Our History

In the early 1960s, Dr. Phyllis Levenstein (1918-2005), a clinical psychologist, took on a considerable challenge. She was asked to develop a program for families that would offset rising high school dropout rates. After extensive research, she concluded that the most effective intervention would reach out to children before they entered school. In fact, she discovered that drop-out prevention must begin with parents and the home environment. Focusing on the fact that early childhood was a period of rapid brain development and the fact that parents are responsible for a significant amount of the stimuli young children are exposed to during these formative years, Dr. Levenstein developed the model for The Parent-Child Home Program (originally called The Mother-Child Home Program). The Program model focused on promoting school readiness and academic success by strengthening parent-child verbal interaction and reading and play activities in the home.

“The non-didactic method of the Parent-Child Home Program has remained essentially as it was developed beginning with the pilot project in 1965. That method is based on the multi-disciplinary theory that a young child’s cognitive and emotional growth develops from concept-inducing verbal interaction with a cherished parent figure.”

PHYLLIS LEVENSTEIN, ED.D., FOUNDER, THE PARENT-CHILD HOME PROGRAM

Since 1965, the model has proven to be both durable and flexible, continuing to maintain its efficacy and successful outcomes over the decades. The Program is successful because it is research-based; it encourages critical parent-child verbal interaction; and because its success is research-validated, having demonstrated for 40 years that Program participants go on to enter school ready to learn and ready to become successful students.

“The Parent-Child Home Program helps teen parents learn the importance of bonding with their children.”

STEPHANIE WILSON, DIRECTOR OF THE TEEN FAMILY SERVICES CENTER AT INWOOD HOUSE, NY

Timeline

1965 - Dr. Phyllis Levenstein develops The Mother-Child Home Program* model in Freeport, New York.

1970 - First out-of-state sites open in Pittsfield and Newton, Massachusetts

1976 - First international site established in Bermuda

1978 – U.S. Joint Dissemination Review Panel validates Parent-Child Home Program research

1979 - Cited as an effective, exemplary educational program by the National Diffusion Network

1979 - The Parent-Child Home Program, Inc. established as a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), organization

1998 – Published high school graduation rate study demonstrates that the Program prevents drop-outs

1999 - Massachusetts funds a $2 million statewide expansion of the Program

2000 - Massachusetts increases funding to $3 million

2000 - Number of sites exceeds 100

2001 - The Christian Science Monitor publishes article on the Program (May 2001)

2001 - Over 2,500 families served by 414 Home Visitors in 106 sites

2001 - Pilot program to serve homeless families throughout Suffolk County, New York launched

2001 - Pennsylvania allocates $12 million over three years to expand the Program statewide

2002 – Published study documents that 93% of Program graduates pass first grade skills assessment in South Carolina

2002 – Education Week publishes article on the Program (March 2002)

2003 – New York University study shows that Program bridges the ‘preparation gap’

2003 - 37th South Carolina replication site is opened

2004 - 4,800 families receive 240,000 home visits

2004 – American Educator article highlights the Program’s effectiveness at bridging the “preparation gap.” (Summer 2004)

2005 - 40th Anniversary

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