Implementing Parents as Teachers (PAT)^®

On its website, the Parents as Teachers National Center provides a budget toolkit for programs to estimate basic implementation costs, from which a per-family cost can be estimated.

Factors that contribute to fluctuations in costs per family include:

• Education level and qualifications of the parent educator, which can affect salaries.
• Needs of the population served; the program requires more frequent services for families with higher needs.
• The type of agency operating the program, existing infrastructure, and overhead expenses included in the Parents as Teachers budget.
• Whether services need to be provided in multiple languages, which often requires a translator.
• Whether there are additional requirements, such as staff and caseloads, associated with a particular funding source.
• The ratio of parent educators to supervisors; the Parents as Teachers National Center requires a minimum percent FTE per parent educator, but programs can opt to provide a higher ratio.
• Parent educators’ caseloads; the Parents as Teachers National Center provides guidance, but programs can opt to have lower caseloads.
• Whether the implementing agency is new to Parents as Teachers and therefore will incur start-up costs and may not be serving as many families per year.
• The level of parent educator turnover, which increases costs and also often results in family turnover; fewer families served can increase the cost per family.
• Travel needed to reach families; more travel will reduce the overall caseload a parent educator can carry and still provide the desired frequency of visits.

Estimates of cost per family for twice monthly home visits (the level of intensity required for families with two or more high-need characteristics) are between $4,000 and $6,500 per year [2019 dollars].

Annual salaries for parent educators, supervisors, and support staff vary widely across the country and across affiliates. Estimated annual salaries are $35,000, $50,000, and $28,000, respectively [2019 dollars] (not including benefits). Annual professional development fees per parent educator and supervisor are approximately $350 [2019 dollars].

All affiliates pay an initial affiliation fee of $4,250 during their first year of operation and $1,850 in each subsequent year [2019 dollars]. After their first year, parent educators pay $175 to renew their certifications.

The cost of training and renewal includes the Foundational Curricula and the Model Implementation Library materials.

The average cost to train a parent educator is $1,400, which includes both the three-day foundational training and the two-day model implementation training [2019 dollars] (not including travel costs). Costs are subject to change and may vary by state. Parent educators who administer screenings may require additional training; additional costs range from $150 to $600 per person [2019 dollars].

The annual affiliation fee includes access to the Parents as Teachers–recommended data system. Parents as Teachers also provides a learning management system to affiliates.

The costs associated with recruiting families vary by affiliate. Parents as Teachers affiliates develop and document a plan that identifies recruitment approaches and settings. Example recruitment strategies include hosting family recruitment events in the community, personal outreach to families by parent educators, and radio or TV advertisements. The recruitment plan should be reviewed annually and updated when circumstances in the community change.

Some affiliates offer incentives to help retain families. The costs for family incentives vary by affiliate.

The information contained on this page was last updated in October 2019. Recommended Further Reading lists the sources for this information. In addition, the information contained in this profile was reviewed for accuracy by the Parents as Teachers National Center on May 6, 2019. HomVEE reserves the right to edit the profile for clarity and consistency.