About Us
Philosophy/Approach
For nearly 40 years, Child Inc has been a national leader in preschool education by experimenting with various methods of staff training, types of curricula, and actively engaging parents in the education of their children. Not only has Child Inc experimented with these various approaches, it has conducted research and outcome evaluations that exceed any other early education programs known by our local, state, and federal funders.
Through this experience, Child Inc has learned that qualified staff, low staff-child ratios, and good curricula are necessary for good child development, but not sufficient. We know from rapidly expanding knowledge of the brain regarding both learning and the formulation of healthy positive child-parent attachment, research on early development, and research that demonstrates the tremendous impact of family structure on child outcomes: that positive, lasting child development is largely dependent upon good, responsible parenting.
We even know from social and economic research that irresponsible parenting, conservatively costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $112 billion dollars per year, Texas taxpayers nearly $3 billion dollars per year, and Austin-area taxpayers at least $177 million dollars per year.
To provide a program that is both necessary and sufficient to produce school readiness and ultimate school success, Child Inc promotes a Responsible Parenting Program that is extensively integrated with our core education program.
In an ideal world, responsible parenthood includes two caring parents who engage in extensive, positive engagement with their children, are involved in their children’s education, and provide children both adequate emotional and financial support. Too often, the children we serve live in a world that is far from ideal. Two-thirds of our families in the centers, have single, female head-of-households, and at least 90% of them live at, or below, the level of federal poverty. Many of our children do not know their biological fathers, in addition our typical child hears an average of 616 spoken words per hour, compared to 2133 spoken words per hour for children of professional-class parents.
The Child Inc response to these circumstances has been the development of several initiatives that fall under the broad heading of our Responsible Parenting Program. These initiatives include the following:
- Increased parent involvement
- Educate and engage fathers
- Assess parental problems that affect parent-child relationships
- Provide Healthy Relationship training to parents
- Increase community understanding and recognition of responsible parenting
- Study and disseminate the latest neuroscience findings concerning brain development and learning
