Parent Leadership Training Institute
Empowering Families, Shaping Communities
At NPLI, we believe that a community’s well-being depends critically upon its residents’ active engagement in civic life. In particular, we understand that parents possess critical knowledge of their children’s needs and have special insights into the resources needed to solve community problems.
Transforming Communities Through Parent Leadership
At its heart, the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) offers a free 20-week training experience that gives parents and caregivers practical tools to advocate for children and strengthen their communities. For more than 30 years, PLTI has helped families step into civic life with confidence and lasting impact.
PLTI began in Connecticut as a family civics initiative created by Elaine Zimmerman and the Connecticut Commission on Children, now the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. Connecticut owns the PLTI curriculum and continues to operate a dedicated statewide implementation for its local sites.
As PLTI’s impact grew in Connecticut and interest spread to other states, communities across the country began asking how they could bring the model home. In response, Elaine founded the National Parent Leadership Institute (NPLI) to replicate PLTI outside Connecticut. Since then, every PLTI community beyond Connecticut has launched, developed, and sustained its local work through NPLI’s guidance. These sites make up the majority of the 80-plus PLTI communities nationwide, and the model has even reached one city in Australia.
One Parent Can Make A Difference
A Legacy of Innovation
Founded in 1992, PLTI was intentionally built to provide a different approach to engaging parents in civic life to improve outcomes for children and families. With the mantra “Nothing About Us, Without Us,” PLTI has refined the prototype for increasing parent leaders’ knowledge, skills, and actions into a gold standard.
The PLTI Curriculum
PLTI learners engage in a comprehensive curriculum covering topics such as group dynamics, problem-solving, community workings, public policy, and understanding laws and budgets. The training is designed to foster personal growth and confidence, encouraging the development of community projects that address neighborhood, school, or family needs.
Two-Generation Strategy
The PLTI curriculum offers a two-generation strategy for the children of the parents in training, using interactive learning, playtime, and children’s literature to teach parallel content in an initiative called The Children's Leadership Training Institute (CLTI). This intergenerational family civics approach bolsters parental involvement while promoting the lifelong health, safety, and learning of children.
Continuous Growth
PLTI is not just a training; it's a transformative initiative. The leadership path continues after the training, with parent leaders making changes in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. A supportive and extensive nationwide alumni network and continuous education opportunities after graduation enable parents to effectively engage in civic discourse and influence policymaking.
