Atlantic, IA – The Parents as Teachers (PAT) program through Cass County Public Health is celebrating National Parents as Teachers Day on November 8^th. PAT is a free program for Cass County families with children ages 0-5, which provides home visits to help young children grow up healthy, safe, and ready to learn. The PAT educators help connect community partners with parents to prepare children for Kindergarten and beyond. Nancy Gibson, Parents as Teachers Coordinator said “We’ve been in Cass County since 1998, and we are a credentialed, evidence-based program. “During our 20 years of service to Cass County we have had the opportunity to serve 450 families and around 700 children.”

PAT educators (left to right) Nancy Gibson and Victoria Means

PAT currently has two different educators who provide monthly home visits to families with young children. During these visits, they work on getting a complete health history, doing developmental screenings to catch any delays as early as possible, check on immunizations, and much more. Children in the program also have access to free vision, hearing, and dental checks. The PAT program is partially funded by a grant from Boost 4 Families.

PAT currently has limited openings, parents who are interested in the program can contact Nancy at 712-243-7475. Referrals are also welcome—anyone who knows of a family that could benefit from participating is encouraged to call.