Endorsed sites demonstrate high-quality implementation of evidence-based home visiting
Creston, IOWA—Oct. 31, 2025 - Southwestern Community College Parents as Teachers (SWCC PAT) has been awarded Blue Ribbon Affiliate status by Parents as Teachers, the largest, evidence-based early childhood home visiting program in the United States. The distinction recognizes the organization's highest standards for quality and model fidelity, making Southwestern Community College Parents as Teachers one of the top-performing home visiting affiliates within the Parents as Teachers international network. This is the second time the organization has received the award.
The in-depth Quality Endorsement Improvement Process, which affiliates complete every five years to ensure alignment with organizational requirements, identifies programs that reach benchmarks of excellence in quality service to the families in their communities. A designation as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate affirms Southwestern Community College’s Parents as Teachers program implements the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model with fidelity, and that families in Adams, Adair, Ringgold, Taylor, and Union County communities are positively impacted by the services delivered by this program.
The program includes home visits, group connections, child screening, and connections to community resources. It equips parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a stronger start in life and greater success in school.
“To earn the Blue Ribbon Affiliate endorsement, we underwent a rigorous self-study and review process from the National Center. The process confirms we are meeting Parents as Teachers’ standards of fidelity and quality,” said Kristie Nixon, SWCC early childhood education program director. “Blue Ribbon Affiliates are exemplary programs, delivering the highest quality services to children and families.”
Implementation with quality and fidelity is vital in home-visiting programs, as it determines a program’s effectiveness in accomplishing its original goals and intended outcomes. It also verifies that a program is implemented as designed. The rigorous endorsement process of Parents as Teachers demonstrates an affiliate's accountability and credibility to the community, its funders, elected officials, and the partner organizations with which they work.
The Blue Ribbon Affiliates will be honored with a reception at the 2026 Parents as Teachers International Conference in October 2026. One of the largest early childhood home visiting conferences in the US, the event gathers educators and leaders from across the US and around the world for four days of professional development and networking. More than 1,800 attendees, both in-person and virtual, are expected.
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About Southwestern Community College Parents as Teachers
The Southwestern Community College Parents as Teachers (SWCC PAT) program offers free home visitation and support services to families with children from prenatal through age five, in the counties of Adams, Adair, Ringgold, Taylor, and Union.
Using the nationally recognized Parents as Teachers model, the program helps parents strengthen parent-child interactions, understand child development, and support overall family well-being. Certified parent educators visit families to provide developmental, vision, hearing, and health screenings, and to connect families to local resources. The SWCC PAT program is dedicated to empowering and inspiring families to give their children the best possible start in life. The SWCC PAT program has been a PAT affiliate since 2009, starting in Union County and adding Adair County in 2012 and Adams County in 2013. SWCC PAT expanded to provide services in Taylor County in 2022 and in Ringgold County this year.
SWCC PAT is funded through grants from 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa (ECI), Quad Counties 4Kids ECI, CHI Health Mercy Corning, Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program, through Iowa Health and Human Services, Dallas County Children’s Advocacy, and Adams/Taylor Kids Care Committee.
About Parents as Teachers
Parents as Teachers creates strong communities, thriving families, and children who are healthy, safe, and learning by matching parents and caregivers with trained professionals for regular personal home visits during a child’s earliest years, from pregnancy through kindergarten. With over 188,000 families served in all 50 U.S. states, 138 tribal organizations, and six other countries, the Parents as Teachers evidence-based home visiting model is backed by over 40 years of research-proven outcomes for children and families. Annually, Parents as Teachers National Center supports more than 8,600 professionals and partners with 2,200 organizations, including school systems, social service nonprofits, health departments, tribal organizations, and military installations.
Pictured above: Kristie Nixon, SWCC early childhood program director, speaking to a group of people.
Media Contacts:
Southwestern Community College Director of Marketing and Enrollment Management Terri Higgins,
Southwestern Community College Early Childhood Education Program Director, Kristie Nixon,
Website: https://www.swcciowa.edu/business-and-community-development/ecepat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATatSWCC