About


Great parenting doesn’t happen with isolation. Yet today’s parents are living more isolated lives than ever before, disconnected from extended family and too busy for social get-togethers with friends. Too often moms and dads struggle to cope with parenting challenges alone.

“A child’s mind is not a container to be filled, but rather a fire to be kindled.”Dorothea Brande

The Family Connection provides a regional parenting hub where parents can come together, learn effective parenting skills, be introduced to community resources and find support from other parents.

As an Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative, we partner with local organizations, businesses, schools, daycare centers, and churches, to serve parents and children. The courses in parenting that we offer are all willingly attended because those who come are provided with an engaging experience. Our parenting education series and one-day workshops celebrate positive learning and help parents become the kind of caregivers and role models their children want and need.

Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative

The Family Connection is supported by the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative, a multi-year initiative led by The Ford Family Foundation, The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) and Oregon State University. Financial supporters include the Meyer Memorial Trust, the Collins Foundation and OCF Donor Advised Funds. Our partners believe that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, and that investments in strong parenting is the best strategy for ensuring that all children are ready to learn. Eventually, it is our vision that there will be a stronger statewide system of programs, information, and support for all parents and developments of regional parenting education “Hubs.” Through grants and technical assistance, we support expanded access to parenting education programs, with a focus on programs reaching parents of children prenatal to age six. Find out more here.

We Believe

We believe that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, and that supporting strong parenting is a critical strategy for ensuring that all children are ready to learn.

Therefore, families in Southern Oregon will have access to high quality parenting education programs that support them in their critical role as their children’s first teachers. Our communities will be served by a network of strong parenting programs and a regional parenting education Hub, and parenting education will become a community norm.

Our Partners