Parent Panel, 2022 Home Visiting & Parenting Education Summit
In celebration of Family Support Awareness Month, Smart Start is taking time to recognize the importance of home visiting and parenting education services to early childhood development. Smart Start will feature select sessions from the 2022 Home Visiting & Parenting Education Summit. To learn more about Smart Start’s Home Visiting & Parenting Education work, visit the Home Visiting and Parental Education System Building page.
Early childhood home visiting and parenting education programs strengthen the relationship between caregivers and children by increasing parenting skills and building confidence. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress on families, making these programs especially important resources for ensuring healthy child development, reducing the risk of abuse and neglect, and promoting strong families.
The 2022 Home Visiting & Parenting Education Summit addressed these needs by highlighting the experiences of parents who have received home visiting and parenting education services in a Parent Panel. The panel included parents throughout North Carolina who 
received support or are receiving support through a home visitor or parenting educator. The session was moderated by Dr. Clinton Boyd, Jr., Executive Director of Fathers, Families, and Healthy Communities.
These parents provided an inside look at what asking for and receiving support looked like for them. Their feedback on the challenges they faced as well as their advice for reaching out to parents was critical for home visitors and parent educators to hear.
The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC) is leading home visiting and parenting education for the state as the convening agency for the NC Home Visiting and Parenting Education (HVPE) System. The HVPE System is guided by a Collaborative Board and is committed to creating a more coordinated and effective HVPE system.
As early childhood providers work to support children and families, it is important for the voices of parents and caregivers to be heard. In an effort to ensure parents are part of the decision-making process for the coordination of the HVPE System, a Family Advisory Board comprised of parents is providing input throughout the process with three members of the Advisory Board serving as Collaborative Board members. By elevating parental voices, home visiting and parenting education providers, are able to bring the life experiences of each parent into each decision.
The panelists highlighted the need for home visiting and parenting education programs to be equally accessible in both urban and rural areas. “The little cities deserve these programs as well,” stressed April Dyer. Another parent, Charnel Williams explained that we can break barriers and close the gap many mothers are battling by offering services everywhere.
Each parent provided advice to home visitors on establishing trust and a mutually beneficial relationship and acknowledged the need for home visiting services for families across the state.
You can watch the entire panel discussion to learn more about the strengths, challenges, and overall experiences of each parent. View the panel here.
