A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

By supporting families in their efforts to help children learn, the new centers will help families and schools work together to raise student achievement.

"Family involvement is essential if we are to give each child a high quality education and a safe, disciplined learning environment," Riley said. "Students do better in school when there is meaningful parental and community involvement in learning. The American family is the foundation on which a solid education can and must be built. Strong families and strong schools make strong communities."

The grants, averaging $400,000 a year over four years, are authorized under Title IV of the Goals 2000 Educate America Act.

The three objectives of the new centers are to:

• increase parents' knowledge of and confidence in effective child rearing activities;

• strengthen partnerships between parents and school professionals to help meet the educational needs of preschool children (starting from birth) and school aged children; and,

• strengthen the development of children who participate in the program.

Nonprofit organizations will collaborate with schools, institutions of higher education, social service agencies and other nonprofits to form the centers. The centers will identify and serve families and schools in communities with a high proportion of minority, low income, and limited English proficient parents. Programs and resources offered will be accessible to any parent within the state or region that the center serves.

Each center will have a unique focus, but all will share a common objective: to provide and expand opportunities for parents to be involved in their children's learning while reflecting the priorities and conditions of local communities.

The grants will offer an array of services to help parents help their children learn such as: parent to parent training activities; hotlines which offer telephone assistance that will respond to parents' concerns about child development and behavior; and workshops to help parents enhance their parenting skills, foster their child's readiness skills, understand their child's academic development, and use resources to improve their child's learning.

The centers will also provide resources and guidance developed under the Parents As Teachers (PAT) program and the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), two programs that have been highly effective in helping parents prepare their children for school success.

The department also will continue funding the 28 existing centers that are beginning their third year of operation. The 12 new centers will bring the total of parental and information centers to 40. The centers are to be funded for four years.

NOTE TO EDITOR: Attached is a list of the centers funded.

Title IV Parental Assistance 1997 Awards
State	City	Grantee	Contact w/ Phone No.	Amount of Grant
IL	Lincoln	Building Parent Learning Communities	Sam Redding (217)732 6462	$440,893
NE	Fairbury	Blue Valley Community Action, Inc.	Jane Schafer (402)471 3700	$372,120
AL	Mobile	Special Education Action Committee, Inc.	Carol Blade (334)478 1208	$322,274
OR	Portland	Oregon Parent Information and Resource Center	Lisa Guy (503)282 1975	$447,222
MS	Jackson	Mississippi Forum On Children And Families	Jane P. Boykin (601)355 4911	$497,000
LO	Baton Rouge	Louisiana Family Assistance Network	Mary McClure (504)926 3820	$446,385
IN	Indianapolis	The Indiana Parent Information Network, Inc.	Donna Olson (317)257 8683	$406,632
RI	Pawtucket	Rhode Island Parent Information Network, Inc.	Deanna Forist (401)727 4144	$315,665
ND	Minot	North Dakota Pass Network	Kathryn Erickson (701)852 9426	$410,050
GUAM	M.F.	Sanctuary, Inc.	Stephanie Smith (671)735 1400	$123,982
AR	Springdale	Jones Center for Families	0nicholas Long (501)320 4605	$468,441
SC	Columbia	Alliance for SC's Children	John S. Niblock (803)343 5510	$408,107

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