 |
| "I
have become an effective leader. I have confidence to
pursue my goals. I can be an effective, nurturing
mother. I can change my community. I can advocate for
children and families."
-- Excerpt of a 2006
letter from a Danbury PLTIsm graduate whose
training was funded by the Parent Trust Fund |
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What is the Parent Trust Fund?
The Parent Trust Fund helps communities improve the health, safety, and learning of their children by providing the funding needed to train parents in civic leadership. This is the first initiative of its kind in the nation.
The Fund was established through groundbreaking legislation passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in June 2001. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeded the Trust with $250,000. The William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund followed as the first Connecticut foundation to contribute. With five years of success behind it, the Fund has earned strong bipartisan support from the governor, the legislature, and local elected officials.
Why is the Parent Trust important?
Research shows that parent engagement has a significant and positive impact on child outcomes, particularly in education and health. The Parent Trust Fund supports programs and activities that prepare parents, grandparents, and other adult caregivers to work with school, community, and state leaders to improve health, safety, and learning for all children.
How do communities access the Fund?
The Fund is a program of the Children’s Trust Fund, which awards contracts through a highly competitive statewide bidding process. Funds are allocated to nonprofit agencies that give parents the technical and civic skills they need to take active roles in their communities’ decisions for improving the health, safety, and learning of children.
What communities use the Fund?
Parent engagement programs supported by the Parent Trust Fund include the nationally recognized Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTIsm), the University of Connecticut-sponsored People Empowering People (PEP), and Parents Supporting Educational Excellence (PSEE), among others. Currently the Parent Trust Fund supports training in Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, East Haven, Enfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, North Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury, and Windsor.
What are some notable outcomes of the Fund?
The first round of funding, in 2002-2003, awarded $214,350 to 17 organizations, providing 340 parents with leadership training. These organizations, in turn, developed nearly $1.3 million in community assets for parental involvement. The 2003-2004 funding allocated $196,500 to 14 organizations and leveraged more than $1 million dollars in community resources.
A competitive grant application was issued in the fall of 2005, following the state's appropriation of $250,000 in both the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years to the Children Trust Fund for the Parent Trust Fund. Twenty-seven applications were funded with programming beginning in January 2006, and more than 40 were funded in January 2007.
The Parent Trust Fund serves an average of more than 1,100 parents annually across Connecticut. All of these graduates leave better prepared to advocate for their children, volunteer in their community, serve on nonprofit boards, lead parent-teacher associations, and run for public office.
A sample of training models that currently receive Parent Trust Funds:
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People Empowering People (PEP): Meets two hours a week for four to six months and can be targeted to “high need” populations, with curriculum available in English and Spanish.
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The Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTIsm): A twenty-week training that uses an assets-based community development and social policy change framework.
- Parents Supporting Educational Excellence (Parents SEE): A twelve-week training focused on parent leadership in schools.
Voice for Families: A fifteen week training that focuses on parent involvement and leadership with a community-to-state perspective.
- Leadership for Adolescent Parents: Leadership training offered to adolescent parents at A. I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford.
AFCAMP Parent Leadership Training: A series of integrated workshops targeted to minority parents and focused on developing a better understanding of the juvenile justice, special education, and Department of Children and Families systems.
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What is parent leadership?
Parent leadership emerges when parents gain the knowledge and skills needed to function in meaningful leadership roles that help to shape the future for their families, schools, and communities.
How does parent leadership make a difference?
Parent leadership strengthens families and communities by creating positive change in the systems and policies designed to serve and support children. A comprehensive evaluation of one parent leadership model, the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI)sm, revealed the following outcomes:
- Seventy-three percent of the participants became engaged in advocacy work – a 34 percent increase;
- Fifty-two percent participated in community organizing – a 29 percent increase;
- Fifty-eight percent engaged in public speaking – another 29 percent increase;
- Forty-nine percent participated in new community activities; and
- Voter participation increased by 9 percent.
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For more information on PLTI:
Connecticut Commission on Children
(860) 240-0085
www.plti-ct.org |
For more on the
Parents Trust Fund: The
Children's Trust Fund
(860) 418-8768
www.ct.gov/ctf |
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This page was last
updated:
May 20, 2008 |
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