Oakland Family Services has earned a prestigious endorsement from the Parents as Teachers National Center as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate, making it one of the top-performing home visiting affiliates within the organization’s international network.

Parents as Teachers is an in-home service that gives parents of children 0-6 years old the information, support and encouragement they need to help their children develop optimally during the first years of life. The program encourages growth in overall development, including language, social and emotional development of children in Oakland County and also offers child screening, connections to community resources, and monthly Ready, Let’s Grow! playgroups.

“We are very proud to receive Blue Ribbon status for the Parents as Teachers program,” Oakland Family Services President and CEO Jaimie Clayton said. “It is very affirming of the work the staff in the program have done on behalf of the community and with children and families we have served for years. We strive to provide the highest quality services with research-based outcomes in all of our programs. The Blue Ribbon status is evidence that our Parents as Teachers program meets those quality standards and has proven outcomes for children and families. This is the culmination of years of work and will result in continued positive impact on our community.”

To achieve the Blue Ribbon designation, Oakland Family Services was required to meet all of the Parents as Teachers essential requirements and at least 75 percent of the quality standards, of which the agency met 92 percent! As part of the lengthy process, new policies, procedures, paperwork, and home-visiting standards were implemented.

"Parents as Teachers focuses on helping both the parents and the child,” Early Childhood Services Manager Teri Dorta said. “We work with parents on strategies that will help their child grow and thrive while addressing developmental delays or other areas of concern for the child. By serving the entire family, we are able to build a brighter future for all family members."

Oakland Family Services provides Parents as Teachers to families with some risk factors, such as domestic violence, low income, teen parents, incarcerated parents, or substance use. The hope is that families will demonstrate improved family functioning and parenting skills, and children identified with developmental delays will improve and maximize their development. Addressing delays, educating parents and strengthening families is proven to result in greater school and life success for children.

“We have five staff members who see between 18 to 20 families each, depending on the number of children per family,” Dorta said. “Some families have higher risk factors and the higher the risk factors, the more visits they receive.”

When Priya Chellappan began Parents as Teachers, her daughter, Advika, wasn’t talking and wouldn’t leave her side. Within a year of being in the program, the 2-year-old was talking, walking and socializing more. Between the reference materials and the techniques learned through home visits and playgroups, Priya feels more confident in her abilities as a parent.

“I use to be stressed because I felt I should be able to do something to make her better,” she said. “I think her developmental delay would be more severe if we had not gotten involved with Parents as Teachers, and me and my husband would be stressed more.”

Parents as Teachers is funded through Oakland Schools, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund, the Young Foundation, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the Russell Family Foundation, and the Carls Foundation.