Taking It to the Capitol: Parents as Teachers Advocates Show Up for Families This Legislative Season

In Missouri, we hopped on the bus to Jefferson City with our partners from YWCA Early Head Start to join advocates from across the state for Child Advocacy Day. Our message: Parents as Teachers should be there for every family that wants it — no matter whether their child is enrolled in public pre-K. In Minnesota, National Director of Government and Community Engagement Benjamin Hazelton joined the Minnesota Coalition for Family Home Visiting’s Advocacy Day to talk with legislators about why home visiting matters. And in Virginia, State Office Leader Sheri Parcell and colleagues, along with home visitors from Families Forward Virginia and Early Impact Virginia, headed to Richmond to push for budget support for home visiting expansion and the state match needed for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) funding. Partners in Community Outreach (PICO), the coalition of In Home Family Education (IHFE) sites in West Virginia, including Parents as Teachers, took to Charleston. During their Capitol Day, they met with more than 22 senators and delegates and over 50 staff, and they were introduced on the floor of each chamber.

It takes a village, and we’re so proud of the advocates, partners, and home visitors who are fighting for families this year.