Missouri Home Visiting Leader Embraces the Institute for Professional Development Opportunities
“I am very passionate about home visiting and I want to get more home visitors trained, certified and credentialed.”
Paula Wright, ChildCare Aware Missouri
As a student at Missouri State University, Paula Wright listened intently to her professor as she explained her work as a home visitor at Springfield Public Schools. Wright knew she wanted to be just like her when she grew up. She did just that.
Wright has spent nearly two decades as a home visitor in Missouri, partnering with hundreds of families along the way. Today, she mentors and supports local home visitors through ChildCare Aware Missouri, a statewide nonprofit focused on supporting the early childhood workforce and those who work on behalf of children.
“I am very passionate about home visiting and I want to get more home visitors trained, certified and credentialed,” said Wright.
It’s one of the reasons she’s such a fan of the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals, an online training program that provides free trainings and personalized professional development plans.
Wright frequently recommends the Institute to new and senior home visiting professionals to support their professional development and impact on families.
Missouri is known for its thriving home visiting ecosystem. In 1985, then-Missouri Gov. Christopher Bond advocated for legislation to expand Parents as Teachers (PAT) programming into every school district in the state. Today, the state continues to support home visiting and funds six home visiting models across Missouri.
Professional development has long been a value in Missouri’s home visiting community. In fact, parent educators within PAT must complete 20 hours of professional development annually that correlates with the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professional’s Competency Framework.
“The classes are great,” said Wright. “You can’t click through – you have to learn and engage. Some of the things I learned gave me a new perspective, which I really enjoyed.
In addition to encouraging home visitors to engage in the Institute’s programming, Wright logs on to the Institute herself. Earlier this year, she took the Institute’s “Career Compass” tool to examine her strengths and learning opportunities. She discovered she should engage in more prenatal trainings, which is a 2025 training goal for her.
Wright will put the training to good use. Outside of her full-time role at ChildCare Aware Missouri, Wright continues to serve as a home visitor to local families. She fits in visits before and after work.
When it comes to connecting more families to home visiting, there’s no stopping Wright. She’s committed to helping more households utilize home visiting, while ensuring home visiting professionals get the training they need to succeed.
She sees the Institute as an important tool to help strengthen the home visiting community in Missouri – and beyond.
Learn more about the Institute at https://www.theinstitutefsp.org.