Pathways to Child & Family Excellence

This page was designed to give parents a place to support one another, share information and network with other local parents.

What is the Home Visiting Program? Pathways is currently implementing a First 5 Lassen funded school readiness home visiting program. The home visitors are Healthy Families America certified home visitors. They utilize the Parents as Teachers Born to Learn™ curriculum to guide their services to children and families. They strive to provide the information, support and encouragement parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life.

Program Goals:

• Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices.
• Provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues.
• Prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Increase children’s school readiness and school success.

Core Values:

• Parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers.
• The early years of a child’s life are critical for optimal development and provide the foundation for success in school and life.
• Established and emerging research should be the foundation of parent education and family support curricula, training, materials, and services.
• All young children and their families deserve the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of any demographic, geographic, or economic considerations.
• An understanding and appreciation of the history and traditions of diverse cultures is essential in serving families.

The Parents as Teachers Born to Learn™ Home Visiting Model includes four components:

• Personal Visits
o Personal visits (monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly) are the major service delivery component. During these visits, home visitors share age-appropriate child development information with parents; help them learn to observe their own child, address their parenting concerns, and engage the family in activities that provide meaningful parent-child interaction.
• Group Meetings
o Parent group meetings provide opportunities to share information about parenting issues and child development. Parents learn and support each other, observe their children with other children, and practice parenting skills.
• Screening
o Periodic developmental, health, vision, and hearing screening provides for early identification of developmental. Delays and health, vision, and hearing problems. Regular review of each child’s developmental progress identifies strengths and abilities as well as areas of concern that require referral for follow-up services and increases parents’ understanding of their child’s development.
• Resource Network
o Home Visitors help families identify and connect with needed resources, and overcome barriers to accessing services. Programs take an active role in establishing ongoing collaborative relationships with other organizations that serve families.