What We Do

 It is the mission of Meriden's Children First Initiative to improve educational, social, and health outcomes of young children in Meriden. Stimulating parent leadership is a central approach to this work.

Meriden Children First Initiative offers members of the Meriden community a variety of free services including parent leadership programs and peer groups that further its purpose of improving the educational, social and health outcomes of Meriden children.  You can view the Parent Leadership Training Institute Service's impact information in PDF format by clicking the link below, (note: you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader) or you can browse the listings of other services provided by Meriden Children First.  View the Parent Leadership Training Institute Service Impact Report.

• Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) that teaches democracy skills to parents so they can be more effective advocates for their children. This 20 week course, created by the Commission on Children offers free childcare and meals. The next class will start in January 2008. Application deadline is October 31, 2007.  Click here to apply on-line!
• People Empowering People (PEP), designed by the University of Connecticut, is a training to empower parents who may be facing extra challenges in life, including those whose first language is other than English. PEP is offered in Spanish and English.
• ‘How Schools Work’ Leadership Training is a two-part workshop for parents to better understand the public school system. It is presented by local and state elected officials and educators. The next offering will be in September 2007.
• Early Learning Project - with a grant from the William Caspar Graustien Memorial Foundation, Meriden Children First will raise awareness on the need and value of early learning and work to expand access to early learnng for Meriden children and their families. To get involved, or for more information, contact CFI.