomes.

Parents as Teachers’ rigorous endorsement process demonstrates an affiliate’s accountability and credibility to the community, its funders, elected officials and the partner organizations with which they work.

Among AzPaC Parents as Teachers' greatest strengths identified by the assessment are strong leadership and infrastructure, including comprehensive protocols to guide service delivery. AzPaC’s strengths also include measuring outcomes related to the quality of parenting skills and the commitment to influence program implementation with the results of these outcomes.

Program services include home visits, group connections, child screening and connections to community resources.

About AzPaC Parents as Teachers: AzPaC Parents as Teachers has been serving the Southeast Valley of Mesa, Gilbert, and Queen Creek since 2009, providing parenting and school readiness support to families with children under the age of 5 through home visits, routine developmental screening, monthly family events, connections and to community resources. Support for AzPaC Parents as Teachers is provided by a grant from First Things First, which partners with families and communities to give all Arizona children the opportunity to arrive at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed. Learn more at FirstThingsFirst.org. For more information about the AzPaC Parents as Teachers Program visit http://azpartnershipforchildren.org

About Parents as Teachers Parents as Teachers builds strong communities, thriving families and children that are healthy, safe and ready to learn by matching parents and caregivers with trained professionals during a child’s earliest years in life, from pregnancy through kindergarten. Parents as Teachers internationally recognized evidence-based home visiting model is backed by 35 years of research-proven outcomes for children and families and currently serves 121,000 families in 50 U.S. states, 115 Tribal organizations, five other countries and one U.S. territory. Parents as Teachers is
headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Parents as Teachers affiliates operate in various settings, including health departments, hospitals, schools, faith-based and non-profit organizations. For more information, visit parentsasteachers.org or Twitter @NatlPAT.