HEA has partnered this fall with Lippert Components to pilot a program that brings Triple P – Positive Parenting Program to the place most adults spend at least half their day: The workplace.

Lippert Components director of training and development Ann Weiss welcomes a class of Lippert employees for a virtual Triple P session on Oct. 26, 2021.

Triple P has been a part of the Elkhart County community since 2015, and has provided more than 4,300 instances of support to parents and caregivers of children in that time through classes, workshops, seminars, and other programming offered through more than 80 community partners, including schools, churches, libraries, child care facilities, and nonprofit partners, to name a few. 

In an effort to reach even more parents, local Triple P director Emily Herriott worked with Dwight Weber, a local community leader, to start a new initiative called Workplace Triple P. The goal is to offer Triple P support to parents through their employer. 

“Our goal is to take Triple P right to where people work. By helping parents reduce conflict in parenting and increase confidence with their family, it raises their confidence at work and increases productivity in the workplace.” Weber said. 

Through a first-of-its-kind partnership with Lippert Components, Triple P practitioners offered a series of virtual Positive Parenting workshops in English and Spanish as part of the company’s  “Lippert University” employee benefit program. The first cohort of about 40 Lippert employees finished the initial Triple P unit in November, according to Ann Weiss, director of training and development at Lippert.

Triple P staff, including Herriott and Weber as well as trained practitioners Evelyn Bermudez, Trisha Lightfoot, and Anna Sawatzky, facilitated hour-long workshops on common parenting topics including Balancing Work and Family, Dealing With Disobedience, and Raising Responsible Teenagers. The workshops were offered virtually via Zoom, so Lippert employees could participate from anywhere, including from communities with Lippert facilities outside of Elkhart County.

As 2021 draws to a close, Herriott and Weber continue to work with various employers in the community, including Lippert, to craft the next Workplace Triple P partnerships in 2022 and beyond.

“Providing parenting workshops as part of an employee’s benefit package not only normalizes that all parents can use support along our parenting journey, but it also increases access to this important resource by being part of the programming offered in the workplace,” Herriott said.

Any employers wishing to bring Triple P to their company can contact Dwight Weber at dweber@triplepelkhartcounty.org.