Piper Bulletin October 2009

A new mother tends to her baby after receiving a new Parent Kit.

A very popular parent education program in Maricopa County is now statewide. Piper Trust launched the Arizona Parent Kit in 2004 and in June 2009 transferred the program to state agency First Things First.

The Arizona Parent Kit includes a video, resource guide with important parenting tips and "baby's first book." Labor and delivery nurses in all 22 birthing hospitals in Maricopa County have been distributing the kits since 2007. The statewide reach will involve an additional 32 hospitals, birthing centers and emergency birthing sites.

"This vital kit provides a universal language to communicate the most basic healthy child development practices to parents," said Marilee Dal Pra, Piper Trust program director and Parent Kit project manager since its inception. "The Trust is so happy to see the Parent Kit take on even greater statewide impact."

From 2004 through May 2009, more than 162,000 kits were distributed to provide child development information to families.

First Things First has assumed administrative responsibility for the project. The Trust will continue providing funding for distributing kits to all parents of newborns in Maricopa County through mid-2011.

First Things First completed a redesign of the kit, and the box and materials now convey the organization's signature color and new design.