Parents as Teachers, one of the nation’s premier home-visiting program, announced the recipients of their 2024 Challenge Grants, marking the beginning of their 40th anniversary with their “Investing in the Power of Families” initiative. Project Self-Sufficiency was one of only two organizations from the state of New Jersey to be selected to receive a grant from Parents as Teachers, and one of twenty nationwide to receive a grant of $50,000. The agency will allocate the funds towards the purchase vehicles for agency home visitors to use when they visit mothers of young children in Sussex and Hunterdon Counties.

This three-pronged initiative by Parents as Teachers aims to restore post pandemic family enrollments in affiliates’ home visiting services, enhance mental and physical health support services, and foster systemic positive changes through engaged parent leaders.

“Transportation to and from our participants’ homes is crucial to the success of our home visitation programs,” remarked Project Self-Sufficiency Executive Director Deborah Berry-Toon. “We are looking forward to strengthening our outreach to mothers of young children in need and continuing to help these families to develop the skills for success, thanks to the funds received from Parents as Teachers.”

The Challenge Grants, totaling $1.75 million, were competitively awarded to 62 Parents as Teachers affiliates across categories, including Combating Maternal and Infant Mortality, Family Leadership Development, Workforce Development, Program Quality Improvement, Marketing/Communication Support, PBS Partnerships, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEIA).

Constance Gully, President & CEO of Parents as Teachers, shared, “We believe in the power of families to shape the future. These grants avail unique opportunities for our affiliates to make lasting impacts based on the voice of families in their communities.”

This initiative is part of Parents as Teachers’ ongoing commitment to providing quality early childhood services, engaging families, and building stronger communities. As Parents as Teachers enters its 40th year, these grants symbolize a renewed dedication to the organization’s mission and the families it serves.

In addition to the grants, Parents as Teachers has activities planned throughout 2024, celebrating this milestone year under the theme of “Born to Learn: Power of the Past- Building for the Future.” The organization also announced that they will not be increasing service fees for the 2024-25 program year and will be continuing to share more innovations and events in coming months.

The application process challenged affiliates with submitting proposals aligned to specific categories to the Parents as Teachers National Center, who carefully reviewed and selected organizations who applied.