Pictured from left: Elk County Commissioner Matthew Quesenberry, Elk County Commissioner Fritz Lecker, The Children's Center- DCI Parents as Teachers Program Director Cortney Pahel and Greg Gebauer of Elk County Commissioners County of Elk, PA.
At their meeting on November 6, Commissioner M. Fritz Lecker read a proclamation recognizing November 8 as national “Parents as Teachers Day,” following a presentation by Cortney Pahel, director of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) Program at Dickinson Center, Inc. (DCI), located at 4 Erie Avenue in St. Marys, PA.
The Proclamation included the following statement, “Parents as Teachers through Dickinson Center, Inc. in Elk County promotes the protective factors that keep families strong by increasing parent knowledge, providing early detection of developmental delays and health issues, preventing child abuse and neglect, meeting concrete needs, increasing children’s school readiness and school success, connecting families with each other, supporting families in achieving economic stability, promoting healthy children in healthy homes and increasing family involvement and leadership in the community.”
Cortney Pahel stated, “Children are born into this world without directions. Our PAT team is here to help support families in Elk County with children 5 and under. We offer families parent-child activities, parent handouts, screenings, group connections and we connect them to resources.”
Pahel added, “It is so rewarding to hear from families in our program that the support they receive is making a difference and is empowering. I’m so thankful for all the work my staff does with our PAT families. We wouldn’t be a Blue Ribbon Affiliate without their hard work!”
When families were asked how this program has been most helpful to them and their family -- one parent stated, “We absolutely love this program! It has been a huge help to myself and my boys. They have taught us all so much. I can say, because of this program I have been more confident with being a first-time mom and learning so much new stuff.”
The program is free for families in Elk County with children ages five and under and there is no income or developmental guidelines to enroll. DCI PAT is a Blue Ribbon Affiliate which means their program is providing the best quality services to families in the county. To register, please call 814.834.2602. For more information, visit www.dickinsoncenter.org/pat.