Challenge Grant Awardee Spotlight: Parent Child Center of Tulsa

Investing in the People Who Strengthen Families

The Parent Child Center of Tulsa’s Positive Parenting program used its $50,000 Parents as Teachers Challenge Grant award to strengthen the people at the heart of home visiting: parent educators. Through professional development, reflective supervision, and wellness supports, the project increased staff confidence and resilience while improving family engagement.

Strengthening the Workforce

Parent educators participated in professional and leadership development, including the Parents as Teachers Annual International Conference, Hope Navigator certification, Hope Awareness training, and specialized training. Monthly reflective supervision helped staff address secondary traumatic stress, reduce burnout, and strengthen reflective practice. By the end of the project, 67% of parent educators had achieved Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health endorsement, with the remaining 33% working toward completion.

Supporting Staff Well-Being

Personalized Car CARE Kits provided parent educators with mindfulness, grounding, and self-care tools to use between visits, while a dedicated Wellness Room offered space to decompress and recharge. One parent educator shared that after a particularly difficult visit, spending just five minutes with her CARE Kit helped her reset and arrive calm, present, and ready to engage with her next family.

Stronger Staff, Stronger Families

The investment produced measurable results: client engagement increased from 74% to 87% among parent educators in their roles for at least six months. Staff also reported greater confidence in engaging caregivers and responding to complex family needs.

Community partnerships expanded the project’s reach. Enterprise volunteers assembled postpartum care kits, “Grab-and-Go” parent-child activity kits, and family resource packets to further support families.

Looking Ahead

One important lesson was that staff valued recognition, professional development, supportive supervision, and a positive workplace culture more than performance-based incentives. The project also reinforced the importance of approaching family engagement through a trauma-informed lens and understanding the barriers behind missed visits.

The Parent Child Center of Tulsa plans to sustain this work through its programmatic budget and additional funding. The project demonstrated a powerful principle: when we care for those who care for others, everyone benefits.

Congratulations to The Parent Child Center of Tulsa. The National Center applauds your commitment to the families and children in your community.