What is PCEP?
The Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP) is AVANCE’s core foundational program, supporting parents as their child’s first teacher and their home as the first classroom.
PCEP is a FREE 9-month program for pregnant women, parents and caregivers, and their children between the ages of 0-4 years old. The program offers:
Early childhood classes
Tools and opportunities for quality early childhood education
Support with parenting skills and child development
Resources and support services for the whole family
AVANCE is the difference between before and now. It has given me the tools to better understand my daughter's needs and it showed me how to be a better mother.
-Maribel Bautista, PCEP Graduate
How it works
Our two-generation model combines parenting education, early childhood development, and community engagement to ensure comprehensive support for families. Children under the age of 4 and the adults in their lives attend a 4-hour class once a week that includes:
Parents & Caregivers
Parenting Education
(1 hour)
Educational Toy Making
(1 hour)
Community Engagement
(1 hour)
Well Together
(1 hour)
Children
Parent-Child
Early Childhood Education
(4 hours)
Home Visits
(6 visits throughout the program)
NEW! Well Together
Our Well Together curriculum is a unique component of PCEP at AVANCE-North Texas in Dallas and Tarrant Counties that is dedicated to addressing families' mental health needs.
The stigma associated with mental health in the Hispanic population, misdiagnoses owing to cultural differences, fear of legal status, and language barriers all prevent people in need from seeking help. Well Together focuses particularly on dismantling barriers to essential mental health services within the Hispanic community and offers hands-on case management support to those families facing the greatest risks.
The Well Together curriculum is administered by Parent Educators—members of the Hispanic community who have been specially trained by our Mental Health Specialist to provide basic mental health education and case management without being professional health care providers. Our Parent Educators are skilled at meeting families where they are and creating a safe environment that fosters openness and receptiveness to improving their mental health.
I want to give thanks to the staff of AVANCE for helping me during my difficult times. They gave me all the counseling, information, and websites I needed to help me recover my happiness. They took the time to talk to me, letting me know that there is hope for me and how important I am. When I thought I had no help, they were there to help me.
-Juanita Ortiz