An evaluation of the Parents as Teachers model at the Latino family center in Pittsburgh, PA\ud

BACKGROUND: The Latino Family Center of Pittsburgh has been implementing the Parents as Teachers (PAT) model since 2009, targeting all Latino Families with 0-5 year olds in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (PA). PAT strategies include home visiting, group connections, developmental screening, and service coordination. \ud OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project was to develop and implement an evaluation plan for the PAT program at the Latino Family Center. METHODS: Participant observation, meetings with stakeholders (i.e., parents, staff, and program director) and a literature review served as the methods to develop the evaluation plan. A tailored logic model was developed based on the PAT national logic model. A diagram depicting local program implementation was also developed. The evaluation implementation used a mixed methods approach to answer the evaluation questions identified by the program administration and involved a standardized family survey, a quality measures assessment, and documentation review. PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE: Through the PAT program, Latino families have improved access to social and health services that would otherwise be quite difficult to obtain. This evaluation will provide the PAT program with valuable information for program improvement. RESULTS: Overall, the results indicate a positive change in parenting practices among the sample (n=40). Across all 12 items, parents reported an average improvement of 1.2-points on the parenting practices ladder. Those surveyed also reported being very satisfied with the services at the Center. Opinions on the helpfulness of the PAT activities indicated that when parents participate, in general they find them very helpful. However, a large percentage of the parents who participated in survey reported not participating in certain program components. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the PAT model as implemented at the Latino Family Center is having a positive impact on those who participate in the program. Areas of improvement include increasing parent participation in all program components, encouraging fathers to participate, increasing efforts to get parents to read to their children and continued evaluation efforts.\u