Parents as Teachers: A Middle-Class Entitlement

November 9, 2009

Parents as Teachers: A Middle-Class Entitlement

This article in the Kansas City Star celebrates the Parents as Teachers Program, and the fact that it makes no effort to focus on people who really need help:

Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of legislation in 1984 that forced all Missouri school districts to offer the experimental Parents as Teachers program to families living in their boundaries.

Not just to targeted families. Not just for low-income families. But any family in every district.

Maybe you’re thinking, “So what if it’s not targeted by law? Probably disadvantaged families are more likely than others to sign up.” Think again. Better yet, read the statistics from last year’s Parents as Teachers Program in the Columbia Public Schools. About 36 percent of participating parents were from low-income households. (I’m assuming they counted one parent per family. If they counted more than one parent per family, the percentage was smaller.) Only 12 percent mainly spoke a language other than English, and a tiny 5 percent were teen parents.

Parents as Teachers sends out teachers to read and play with kids, most of whom don’t need any intervention at all. We see a similar pattern across a variety of social programs: Middle-class parents are good at finding educational opportunities for their kids, and they crowd out families that need the help. Legislators write eligibility rules and income limits into laws to prevent this, but no such language found its way into the formulation of Parents as Teachers. So the program continues to grow, using tax dollars to entertain middle-class kids and do things their pediatricians could do just as well (like screening for vision and hearing problems).

However, some experts disagree with my analysis and argue that everyone needs Parents as Teachers:

“I’m supposed to be a world authority (on child development), but when we brought my son home from the hospital, I didn’t know what to do. We all need this service.”

Perhaps all parents could benefit, but not all parents need to receive the service for free. World authorities who are paid commensurately with their vast knowledge need to hire their own pediatricians and early childhood educators.

And then there’s the argument that open eligibility removes any stigma from the program, allowing the neediest parents to participate without feeling uncomfortable. There may be some truth to that — but keeping the program open to all imposes a tremendous cost on taxpayers, who have to spend more than $1,000 for each family visited by Parents as Teachers. Removing a stigma isn’t worth that expense.

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This post could have benefitted from at least a short description about how Parents As Teachers is funded. It’s funded by property taxes (at least in Missouri). So the middle-class families that use it are the same ones that fund it. And I mean fund it in that year, not like social security where you put in at one time in your life and then collect increased amounts later in life for as long as you live.

We are enrolled in Parents As Teachers. The PAT rep. comes to our house about 5 times a year for about 45 minutes, and we probably go to about two PAT events a year beyond that. They just eliminated the play groups, which they had about ten times a year, because of budget cuts. (Cutting programs when you don’t have the money is what gov’t should do.) Nobody, at least in U. City, is being “crowded out” of the program. And, unlike other “entitlement programs”, future generations aren’t being burdened with debt.

I have no problem with making it, or many other programs just like it, entirely fee based. We would probably still participate. As long as it is funded by property taxes though, and local boards get to decide the level of funding and size of the programs, the families that fund it should be able to participate in it.

My objection here is not to the idea, “Should government do this for families at all?” I would be happy if the government stayed out of this area, and scores of other areas, of our lives. I disagree with the idea that once you have it, only the poor should be able to use it for free, even though it was never intended as a welfare program. As I said, the middle-class families are the ones who pay for the program. Either let everyone pay for it and use it, like schools and libraries and roads, make it completly fee based, or get rid of it entirely. The worst solution is to make everyone pay for it and then make it just one more welfare program.

Comment by David Stokes — November 10, 2009 @ 10:47 a.m.
Thanks for the comment. I didn’t mention funding sources because I think once the government has collected money, we should consider the best possible uses of the money, and not which funds came from which particular tax. So I guess we just disagree about that.

Regarding the comparison of PAT to libraries, schools, etc.: I have no objection to a library where everyone can come and hear a story, or a clinic where everyone can come and get a hearing test. The thing about PAT is, it involves one-on-one time with a professional in your house, which is a really expensive way to provide those services.

PAT is often justified as an intervention that can improve the life chances of little kids. But most people who participate are enjoying a nice service, not getting life-changing help that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.

Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 10, 2009 @ 11:04 a.m.
I view this program as a precursor for our children entering grade school. It is a part of the overall public school system. It is better to attempt to identify problems before kindergarten instead of children not getting diagnosed until 3rd grade or so. This saves alot of time and heartache for the schools and especially for the child that keeps falling further behind due to a late diagnosis. If we want to privitize this service, should we then consider privitizing schooling for the middle-class and above as well?

Also, the statistics used above really didn’t add to the argument in my opinion. As far as I know, the percentages captured 100% of all Columbia families eligible for the program that are teen parents, low-income households, and families not speaking English as their primary language. I didn’t think thoses statistics were presented fairly on this blog.

I was also suprised as descibing the service as “using tax dollars to entertain middle-class kids”. I would doubt you have sat in on a session after making that statement. These professionals provide a service that untrained parents could never fulfil. They also spend more time with the child in their natural environment than what a generalist pediatric physisician ever could in their sterilized exam rooms.

Health and development issues that may delay a child’s scholastic careers are not limited to the needy. IMHO, PAT is an extension of the public school system to help prepare children for gradeshool and life.

Comment by DaveG — November 11, 2009 @ 9:26 a.m.
I will agree with the idea that, in large part, PAT involves “entertaining middle class kids” but no more than do the million-dollar field turf fields and exspenive computer labs at public schools. At least in my school district, PAT is part of the free education offered to all residents of my district and controlled by a local school board. It’s certainly no more wasteful than the school district at large and at least its funding is locally controlled. As a parent of three who will attend parochial schools, its something I will get for my property tax dollars.

Comment by Tom Albus — November 16, 2009 @ 11:45 a.m.
[...] of middle-class kids who don’t need help. Programs that involve one-on-one interaction, like Parents as Teachers, should be means-tested. Sending professionals out into homes on the taxpayers’ dime may be [...]

Pingback by State Policy Blog » Blog Archive » What to Avoid When Writing Preschool Policy — November 19, 2009 @ 4:03 p.m.
Obviously, your article was written as an opinion and not validated by research. Seriously, do you believe that just because a parent is “middle class” that they magically know all about parenting? Maybe the rich should be the world’s professors because their money makes them priviledged to experiences the rest of us can’t afford. Unfortunately, I can’t legally reveal the nature of my work, but I have been working with young children and families for 27 years. I have had families on my case load that were very wealthy but their children were not developing on target because they were not exposed to the stimulation necessary for the brain to develop. Basically, they weren’t held, talked to, cuddled, read to, sung to, or played with. I have worked with a family that you would consider to be middle class that lost their child to child services because the husband shook their baby. The baby is now blind. If I could reveal the husbands profession you would gasp. I will stop with those examples because I could give examples all day long. Now I want to educate those people that might have actually believed your story. Do you know what characteristic of a person has the greatest impact on academic success? The answer is emotional stabilitity. Do you know where emotional stability begins? The answer is in a home that provides a stable, loving, nurturing environment for the children. Do you know what prevents children from having that kind of environment? The answer is stress. Does stress have bounderies? Does it not reach the middle class or the wealthy? Stress does not have bounderies. How can stress be prevented so the home environment is emotionally healthy for children? Education is the key and home visiting programs are the tool to educate the families. Parents as Teachers is a research based program that has a curriculum designed to address the needs of children from the ages of prenatal to the start of Kindergarten. Parents as Teachers is a strengths based program that recognizes that parents play the most important role in the lives of their children and the program provides the support, education, and resources to help parents be successful in their role. Research indicates that children participating in Parents as Teachers do better in the first few years of school and that their parents are more involved in their education. Reasearch also tells us that children learn better in their home environment. From 27 years of working with families and young children, I can tell you that working in the home of the families helps the provider be able to understand the families needs. The families don’t always undertand what it is they need, but they know something isn’t right. The provider helps them figure it out. Most families think that children need the latest toys, DVD’s, and electronic media. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Children need interaction with their parents. They need their parents to read to them and to sing to them. They need their parents to play with them. They need to learn self-regulation skills. They need to be shown they are loved. The ideas are very simple, but people just don’t understand how to do it until they have been taught. Do you know what toys are best to enhance your child’s development? Parents as Teachers educators can help you with that. Do you know what to do when your baby won’t sleep through the night? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Do you know what to do when your toddler goes through a bitting stage? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Do you know if your child is developing on track or has any vision or hearing problems? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Research indicates that the money spent in early education reduces the money spent later on in special education and at risk programs. Although there are many wonderful parents out there, my experience tells me that there are even more that need help in this area. Many of these parents don’t know that they need the help. Some of the parents just don’t care. They will, however, participate in Parents as Teachers because they want to help their children. I was a parent that thought I knew all there was to know about parenting. After all, I was educated and I had read many books about parenting. When my children didn’t respond like the books said they would, I felt like a failure as a parent. My Parents as Teachers Educator helped me through so much during those years when my children were young. I wish I could have kept her coming each week until my children were grown. I work with children and families every day and I still learn from the Parents as Teachers Educators. I feel like Parents as Teachers is one of the best investments of my tax dollars. In fact, I support the idea of putting more money into Parents as Teachers so more personal visits can take place. I don’t agree with only helping the poor or the disabled. ALL YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES DESERVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED, REGARDLESS OF ANY DEMOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHIC, OR ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS!

Comment by Jan Inman — November 22, 2009 @ 10:46 p.m.
Thanks for the comments. I don’t believe parents with financial means are automatically perfect or all-knowing, but I do think they should be expected to pay for services they receive in their homes.

Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 23, 2009 @ 10:00 a.m.
When you live in a school district you are a patron of that district whether you have children enrolled in the public school or not. Everyone in that district who owns property pays taxes regardless of if their children go to school or not. They pay property taxes whether they have children or not. Since Parents as Teachers is part of the public school system the parents who do participate in this program are paying for the service via property taxes.

Comment by Kim Pitts — January 25, 2010 @ 6:22 p.m.

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This post could have benefitted from at least a short description about how Parents As Teachers is funded. It’s funded by property taxes (at least in Missouri). So the middle-class families that use it are the same ones that fund it. And I mean fund it in that year, not like social security where you put in at one time in your life and then collect increased amounts later in life for as long as you live.

We are enrolled in Parents As Teachers. The PAT rep. comes to our house about 5 times a year for about 45 minutes, and we probably go to about two PAT events a year beyond that. They just eliminated the play groups, which they had about ten times a year, because of budget cuts. (Cutting programs when you don’t have the money is what gov’t should do.) Nobody, at least in U. City, is being “crowded out” of the program. And, unlike other “entitlement programs”, future generations aren’t being burdened with debt.

I have no problem with making it, or many other programs just like it, entirely fee based. We would probably still participate. As long as it is funded by property taxes though, and local boards get to decide the level of funding and size of the programs, the families that fund it should be able to participate in it.

My objection here is not to the idea, “Should government do this for families at all?” I would be happy if the government stayed out of this area, and scores of other areas, of our lives. I disagree with the idea that once you have it, only the poor should be able to use it for free, even though it was never intended as a welfare program. As I said, the middle-class families are the ones who pay for the program. Either let everyone pay for it and use it, like schools and libraries and roads, make it completly fee based, or get rid of it entirely. The worst solution is to make everyone pay for it and then make it just one more welfare program.

Comment by David Stokes — November 10, 2009 @ 10:47 a.m.

Thanks for the comment. I didn’t mention funding sources because I think once the government has collected money, we should consider the best possible uses of the money, and not which funds came from which particular tax. So I guess we just disagree about that.

Regarding the comparison of PAT to libraries, schools, etc.: I have no objection to a library where everyone can come and hear a story, or a clinic where everyone can come and get a hearing test. The thing about PAT is, it involves one-on-one time with a professional in your house, which is a really expensive way to provide those services.

PAT is often justified as an intervention that can improve the life chances of little kids. But most people who participate are enjoying a nice service, not getting life-changing help that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.

Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 10, 2009 @ 11:04 a.m.

I view this program as a precursor for our children entering grade school. It is a part of the overall public school system. It is better to attempt to identify problems before kindergarten instead of children not getting diagnosed until 3rd grade or so. This saves alot of time and heartache for the schools and especially for the child that keeps falling further behind due to a late diagnosis. If we want to privitize this service, should we then consider privitizing schooling for the middle-class and above as well?

Also, the statistics used above really didn’t add to the argument in my opinion. As far as I know, the percentages captured 100% of all Columbia families eligible for the program that are teen parents, low-income households, and families not speaking English as their primary language. I didn’t think thoses statistics were presented fairly on this blog.

I was also suprised as descibing the service as “using tax dollars to entertain middle-class kids”. I would doubt you have sat in on a session after making that statement. These professionals provide a service that untrained parents could never fulfil. They also spend more time with the child in their natural environment than what a generalist pediatric physisician ever could in their sterilized exam rooms.

Health and development issues that may delay a child’s scholastic careers are not limited to the needy. IMHO, PAT is an extension of the public school system to help prepare children for gradeshool and life.

Comment by DaveG — November 11, 2009 @ 9:26 a.m.

I will agree with the idea that, in large part, PAT involves “entertaining middle class kids” but no more than do the million-dollar field turf fields and exspenive computer labs at public schools. At least in my school district, PAT is part of the free education offered to all residents of my district and controlled by a local school board. It’s certainly no more wasteful than the school district at large and at least its funding is locally controlled. As a parent of three who will attend parochial schools, its something I will get for my property tax dollars.

Comment by Tom Albus — November 16, 2009 @ 11:45 a.m.

[...] of middle-class kids who don’t need help. Programs that involve one-on-one interaction, like Parents as Teachers, should be means-tested. Sending professionals out into homes on the taxpayers’ dime may be [...]

Pingback by State Policy Blog » Blog Archive » What to Avoid When Writing Preschool Policy — November 19, 2009 @ 4:03 p.m.

Obviously, your article was written as an opinion and not validated by research. Seriously, do you believe that just because a parent is “middle class” that they magically know all about parenting? Maybe the rich should be the world’s professors because their money makes them priviledged to experiences the rest of us can’t afford. Unfortunately, I can’t legally reveal the nature of my work, but I have been working with young children and families for 27 years. I have had families on my case load that were very wealthy but their children were not developing on target because they were not exposed to the stimulation necessary for the brain to develop. Basically, they weren’t held, talked to, cuddled, read to, sung to, or played with. I have worked with a family that you would consider to be middle class that lost their child to child services because the husband shook their baby. The baby is now blind. If I could reveal the husbands profession you would gasp. I will stop with those examples because I could give examples all day long. Now I want to educate those people that might have actually believed your story. Do you know what characteristic of a person has the greatest impact on academic success? The answer is emotional stabilitity. Do you know where emotional stability begins? The answer is in a home that provides a stable, loving, nurturing environment for the children. Do you know what prevents children from having that kind of environment? The answer is stress. Does stress have bounderies? Does it not reach the middle class or the wealthy? Stress does not have bounderies. How can stress be prevented so the home environment is emotionally healthy for children? Education is the key and home visiting programs are the tool to educate the families. Parents as Teachers is a research based program that has a curriculum designed to address the needs of children from the ages of prenatal to the start of Kindergarten. Parents as Teachers is a strengths based program that recognizes that parents play the most important role in the lives of their children and the program provides the support, education, and resources to help parents be successful in their role. Research indicates that children participating in Parents as Teachers do better in the first few years of school and that their parents are more involved in their education. Reasearch also tells us that children learn better in their home environment. From 27 years of working with families and young children, I can tell you that working in the home of the families helps the provider be able to understand the families needs. The families don’t always undertand what it is they need, but they know something isn’t right. The provider helps them figure it out. Most families think that children need the latest toys, DVD’s, and electronic media. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Children need interaction with their parents. They need their parents to read to them and to sing to them. They need their parents to play with them. They need to learn self-regulation skills. They need to be shown they are loved. The ideas are very simple, but people just don’t understand how to do it until they have been taught. Do you know what toys are best to enhance your child’s development? Parents as Teachers educators can help you with that. Do you know what to do when your baby won’t sleep through the night? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Do you know what to do when your toddler goes through a bitting stage? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Do you know if your child is developing on track or has any vision or hearing problems? Parents as Teachers can help you with that. Research indicates that the money spent in early education reduces the money spent later on in special education and at risk programs. Although there are many wonderful parents out there, my experience tells me that there are even more that need help in this area. Many of these parents don’t know that they need the help. Some of the parents just don’t care. They will, however, participate in Parents as Teachers because they want to help their children. I was a parent that thought I knew all there was to know about parenting. After all, I was educated and I had read many books about parenting. When my children didn’t respond like the books said they would, I felt like a failure as a parent. My Parents as Teachers Educator helped me through so much during those years when my children were young. I wish I could have kept her coming each week until my children were grown. I work with children and families every day and I still learn from the Parents as Teachers Educators. I feel like Parents as Teachers is one of the best investments of my tax dollars. In fact, I support the idea of putting more money into Parents as Teachers so more personal visits can take place. I don’t agree with only helping the poor or the disabled. ALL YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES DESERVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED, REGARDLESS OF ANY DEMOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHIC, OR ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS!

Comment by Jan Inman — November 22, 2009 @ 10:46 p.m.

Thanks for the comments. I don’t believe parents with financial means are automatically perfect or all-knowing, but I do think they should be expected to pay for services they receive in their homes.

Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 23, 2009 @ 10:00 a.m.

When you live in a school district you are a patron of that district whether you have children enrolled in the public school or not. Everyone in that district who owns property pays taxes regardless of if their children go to school or not. They pay property taxes whether they have children or not. Since Parents as Teachers is part of the public school system the parents who do participate in this program are paying for the service via property taxes.

Comment by Kim Pitts — January 25, 2010 @ 6:22 p.m.

November 9, 2009

Parents as Teachers: A Middle-Class Entitlement

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