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On Friday, February 15, The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence’s initiative, “Business Leaders for a Strong Start” hosted Family & Children’s Place (F&CP) HANDS program as their featured speakers.

Pam Darnall, F&CP President, Therease Baker, Family Support Worker for F&CP HANDS program and clients Toni Coleman, her son Michael and Monique Lewis, with daughter Jayla Simpson addressed the importance of the program to Kentucky business executives.

F&CP President, Pam Darnall explained the critical need for early childhood development, strengthening lives and investing in the future by supporting young families and children. F&CP’s HANDS is recognized as a proven program with evidence based outcomes. Pam explained, “A quality HANDS program can not only reduce cases of abuse and neglect, we’re able to reduce the cost of future problems with better outcomes for the children and parents”.

Monique Lewis graduated from the program in 2012. She told the group, “HANDS was my best supporter next to my family. I became a college student because HANDS gave me the confidence to believe in myself and not to give up on my dreams for myself and my baby”.

The Prichard Committee is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization of Kentucky parents and citizens working to improve education in the Commonwealth. The Prichard Committee is working on legislation to assure continued funding for early childhood development. Last October at the committee’s invitation, F&CP spoke to Kentucky state senators and representatives at a meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare at the state capital.