In addition to a variety of workshops and breakout sessions, this year's annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico brought together researchers and practitioners from around the world to explore how Parents as Teachers is implemented in diverse cultural contexts. In this episode, recorded at the conference, Parents as Teachers Board Director Pete Weldy moderates a panel of experts from Nigeria, the US, and Switzerland on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in integrating research into practice to support families and young children worldwide.

We've heard from a doula, now let's hear from a mom. Kima K., mother of three, shares her experience working with a doula and why she recommends a doula to every mom she meets.

How can we improve health outcomes for parents and children? By starting early. Parents as Teachers has been working with affiliates to bring certified doulas alongside our evidence-based model to improve outcomes for newborns and their families. Guest host Rachel Giannini speaks to doulas and parent educators Robin Lloyd and Erica Baltrusaitis about their work and how they help families with the youngest of children.

Parents as Teachers is rich with a multitude of backgrounds and languages, and we intentionally aim to engage families in responsive and relevant ways - at home and abroad - to optimize positive child and family outcomes.

Guest hosts Dr. Dipesh Navsaria and Rachel Giannini speak to leading specialists Jovanna Archuleta, Michael Huesca, Heidi Kranz, Bec Slater, and Chisom Adirika about their work on how perspective-aware enhancements designed to further support families result in new parenting skills, more confidence in parenting, and stronger relationships with children.

Parents as Teachers is built upon a strong foundation of research and evidence-based programming. But what constitutes 'research', and what does "evidence-based" really mean? Scientifically, how do we know the model works? And how can we quantifiably measure impact?

Guest host Dr. Dipesh Navsaria speaks to Allison Kemner, Chief Research Officer of Parents as Teachers, about the research behind home visiting and how the science behind the program translates into positive, everyday results for families. Nathan Jorgensen and Danielle J. Allen, both of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC Chapel Hill, discuss how this research can be used to speak directly to addressing issues such as racial inequality in childhood. And Emma Posner and Jess Goldberg, both of Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research at Tufts University, explain how the research into home visiting can shape child abuse prevention and protection.

Traditionally designed to engage mothers, home visiting models have recently been expanded to include tools and techniques geared towards fathers. Parents as Teachers has partnered with Show Me Strong Families to explore how to involve fathers in home visits, increase outreach, and establish parent educators as a trusted resource where fathers can turn for support. Parent Educator Randall Hinton joins us to talk about the importance of cultivating and sustaining relationships with both mothers and fathers to promote healthy development for children and to update us on the work Parents as Teachers is doing to engage dads in home visits.

"Healthy, safe, and learning" applies to all of us, not just families! By staying on top of ongoing research and innovations in the field of home visiting, Family Support Professionals can benefit from learning and growth themselves. Janet Horras of the Institute for Advancement for Family Support Professionals, and Lakeeshia Sandlin, Program Director of TCR Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program in Alabama, join us to talk about two key opportunities for professional growth and development (and a lot of fun along the way).

Having a winning idea and implementing a winning idea are very different undertakings. Today we're speaking with two 2024 Challenge Grantees, Cori Silvey of Changing Tides, Helping Hands in Washington, and Julie Rains of Valley Center Schools in Kansas, about what they've learned after a year of working on their winning proposals for themselves and their community, and what future applicants can learn as they submit their own proposals.

Kerry Caverly, Chief Program Officer at Parents as Teachers National Center, is our special guest host.