The Addison County Parent/Child Center was started in 1979 with funding from what was then called the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. Funded originally to address the problems of adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, the Center gradually expanded to offer services to families of all ages. Over the years, the work of the P/CC has addressed the most basic issues of encouraging responsible parenthood, providing young parents with the capacity, skills, and knowledge to support their families, and helping to prevent premature parenthood.
The Parent/Child Center operates on a Center/Outreach/Network
model, providing a flexible array of services to families in Addison County.
Center based services include developmental child care for children ages
birth to three, preven tive health services, parenting 
classes, support
groups, counseling, meals, pre-vocational and vocational training. Outreach
services include home visits, playgroups, classes and support groups in
local communities, and groups and classes in schools. Network services include
family advocacy, community development activities, and community education
about the needs of families.
All services at the Center are family driven. Decisions in terms of program directions always involve consulting with parents being served by these programs. We believe that families know best what they need in terms of support and ser vices so, of course, they are included in all levels of decision-making at the Center.
The P/CC was the first and remains the largest center of it's kind in the State. Based largely on the results of the Addison County Parent/Child Center, the State of Vermont decided in 1988 to provide line item funding to create and support a network of Parent/Child centers across the State. The P/CC has served as a model for this network of fifteen Parent/Child Centers that currently serve the State of Vermont. Statistics support the Center's assertion that its programs contribute to the quality of life in Addison County. The County now boasts a teen pregnancy rate that is significantly lower than that of the State's which, in itself, is well below the nation's rate for teen pregnancy. Addison County has seen a reduction in the number of reports of child abuse and neglect: in the period of 1985 to 1990, abuse and neglect reports were reduced by 12 % in Addison County while they increased by 1% in the State and 33% in the U.S.(The State of Our Children: 1993 Data Book)
