As St. Louis-based Parents As Teachers celebrates 35 years, budget issues limit its reach
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The St. Louis-based nonprofit Parents As Teachers launched in the 1980s, initially guiding 60 pregnant women through early childhood development. Gov. Christopher “Kit” Bond pushed legislation to require a Parents As Teachers affiliate in every Missouri school district to serve pregnant women and children up to kindergarten age. The program has since grown to serve more than 200,000 families in every state and around the world with close to 2 million home visits annually. Yet budget tightening has limited the program’s reach in its home state. At least 1,500 families are on waiting lists statewide for the underfunded program.