Partners in Community Outreach is a coalition of research-based In-Home Family Education programs operating in West Virginia. The coalition’s goal is to create a statewide system of In-Home Family Education that reaches at least twenty percent of families who are expecting a child or have children under the age of three.

What is In-Home Family Education?
In-Home Family Education is a powerful, proactive strategy to reduce adverse childhood experiences. These programs build “protective factors” which enable families to deal more successfully with whatever challenges arise. Protective factors are the safeguards (health screenings or parent education, for instance) that help families avoid or cope with negative experiences that could otherwise lead to poor outcomes for their children (such as medical problems or failing grades).

What do In-Home Family Educators do?
In Home Family Educators provide voluntary parenting education and support to families with young children in their homes. They help parents understand their role as their child’s first and most important teacher. They provide information and support in such areas as prenatal care, child health, early learning and literacy, and child development and behavior, The help connect families to resources in their community and help families stay together safely. This is done by emphasizing each family’s strengths and helping them reach their goals.

Latest News & Events
Grant Announcement
The Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families, Office of Finance and Administration (Bureau) is announcing the availability of two hundred forty five thousand dollars ($245,000) in grant funds for the expansion of existing In Home Family Education (IHFE) programs or the development of new In Home Family Education Programs. Agencies interested in responding to this announcement may download the Grant Announcement and accompanying forms at http://www.wvdhhr.org.

Technical Assistance Available
Members of Partners in Community Outreach will make themselves available as time permits to provide short-term technical assistance to communities interested in starting a new In-Home Family Education program. Thanks to funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, this technical assistance can be provided by telephone or in-person to community groups looking at initiating an In-Home Family Education program, using one of three models – Healthy Families America, Maternal Infant Health Outreach Workers (MIHOW), and Parents as Teachers (PAT). This technical assistance includes the steps of (1) Forming a Planning Group; (2) Building Trust and Ownership; (3) Thinking Strategically and Planning; and (4) Designing Your Program. It does not include providing technical assistance on grant writing. To request technical assistance, contact Laurie McKeown at 523-9587 ext 308.

Governor and Legislature Approve New Funds for In-Home Family Education
Governor Manchin approved the FY09 state budget with an increase of $245,000 for In-Home Family Education bringing the total state allocation of funds to $750,000. This was the first year that there was a separate line item for In-Home Family Education and the first time the Legislature approved an increase on their own. This increase marks another step forward in achieving the Partners in Community Outreach goal of a $2.5 million appropriation to serve 200,000 families statewide.

Benedum Foundation Support of In-Home Family Education Continues
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation will award Partners in Community Outreach a $200,000 grant to continue building the components of a state system of In-Home Family Education. This will be used to support training, the development of quality standards, evaluation and the hiring of a state coordinator for Partners in Community Outreach.

Parents as Teachers Designate WV State Office
West Virginia Parent Connections at Edvantia has been designated by the Parent as Teachers (PAT) National Center as the state office for its national program. To learn more about this new designation and what it means to West Virginia parents and children, click here.

Partners in Community Outreach Releases Bi-Annual Report
(January 2007) - Partners in Community Outreach has released a biannual report that emphasizes the critical importance of early childhood experiences and the role that In-Home Family Education programs play in reinforcing the future health and well-being of West Virginians. It encourages the adoption of a statewide system of In-Home Family Education and documents to reverse negative trends in well-being and reduce the escalating costs of these social problems. Click here to download the report.