You and The National Effective Parenting Initiative (NEPI)

Dear Colleagues and Fellow Parents:

The Center for the Improvement of Child Caring and I are pleased to announce that we have joined forces with a growing number of other concerned individuals and organizations to support NEPI, the National Effective Parenting Initiative.

NEPI is about advocating, celebrating, and promoting effective parenting and parenting education with the goal of ensuring that every child in our country is raised effectively and humanely.

We urge you and your organization to join with all of us in this important and noble effort.

Decades of research and common sense confirm that when parents are effective and peaceful in raising children, everyone benefits. Children who are parented effectively feel better about themselves and their abilities. They enter school eager and ready to learn. They do better in school and make positive community contributions. And, when they become adults, they are more likely to have successful careers and marriages.

         

Through honoring parents and helping them to be as effective as possible through high quality parenting education, more and more parents will become highly effective in raising their children. And as that happens, a variety of social and health problems will be prevented or diminished, since children who are raised effectively and humanely rarely become delinquents, drug abusers or criminals. Those who are abused, neglected or otherwise poorly parented are much more likely to become antisocial and to cost taxpayers billions of dollars to treat or punish.

So everyone has something to gain from a successful National Effective Parenting Initiative.

NEPI is advocating that the president and members of congress become champions of effective parenting and parenting education by creating a multi-faceted Effective Parenting Initiative.

This would involve the creation of new structures within our federal government, led by a cabinet level Department of Effective Parenting or a White House Office of Effective Parenting. Such an important entity would be supported by a prestigious National Council of Effective Parenting composed of leaders from all segments of American society.

The proposed new structures would also include:

      1. A National Clearinghouse of Effective Parenting to keep every parent informed and       updated and to celebrate National Parents’ Day.

      2. A National Parenting Instructor Training Center to provide training for the army of       instructors who are needed to educate all of America’s parents.

      3. A National Institute of Effective Parenting to conduct research on effective parenting       and evaluate and improve the outcomes of parent training programs.

To obtain a copy of this proposal, click here.

You can send a message to the president, your members of congress and your other elected representatives to encourage them to create such Effective Parenting Initiatives by clicking here.

When large numbers of concerned citizens send such encouragement, our elected officials are much more likely to pay attention and act. So take the minute or so to move them in the right direction! And get your colleagues, family members and friends to also send this message.

Here are some of the recommendations and resources about becoming the best parent you can be that you will find on the NEPI website:

• Read research-based guides like The Power of Positive Parenting and learn what constitutes effective parenting in the 21st Century and what you need to know to be as effective as possible.



• Learn about parenting skill-building programs.



• Find and enroll in parenting classes and seminars at locations in your community.



• Obtain and use the parenting handbooks from parenting skill-building programs.



• Enroll in an online parenting course.



• Obtain the assistance of a parenting coach.



• Become your children’s anti-drug.



• Become educated about and monitor the movies and television shows and other media to which your children are exposed.



• Subscribe to CICC's free, online Effective Parenting Newsletter.

As reflected in the proposal to the president and members of congress, NEPI realizes that if every parent in the nation is to receive high quality parenting education there needs to be a large number of qualified educators and instructors available in all communities.

NEPI is facilitating this needed cadre by orienting interested persons to where they can receive the required education and certification.

To find out the many training opportunities that now exist and the types of parenting programs that you could be trained to provide in your community, click here.

A variety of national, state and local organizations who are involved in assisting parents to be more effective are becoming affiliated with NEPI.

An Affiliate is asked to:

1. Make public its affiliation by an announcement to its constituency and encourage the signing of The Effective Parenting Petition.



2. Link to NEPI on its website and encourage its visitors to become involved.



3. Promote effective parenting as essential to helping all children to enjoy a happy childhood and grow into happy, healthy, and successful adults.



4. Promote positive parenting practices, such as love and support, firm and respectful discipline, and age-appropriate supervision that research has shown to be associated with positive developmental outcomes in children.



5. Discourage negative parenting practices, such as physical and verbal abuse, that research has shown to be associated with higher rates of school difficulties, aggression, depression, and delinquency in youth.



6. Encourage the use of books, videos workshops and other educational resources that help develop effective parenting skills. (Among many good resources that are available, NEPI recommends The Power of Positive Parenting as a short introduction to core guidelines and practices supported by research.)



7. Consider becoming an Organizational Sponsor of NEPI.

Here is a list of some of the national and local organizations who are already affiliates:

     • Academy for Coaching Parents International

     • Active Parenting

     • Center for the Improvement of Child Caring

     • Child Crisis Center

     • Community Therapies/Baby Steps

     • Council on Prevention and Education (COPES)

     • El Nido Family Centers

     • Family Development Resources

     • Hummingbird Coaching Services

     • Nurturing Fathers

     • Parenting Perspectives

     • Project No Spank

     • Strengthening Families

     • T.E.P.E. Training Institute

Another very important aspect of NEPI is its commitment to work to prevent the abuse and neglect of children.

To learn about these tragic and costly problems and what you can do to prevent them, click here.

Your contribution assists NEPI in reaching the goal of every child in America being raised effectively and humanely by parents who have received the best possible parenting education.

Your donation will be managed and acknowledged by one of NEPI’s major supporters and affiliates, the nonprofit Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC). Because CICC is a 501(c) 3 charitable organization, your contribution to NEPI through CICC is tax-deductible.

When you click here to make your donation, you will find yourself on a SUPPORT CICC page that contains a form that you can complete to make your contribution and pay by credit card.

CICC will ensure that your contribution is used to support all of NEPI’s activities and services.

Your contribution will be recognized on a NEPI Contributors’ Page if you desire.

NEPI is in the process of discussing sponsorship relations with a wide variety of corporations, foundations and kindred organizations.

It is anticipated that sponsorships of a financial and in kind nature will become an important source of support for all of NEPI’s activities and services.

Sponsors will be recognized in a variety of ways and will be given priority consideration for receiving NEPI programs and services. In addition, sponsors will also be provided with a variety of discounts and benefits from the organizations that are officially affiliated with NEPI.

For example, the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, one of the founding Affiliates of NEPI, has agreed to provide Sponsors with such priority considerations as:

     1. Free professional consultation time to help Sponsors develop or refine their own      Effective Parenting Projects.

     2. Reduced fees for having one-day parenting seminars delivered to the Sponsor’s      members or clients.

     3. Reductions in enrollment fees to have the Sponsor’s staff or members trained to      deliver such CICC parenting skill-building programs as Confident Parenting, Effective      Black Parenting and Los Ninos Bien Educados.

     4. Discounts on the purchase of CICC child development and parenting books and      guides, and on the purchase of Instructor Kits for CICC parenting skill-building      programs.

     5. Free use of the CICC Discovery Tool to assist in identifying and helping young      children with special needs.

The extent of these types of considerations vary on the basis of the size of the financial contribution or in kind donation.

If your corporation, foundation or organization would like to explore becoming a sponsor, go to the NEPI Contact Form, and, in the Comments section, indicate your interest in exploring this type of supportive relationship.

Here is a partial list of the distinguished individuals who are already participating as advisors.

• Dr. Kerby T. Alvy has taken a leadership role. Dr. Alvy is the founder and executive director of 32 year old Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC) in California. Many of the ideas that inform the creation of NEPI were developed by Dr. Alvy and his colleagues at CICC. Dr. Alvy also conceived of and wrote the blueprint for the Effective Parenting Initiative that can be adopted by the national government.



• Dr. Stephen J. Bavolek, the creator of the Nurturing Parenting Programs and president of Family Development Resources in North Carolina.



• Dr. Robert Epstein, West Coast Editor of Psychology Today, Host of “Psyched!” on Sirius Satellite Radio, Director Emeritus, Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and Visiting Scholar at the University of California at San Diego.



• Dr. Caron Goode, founder of the Academy for Coaching Parents International, trains Heartwise Parent Coaches and offers parent education through distance learning and seminar presentations in Texas.



• Dr. Karol Kumpfer of the University of Utah, developer of the Strengthening Families Program and former Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



• Dr. Thomas Lickona is perhaps the best known character educator in the United States today. He is a Professor of Education at the State University of New York (Cortland) and Director of the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs. He is author of seven books, including Raising Good Children, Education for Character, and Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity and Other Essential Values.



• Dr. Neal H. Mayerson, President of the Mayerson Foundation and Hummingbird Coaching Systems in Ohio.



• Judy Nordstrom is the founder and Lead Educator for the T.E.P.E. Training Institute in New York, and the creator of the multi-modal "thematic module" concept for parenting program curricula design. As the mother and grandmother to a very large family, she brings unique and comprehensive experiences to all of her work with parents and parenting professionals.



• Mark Perlman has worked professionally with parents, children, and families for over 30 years. He has served as President/CEO of the Family Counseling Center and Executive Director of the Child Protection Center in Sarasota, Florida. He is the author of The Nurturing Father's Program, A Nurturing Father's Journal and The Marriage and Parenting Program.



• Dr. Michael Popkin, the creator of the first video- based parenting skill-building programs, the Active Parenting Programs, and the President of Active Parenting Publishers in Georgia.



• Bernie Rice, Executive Chairman, Best Practices Network in Georgia.



• Jordan Riak, Executive Director of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE) and author of Plain Talk About Spanking.



• Dr. Larry D. Rosen, Professor of Psychology, California State University, Dominquez Hills, and co- author of the pioneering book on the psychology of technology, TechnoStress: Coping with Technology at Work, Home and Play.



• Christine Scarpati, M.S., is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Child Crisis Center in Arizona, which has been providing a wide range of child abuse prevention services in the Phoenix area for over 24 years.



• Dr. Elaine Fogel Schneider is the founder and Executive Director of both the Community Therapies and Baby Steps organizations in California, and is a highly respected expert in parent-child relationships. She is an author of several books, most recently, Messaging You Baby.



• Ted N. Strader is the founder and Executive Director of the Council on Prevention and Education (COPES) in Kentucky. He is also the developer of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Program.

CICC is proud to announce that the Morgan Stanley Foundation has made another contribution to CICC, based on the exemplary volunteer services that one of its executives, Jac Stulberg continues to provide.

Mr. Stulberg (shown on right with Dr. Alvy in above photo), has been an extraordinarily committed volunteer to CICC and its Board of Directors for over a decade.

This year his company is acknowledging his tireless efforts with a $3000 unrestricted contribution.

CICC will be using these funds to pay for some of its costs of supporting NEPI.

Thanks, Jac! And thanks to Morgan Stanley!

The Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC) was founded in 1974 by Dr. Kerby T. Alvy and has grown to be one of the nation's largest and most productive nonprofit parenting and parenting education organizations. For more infomration about CICC's many programs, activities, products and services, go to www.ciccparenting.org, or call toll-free (800) 325-2422.

To sign up to receive CICC's free Effective Parenting Newsletter, click here.