AVANCE's Hispanic Parent-Child Education Program CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Sept. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- AVANCE, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides parent and early childhood education programs along with other family support services, is accepting proposals from nonprofit organizations serving low-income Hispanic families to enter into a re-grant agreement with AVANCE to implement the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP).

With a $12.6 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, AVANCE created the Unlocking America's Potential Project (UAPP) to expand its evidence-based Parent-Child Education Program across the United States. As part of the project, AVANCE will re-grant funds over a three year time period to twelve qualified organizations serving low-income Hispanic families in order to adopt the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program model. The UAPP re-grant allows for a one-time payment of $50,000 to selected organizations to help with initial setup costs. AVANCE will also provide intensive training to the staff selected to deliver the program. Additionally, technical assistance will be provided along with monitoring and evaluation visits.  Beyond providing financial assistance to implement the PCEP, UAPP is determined to contribute to the global learning community by facilitating peer networking and creative innovations, while also conducting longitudinal research.

In the early months of 2010, AVANCE began accepting proposals to add 4 new Re-grant Partners by releasing the first of three UAPP Requests for Proposals (RFPs). In April 2011, AVANCE made its first selection of Re-grant Partners, adding El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Casa Guanajuato Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois; Ready by Five – Partnership for Early Learning in Yakima, Washington; and ASPIRA of Florida in Miami, Florida. The new Re-grant Partners have been successfully trained, and are now prepared to effectively deliver the PCEP beginning in the early fall of 2011.

Magdalena Santos, UAPP Project Director explains, “The beginning of the UAPP has been tremendously successful, because of the shared passion for community development between our Re-grant Partners and AVANCE. The four new Re-grant Partners have worked tirelessly with AVANCE trainers to ensure flawless and high quality implementation of the PCEP. We look forward to reviewing this year’s proposals and ultimately adding four more Re-grant Partners.”

Since 1973, AVANCE has been dedicated to providing innovative education and family support services to predominantly Hispanic families in low-income, high-need communities. The organization's comprehensive PCEP promotes community economic development, positive parenting skills and behaviors, school readiness, parental school involvement, adult education and civic engagement for a simultaneous impact on both the parent and child. The program has been proven to improve school readiness of children zero to three years of age and had a life changing impact on Latino families through partnerships with community-based organizations.

Visit www.avance.org to download the Request for Proposal and for even more information about the Unlocking America’s Potential Project, follow AVANCE on Twitter @uapproject and like the Facebook page Unlocking America's Potential Project.

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Unlocking America’s potential by strengthening families in at-risk communities through effective parent education and support programs. AVANCE is one of the odlest and most distingusished parenting-early chilhood programs in the the country.