Parent Mentor Learning Center

The Parent Mentor Learning Center is intended for hospitals and clinics interested in starting, growing or improving parent mentor programs. There are many different terms to describe this work: peer-to-peer; parent-to-parent; parent navigators; and parent liaisons—but all programs share the goal of providing support and information to parents of children with chronic and complex conditions.

Parent mentors are typically “veteran” or experienced parents who share their management strategies and navigational skills with less experienced parents of children with similar conditions or diagnoses. However, within this emerging area of healthcare, there are few shared definitions nor agreed upon program standards. The Learning Center, generously funded by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, aims to leverage the collective skills, knowledge, and experience of parent mentor programs in the United States and beyond to create shared definitions and standards that will help to build and sustain mentor programs.

The first action of the Learning Center is to launch a survey of parent mentor programs in the United States and Canada. This primary aim of the survey is to provide information on current state of parent mentor programs in healthcare settings. The results from this survey will guide future Learning Center activities such as webinars, podcasts, and online trainings. 

Please contact Sandy Orozco if you would like more information.

Past collaborations

The Parent Mentor Learning Center grew out of the national Parent Mentor Learning Collaborative. Over the last 12 years, a group of pediatric hospitals have worked together to standardize the role of parent mentors across pediatric settings. We look forward to continuing this work through the Learning Center.