Each Child. Every Community.

Recognizing the Impact of Home Visiting & Parenting Education

By Amy Cubbage, President of the North Carolina Partnership for Children

Today the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Smart Start, the North Carolina Home Visiting & Parenting Education System Collaborative, and many partners kick off the 2022 Home Visiting & Parenting Education Summit. And, tomorrow, February 1^st, marks the beginning of Family Support Awareness Month, when we will recognize the impact of home visiting and parenting education across the state.

I am so proud of the role the North Carolina Partnership for Children and Smart Start have played in planning both the summit and Family Support Awareness Month, in partnership with the North Carolina Home Visiting & Parenting Education System Collaborative.

It seems like just yesterday that I was a young mom, juggling the needs of my kids and, frankly, feeling a little frazzled. I may have called the pediatrician a few too many times for advice. I’ll never forget what she told me, “I’m not worried about the parents that call me, she said. I worry about those that I don’t hear from.”

Parenting is our most important job, and we can all use support and advice.

At NCPC and across the Smart Start network, we believe in the power of home visiting and parenting education to strengthen families, to give kids the best start, and to lay the foundation for long-term health.

We believe in the power of home visiting and parenting education to support equity, remediating the effects of systemic racism and providing opportunities for all families.

We know that our home visitors and parenting educators build and support the relationships that prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences and develop protective factors.

In fact, the more that we learn about brain development and the importance of strong relationships, the more we understand the lasting benefits of programs like home visiting and parenting education. They are critical pieces of supporting the whole child and providing comprehensive early care and education.

That’s why NCPC and Smart Start have been such advocates for home visiting and parenting education in communities across the state. It is why Smart Start is one of the biggest funders of home visiting and parenting education services across the state.  It is why we partnered with Family Connects on pilots in rural communities, with the support of Preschool Development Grant funding.

And it is why we have been such champions of the North Carolina Home Visiting and Parenting Education System Collaborative. Working together, across models, across communities, we can increase access to these critical services across the state. So many more families and children could benefit from home visiting and parenting education services, and I know we will get there.

Thank You

So, today I say thank you. Thank you to those who have given their time, their talents, and their expertise to the development of the system. Thank you to those who have supported the system financially and those who have made this week’s summit available for all of us.

And a special thanks to our home visitors and parenting educators across the state. Each day, the connections, the support, the knowledge you share with families are making a difference. Each day – even during a global pandemic – you are planting seeds that will grow and blossom, nurturing children in every corner of the state.

Thank you. We will continue to work with you to make sure every child and every family in every community has access to these important programs.