Results: In 2010, donations and fundraising events contributed to ~30,000- in unrestricted funds, supplementing our programs and services throughout the year.
Target demographics: Children and families with children who have special needs, ages zero to five, living in Solano County, California.
Geographic areas served: Solano County, California currently, and expansion into other California counties as funding permits.
Programs: Children’s Nurturing Project (CNP) works with families to help them provide the best start for their infants and children so that they develop into healthy and happy children when they reach school age. We utilize a multidisciplinary team approach to best meet the needs of our children and families. A multidisciplinary team consists of specialists from various backgrounds who work together to assist the children and family in a coordinated way. We provide specialty services that benefit the children and their families that meet their specific variety of needs without requiring referrals.
Baby Coach Program: Moms-to-be and moms with newborns are paired with a coach who will help them through the last part of their pregnancy, delivery, and possibly until the child’s first birthday…or beyond. Coaches are volunteers who have participated in more than 40 hours of training in topics such as labor and delivery, child abuse, domestic violence, infant development, and breastfeeding. These coaches, in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team at Children’s Nurturing Project, will provide parent education and support, and help link new moms to resources throughout Solano County, all with a listening ear and a calm shoulder.
Child Assault Prevention Program (CAPP): Workshops are available for pre-school and elementary school classrooms throughout Solano County. These sessions help empower children to be “Safe, Strong, and Free” by teaching them how to handle certain situations such as bullying, strangers, and unwanted touch, in an age-appropriate, interactive and fun role-play.
Early Childhood Mental Health Services: Early intervention provides the best opportunity for a child’s health and well-being. Our in-home mental health and behavioral services provide comprehensive assessments and treatment for children from birth to age 5 to assess their social and emotional health and improve the parent-child relationship. Our strengths-based approach allows us to use therapeutic interventions with the foal of strengthening families to promote the emotional development of children, leaving them better prepared to enter school.
Homeless Kids Outreach: Staff members of Children’s Nurturing Project provide developmental screening, parenting support, and community resources to children and their families living in homeless situations or in local motels and shelters. Our goal is to help every child access the services they need to be healthy and develop to their full potential.
Parenting Education & Support: Children’s Nurturing Project provides groups for educating parents and their children. We utilize the research-based Nurturing Parenting curriculum for parent education and support groups for families with children ages zero to five. Participants will learn positive disciplinary techniques, nurturing parenting routines and how to build your child’s self-esteem, among many other topics. Groups are available for pregnant and parenting teens, Spanish speaking parents, and for parents who have children with special health care or developmental needs.
Partnership for Early Access for Kids (PEAK): This program is generously funded by First 5 Solano and Solano County Health and Social Services. The Partnership for Early Access for Kids (PEAK) Initiative is a Solano County-wide, multi-agency collaborative with the overarching goal of earlier identification of infants and children with special needs in order to link them with needed services prior to reaching school age, thus improving their developmental potential. The PEAK philosophy is to provide cultural competency and sensitivity for all Solano County children living in highly-stressed family situations. Children’s Nurturing Project and EMQ Families First are the lead agencies in this joint project that includes five partner agencies and five sub-contractors, as well as multiple service partners who are integral to the overall success of our initiative.
The PEAK Initiative consists of a set of clearly-defined strategies that target parents, caregivers, and others who are responsible for the well-being and care of children, and a strategy that enables coordination and efficiency to assure access to all client services. Please visit www.peaksolano.org.
Special Needs Services: Our Special Needs Group gives parents the opportunity to discuss ideas and concerns surrounding raising a child with special needs, and gives special needs infants and children a play-based socialization activity. Our Special Needs and Therapy rooms provide a place where parents, access the most current medical information and research, and have access to a multidisciplinary team of professionals for assessment and referral to needed services.
