I participate in this program. Our family would be lost if this program didn't exist. We are new parents without prior baby experience. This program has helped us not only to understand the developmental stage the baby is going through but as to WHY the baby is doing things that we would not understand without the program's support and education. I am extremely grateful for this program. The 1 to 2 visits a month are individualized so that one on one time is spent talking about the development of the baby, advice on stregthening the development, what to except from the baby next, address concerns we may have, as well as decisions on community support. The monthly get togethers for the entire program are wonderful because it allows the parents to socialize with other parents in the program which also stregthens the community support for the family. I strongly believe this program has helped our family's stress level go down because of all the education and support this program offers.

from 1933 to 1947, was a political activist (disarmament) and hit the national scene with his first publication in 1946. (His 'childcare' product was replete with how disarmament was essential to the child's best interests. He quit his practice in 1947.)
He died in 1998 @ 94 but his 'work product' franchise will probably outlive Elvis Presley.
It is just my opinion but Dr Spock was a quack...doing more damage to the family unit cohesiveness in the name of social engineering.

Let him go already. I put more stock in Abigail Van Buren's (Dear Abby) columns. (Another franchise).

Winter00: I am with you 100%! Love, protection and sacrifice may be in our DNA but the actual day-to-day, month-to-month early development of babies are often mysteries unfolding before our eyes.
While I do not believe you would be "lost" without this program (just on an equal footing with so many others) I admire your willingness to reach out.
But more so, I admire this program being supported.

One bit of advice: If the 'advice and direction' is contrary to your own please trust yourself.

I don't know, Jim. Going by the behaviors and attitudes displayed by many of the commenters here, parenting in this country could use some improvement.

Hard to argue with that, PP, though I would base it more on child behaviors across the country than on pure ideological comments from a dozen or so on a newspaper comment blog.

60 families touched with $150,000. Doesn't sound like a particularly good investment.

Back "in the day" families lived in neighborhoods where people connected with one another. Socialized and watched out for eachother. That is not so much the climate anymore. One parent generally stayed home with the kids and networked with other parents. Bouncing ideas of each other and getting moral support. That support system is gone.

No one can parent alone, too many questions, too much self doubt. Programs like this give some of that support back to the family, strengthening it. I say kuddos to any parent who has the strength and courage to reach out to others for support.

As to Dr Spock, he is exactly what is wrong with my generation. Tried reading his book. He advocated no boundaries or limitations and giving in to a child's every whim. Those kids are all grown up now and are still expecting their every whim to be indulged.

it's like investing a penny with a nearly guaranteed high level return. there is no controversy and a planet-load of evidence that intervention at this stage through pre-K can pay off from $7-17 dollars for every $1 invested. programs like this will go an enormous way toward reducing our education costs in K-12, will reduce delinquency, raise graduation rates, reduce child abuse, reduce prison costs, etc. yes, all this comes in the future, but that's what we mean by "investment."

why would we want to spend public dollars at the end-of-the-pipe when we can help so many of our neighbors and fellow citizens suceed in becoming better educated, better functioning, productive people. i can't think of one good reason.

this is a fantastic program that should be expanded to serve every family. perhaps the millions upon millions of dollars being spent to support our two presidential candidates would be better spent actually doing something effective.

Spiff,

(Quote) “programs like this will go an enormous way toward reducing our education costs in K-12, will reduce delinquency, raise graduation rates, reduce child abuse, reduce prison costs, etc. yes, all this comes in the future, but that's what we mean by "investment."

Two visits a month can do all that? WOW...those must be some powerful visits.

Parents as Teachers has been around for years…when do we start seeing the return on investment?

The Juneau dropout rate has doubled since 1999.
The Alaska incarceration rate has increased by 3.1% from 1995-2005
The price to educate a child in Juneau is up to $18,000 a year per student.

HHHmmmm…

you asked when we might see our return on investment?

We're in Juneau's first year for Parents as Teachers. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume we shouldn't expect results until those affected reach puberty at the earliest...

Alaska's legislature passed PAT act within the last couple years. The program has only been around for 26 years altogether. IT originated in Missouri, I believe. Then spread throughout the states.

This program works with prenatal to 3 year olds. If this program is successful we'll see kids better equipped in the classroom, parents better equipped at home, and teachers less stressed. If the program is a complete success, I'm still not sure we'll see dropout rates go down, incarceration rates go down, or the cost to educate a child go down. These stats don't necessarily represent the quality of a program like PAT, as PAT can only reach a handful of children.

Can't judge the program fairly until it gets up and running though.

Chessy,

“If this program is successful we'll see kids better equipped in the classroom, parents better equipped at home, and teachers less stressed”…Why is that?

I don’t want to be a hater, but it seems like we have more of these non-profits crusader organizations than ever before while all the time the US is losing ground in education and incarceration rates.

Sometimes it seems that the real purpose of these organizations is to create jobs for liberal art graduates instead of getting actual results.

Why is it that US graduation rates have continually dropped from a high in 1969 when almost none of these programs existed but now we pump tons of tax payer dollars into these programs and the graduation rate and test scores keeps dropping?

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/10/34swanson.h29.html

(High School) completion rates peaked in 1969, with 77 percent of that high school class earning diplomas.

The next three decades were marked by a retreat from those historical highs; the graduation rate eroded incrementally at certain times and fell significantly at others, including a sharp drop during the first half of the 1990s. Although the nation regained some ground between the late 1990s and 2005, the graduation rate now stands at about the same level as it did in the early 1960s.