LENA Start is a program for parents and their young children that supports positive interactions and promotes development of early language. Based on more than 20 years of research, starting with Betty Hart and Todd Risley’s Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Lives of Young American Children, LENA Start seeks to better understand and reduce early differences in the language development of young children in our communities. The Pathways to Quality (P2Q) project implemented LENA Start in partnership with the University of Minnesota. The idea was to bring an innovative parenting engagement tool to family child care providers as a way for providers to engage with their families around decreasing the word gap. This fits well within our strategic plan Parent Engagement strategy to support parents in preparing their children for kindergarten.
