As referrals for parental education and support have risen from local agencies and schools, Parenting Matters has recently stepped up to increase its services to meet the increasing demand. The organization recently hired three new Parenting Educators to serve more families in Sarasota County and address the greatest gap in parenting services—intensive home visits for high-risk families. As Parenting Educators, the new staff will help families to address needs such as: child safety, communication, positive discipline, child development, access to community resources and becoming involved in and advocating for their child’s education.

In 2018, Parenting Matters served more than 700 parents and 1,354 children in the region. The organization expanded its physical footprint into Sarasota County by adding office space at the conveniently located Glasser-Schoenbaum Human Services Center, and $240,000 in grant funding from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation was provided to increase operational support.

Parenting Matters