September often brings a return to familiar routines and a renewed sense of momentum. For many families, however, the transition may not ease the less visible pressures they have been carrying. This month’s featured article invites us to reflect on what it means to walk alongside families as they build upon their strengths and work toward their goals amid the unique challenges of a changing world. Family support professionals have the privilege of connecting with families along the way, and we’re here to support you in that work!
Warmly,
The Family Support Team at the Center for Schools and Communities
Families are Feeling the Strain—Home Visitors Can Make the Difference
Family support professionals have witnessed the benefits and the challenges of families raising young children. These professionals have also seen families show resilience in the face of adversity, many of them attempting to cope with financial strain, concerns about their child’s development, and the lasting impact of chronic stress. A recent report from Zero to Three, a national nonprofit dedicated to early childhood development, infant mental health, and family support, highlights the challenges facing families with infants and toddlers. These challenges include financial instability, parenting stress, and concerns about their children’s healthy development.
The organization has highlighted and identified concerning trends across the early childhood and family support landscape. For instance, the report shares that 53 percent of families with infants and toddlers have had difficulty paying for basic needs. Furthermore, food insecurity has almost doubled this year, and parents are reporting increased stress levels and concerns about their child’s learning and development. The report also mentions that families are continuing to remain resilient in the face of these challenges. Of the families surveyed, most of the parents reported they have maintained or increased the time they spend with their children.
Family support professionals help families build protective factors and foster positive child development by working with families in their homes. They are trained and skilled in building relationships with families to reduce isolation, connecting them to community resources, guiding parents on child milestones, and recognizing and celebrating family strengths and achievements.
While family support professionals cannot remove every challenge families face, they play an important role in helping parents navigate their challenges. Through home visits, trusted relationships, and connections to community resources, these professionals provide encouragement and support that strengthens families and promotes healthy child development.
Every conversation during a home visit matters. Whether it's helping a parent feel heard, celebrating a child's developmental milestone, or supporting a family through a difficult time, family support professionals make a lasting impact.
We would like to extend our congratulations to the newest cohort of grantees selected to receive Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) grants. Over $3 million in CTF funds will be awarded over a three-year grant cycle, beginning on July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2029. The maximum CTF grant award is $50,000 per year for up to three years, for a total of $150,000. They are the 33rd Cohort of Children’s Trust Fund Grantees in Pennsylvania and have just completed orientation. Awarded programs include parenting courses, legal services, support groups for caregivers of children struggling with mental or behavioral challenges, at-home nurse visits, emergency assistance for families in crisis, and more. To find more about these grantees, check out the Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund website. We look forward to working with these innovative community-based child abuse and neglect prevention programs.
Facts for Families Guides
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) offers Facts for Families guides on more than 150 topics. These brief, easy-to-understand guides give parents and caregivers the basic information they need to better understand issues affecting their children and determine what to do next. They are a helpful resource for supporting families and may be copied and shared at no cost as long as AACAP is credited and no profit is made from their use. Explore the full list of Facts for Families guides.
Parents as Teachers Core Courses
Oct.13-23, 2026 Foundational and Model Implementation Training
Ready Together: Building School Readiness Through Family Relationships
School readiness is much more than knowing letters, numbers, or shapes. It is a developmental process that begins in early childhood and grows through the everyday experiences children share with their families. As communities start a new school year, parent educators can help families recognize that the routines, relationships, and interactions already happening at home lay out the critical foundation for children's success in early learning environments.
Key Focus Areas for Parent Educators
School readiness starts early: Children begin developing the skills they need for learning through early relationships and everyday experiences—long before the final months leading up to preschool or kindergarten. Parent educators can help families identify opportunities within ordinary routines to support development, such as talking during meals, reading together, playing, or encouraging children to participate in household tasks.
School readiness involves the whole child: Social-emotional development, language and communication, physical development, self-regulation, independence, and early cognitive skills all contribute to a child's ability to learn and participate in an early learning setting. Parent educators can help parents understand their child's individual strengths and developmental needs while offering simple, developmentally appropriate strategies to support growth.
Families are essential to readiness: Parents and caregivers provide relationships, routines, encouragement, and learning experiences that help children feel secure and confident as they encounter new environments. Parent educators strengthen families' confidence by building on what parents already know and do well, helping them navigate transitions, and connecting them with early learning resources and providers when needed.
The Big Picture
Ultimately, home visiting helps families view school readiness not as a checklist a child must complete, but as a shared journey. By supporting parents and caregivers, parent educators help families create the relationships and everyday experiences that give children a strong foundation for learning—both as they enter a new school year and throughout early childhood.
This News Brief segment was created through the utilization of AI, such as ChatGPT and Gemini.
Professional Learning Opportunties
Resource
Keystone Scholars gives eligible Pennsylvania children a $100 head start toward future education expenses. Visit pa529.com/keystone or call 800-440-4000 to learn more and claim your child’s account.
