Program Description
Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an evidence-based parent education and family support program serving families throughout pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten. The program increases parent knowledge of early childhood development and improves parenting practices; provides early detection of developmental delays and health issues; prevents child abuse and neglect; and increases children’s school readiness and school success. The PAT model includes 4 components: personal visits during which certified parent educators share age-appropriate child development information with parents and engage the family in activities that provide meaningful parent/child interaction; monthly group meetings designed to relay important information about child development and offer parents opportunities to interact and support one another; health and developmental screening; and a resource network to connect families with resources that meet their specific needs.

Program Reach
Currently, PAT reaches 2,689 children and their families through 34 programs in 35 counties, including: Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Bent, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Garfield, Gunnison, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Ouray, Park, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Routt, Saguache, San Miguel, Summit, Teller and Weld.

-51% of Colorado’s PAT children are Hispanic/Latino, 37% White, and 12% other. -37% of PAT families speak Spanish as their primary language. -91% of PAT families served had major risk factors such as low-income/poverty, low educational attainment levels, limited English proficiency, single parenthood, children with disabilities, teen parents, and multiple children under the age of five.

If you are interested in starting a PAT program in your community, please review the PAT Start Up Guide and content of this website, then contact the Colorado Parent & Child Foundation.

Dosage and Services
PAT families generally receive monthly home visits, though higher risk families receive visits every two weeks.

-Last year, the programs offered over 1,500 group meetings for families. -Last year, 1,708 children received health and developmental screenings. Of those screened, 12% were identified with possible health and developmental problems and were referred for follow-up services. -Last year, 90% of PAT two-year olds had up-to-date immunizations.

Research and Outcomes
PAT is an evidence-based program model that has been tested using rigorous research designs, including randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental methods, with published findings in peer-reviewed journals. Research has proven PAT to have statistically significant impacts and sustained effects ranging from increased parent knowledge of early childhood development, prevention of child abuse and neglect, early detection of developmental delays, and increased school readiness and school success. A recent study published in the Journal of Primary Prevention confirms that PAT measurably improves school readiness, virtually eliminating the achievement gap normally observed between poor children and their more affluent peers at the point of kindergarten entry, and that gap continued to be narrowed in the third grade. (See: Zigler, Pfannenstiel, Seitz (2008). The Parents as Teachers program and school success: A replication and extension. Journal of Primary Prevention, 29, 103-120.)
To learn more about the PAT model and its research, please click on the links below.
   PAT Logic Model
   PAT Research Quality Booklet

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1775 Sherman Street, Suite 2075 Denver, CO 80203 303-860-6000