“This model is an opportunity for organizations to live into the values that so many nonprofits and community groups talk about, wanting to listen and partner with communities.”

Meet Arthur! He works at the Centro de Estudios de Política Social and supports the Early Childhood Learning and Innovation Network for Communities (EC-LINC) y el Parent Leader Network (PLN). The PLN provides a space for parents to collaborate and advocate for parent voice and leadership in early childhood systems. Staff and parents from member organizations were trained in Phases 1-3 de El modelo de COFI from 2019-2023 at the COFI Center for Action and Learning.

Parents Leading Change and Organizations Leading with Their Values

One challenge Arthur noticed in his work was that communities often said they wanted to partner with parents, but they focused on organizational and system priorities rather than the parents’.

“Our model has always been about authentically partnering with parents and encouraging the organizations to provide space for parents to have autonomy and decision-making around the different priorities that they’re interested in,” he said.

El modelo de COFI offered a “strong curriculum” for the network to train organizations to do exactly that: support parents, organize, and help develop advocates and leaders. And it’s led to real change and decision-making led by parents!

In Palm Beach, Florida, parents became part of a governing body providing direct input on investments of millions in community funding for maternal and mental health. In Utah County, Utah, parents transformed how their local community center worked with Spanish-speaking families.

Even after national PLN funding ended and formal meetings stopped, communities have continued to host COFI training. “That’s really exciting to see that folks are still utilizing the model,” he said.

“This model is an opportunity for organizations to live into the values that so many nonprofits and community groups talk about, wanting to listen and partner with communities. This is a concrete way to do that.”

The Dream: Truly Embracing Parent Leadership

His dream? To see organizations truly embrace parent leadership as a practice and go beyond talking about it.

“Don’t tell parents they can do whatever they want, then pull the rug out from under them,” he said.

His work and the PLN show what COFI has known for 30 years: El modelo de COFI can catalyze a national parent-led movement. Parents from New York to California and Florida to Washington are using COFI’s proven model to turn their hopes and dreams into action.

Learn more about EC-LINC aquí.

Are you interested in building parent power and incorporating The COFI Way into your mission? Learn more about the COFI Center for Action and Learning y upcoming trainings.

A photo from the Parent Leader Network’s 2023 Summit, which included COFI training with Ms. Rose and Graciela. Photo credit: Huong Vu