Families are the key influence on children, especially during the early years when the fundamental architecture of physical, mental and emotional development is being created.  The early development of children thus depends on the knowledge and skills of their parents.  To accomplish the goal of having more children reach their full potential, parents need to be informed and supported.

PARENTS WITH HIGH NEED FOR EDUCATION AND SUPPORT

Of concern are teen parents and older parents without a high school education, without family support, who often lack knowledge of child development. Parents with limited economic or social resources, particularly in high poverty neighborhoods or isolated rural settings, can face formidable challenges getting access to community resources.

ONE OF EVERY TEN MICHIGAN BIRTHS WAS TO A TEENAGER

In 2006 one of every ten Michigan babies – roughly, 12,500 – was born to a teenager. The percentage of total births to teens under the age of 20 dropped slightly between 2000 and 2006. Babies born to a teenager are at higher risk of living in poverty or with only one parent than those born to a mother over age 20. 

The percentage of births to teens varied widely by race/ethnicity. The largest shares of births to teens were in the African American and Hispanic communities—19 percent and 15 percent of all births, respectively—compared with 7 percent among whites. Whites and Hispanics experienced the most substantial improvement between 1997 and 2006; their rates dropped by 22 percent and 19 percent respectively compared with only 9 percent among African Americans. 

Even more troubling is the incidence of a second or a third birth to a teen. Having more than one child compounds the barriers to completing an education program and maintaining or securing employment. In Michigan in 2006, almost one in every five (18%) of teen births were to a mother who already had a child. The differences among the racial/ethnic groups were much less pronounced than those for teen births overall. Among whites 15 percent of births to teens were at least a subsequent birth, compared with 24 percent among Hispanics and 22 percent among African Americans.

ALMOST ONE IN EVERY FIVE MICHIGAN BABIES WERE TO MOTHERS WITH LESS THAN 12 YEARS OF EDUCATION.

In 2006, 17 percent of Michigan births—21,600 babies—were to mothers who had less than 12 years of education. This rate remained essentially the same between 2000 and 2006.  Limited education of a parent is related to less consistent, less remunerative employment and to substantial differences in the early exposure to words that enhances school achievement.1   Each additional year of parental schooling is linked to modest increases in children’s educational test scores.2

Educational achievement among mothers of newborns varied dramatically by race/ethnicity. Almost half (47%) of Hispanic mothers who gave birth in 2006 had less than 12 years of education, as did well over one-quarter (28%) of African American mothers, compared with 12 percent of white mothers.  Even more troubling is that over the decade between 1997 and 2006, these rates improved by only 8 percent for white and African Americans, and worsened for Hispanics.

PARENTING EDUCATION IN MICHIGAN

There is growing recognition that making information and family support more widely available would help more parents be successful. Unfortunately community assessments have revealed the need far outstrips the local capacity to respond.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARENTING EDUCATION VARY WIDELY

Formal education about parenting is provided through classes or groups that teach parents about child care, child development and child management. Classes are often targeted at teen parents, but also may be directed at other specific groups of parents, or may be generally available. 

Parenting education is sponsored by a wide variety of organizations. Most parenting education offerings are underwritten by community funds, although some communities in Michigan have used state Children’s Trust Fund grants. Offerings within any community tend to be sporadic rather than consistently available. 

Parenting education is also available through print materials such as newsletters,   pamphlets, brochures, age-specific wheels, books, magazines, as well as audio and video tapes.3  For most parents, particularly the most disadvantaged, there is not much available unless the family comes to the attention of a state agency through a complaint to child protective services or a provider referral for special services.  

PARENTING EDUCATION COVERS A VARIETY OF INFORMAL AND FORMAL ACTIVITIES

Family support—the exchange of information, reassurance, and services—is provided through a range of informal and formal activities. Informal activities encompass get-togethers for neighborhood mothers as well as the information, advice and support provided by child care providers, alternative school educators and health professionals in the course of their interactions with parents. More formally organized family supports include scheduled play groups that provide an opportunity for interaction with other parents and professionals, home visiting programs, and family resource centers. 

While home visiting programs in Michigan have developed from multiple disciplines, they all provide elements of support and linkage to other services. Depending on their sponsoring agency, home visiting programs focus on different areas and funding sources are diverse. Despite the diversity of sponsors and funding sources, the actual strategies of these various initiatives, especially when targeting families with young children ages 0-3, are very similar. More and more Michigan communities are seeking ways to promote collaboration and coordination of these efforts.

One strategy is to facilitate such coordination is to create family resource centers, which are neighborhood based locations in which diverse services are available.  This mechanism has had limited development in Michigan except for those sponsored by the Department of Human Services that provide neighborhood access to family assistance and child welfare services and sometimes health and mental health services. These centers have generally been located in schools so access may be limited by school hours and enrollment.