HIPPY US 

HIPPY was introduced to the United States through the work of Miriam Westheimer, a social worker and early childhood advocate who learned about the program while visiting Israel in the late 1960s. Recognizing its potential to strengthen school readiness among children from underserved communities, Westheimer worked with partners in the National Council of Jewish Women to pilot the program in the United States. The first American HIPPY sites were established in the early 1980s, adapting the Israeli model to the U.S. context while maintaining its core principle of empowering parents as their child’s first teacher.

National visibility for the program expanded when Hillary Rodham Clinton, then First Lady of Arkansas, supported the introduction of HIPPY in that state in 1984 as part of broader efforts to improve early childhood education and family support services. Arkansas became one of the earliest statewide adopters of the model, demonstrating how a structured home-based parent education program could strengthen parent engagement and improve children’s preparation for school. The program subsequently expanded to additional communities across the country, supported by partnerships with schools, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies.

Today, HIPPY operates through HIPPY US, the national organization responsible for training, quality assurance, and program development. The model is currently implemented in approximately 20 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, serving about 15,000 families each year. Across sites, HIPPY continues to focus on strengthening the home learning environment, building parent confidence, and promoting school readiness through structured parent-child educational activities delivered through trained community-based home visitors.

Contact Information:

Website: https://www.hippyus.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
Email: info@hippy-international.org
Phone: 702.508.8149