Pasadena’s innovative home visiting programme for children aged two to five receives national recognition and a five-year endorsement, highlighting the city’s commitment to parent-led early learning and child development.
Pasadena’s home visiting programme for children aged two to five has received national recognition for the 2025-26 programme year and a five-year endorsement, the city said, marking a significant vote of confidence in a model built around parent-led early learning. Manuel Carmona, the city’s public health director, announced the designation. According to the city, the programme is part of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, better known as HIPPY, an initiative that treats parents as their children’s first teachers.
HIPPY uses trained peer home visitors, often parents who have completed the programme themselves, to guide families through a 30-week curriculum. Visits last about an hour each week, and parents then spend roughly 20 minutes a day working with their children at home in the family’s own language. The national organisation rates sites as endorsed, recognised or stellar; Pasadena reached the recognised level, which means it exceeded the basic fidelity requirements for the model. The city said the review covered role-play, home visits, coordinators, home visitors and the programme’s wider operational structure.
HIPPY International says the model is evidence-based and designed to strengthen children’s cognitive, literacy, social-emotional and physical development. It was among the first seven home visiting programmes added to the federal evidence-based list through the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness project. The city also pointed to a 2024 quasi-experimental study that found participating children showed gains in cognitive skills, numeracy and literacy compared with non-participants. Nationally, the programme now reaches more than 12,000 families across 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Pasadena’s recognition also sits within a broader city effort that dates back more than a decade. The City Council adopted an Early Child Development Policy in March 2015, later backed by Resolution 9419 and a goal of making Pasadena known as an Early Learning City by 2025. That plan led to the creation of the Office of the Young Child and a public launch at Brookside Park in September 2017. The programme is now recruiting families in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre with children aged two to four, and the city is inviting community groups, local agencies and service providers to refer eligible families or help with outreach.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
