Archives

ParentChild+

Parents Are a Child’s First and Most Important Teacher

Would you believe that bringing a free book or toy, working for 30 minutes with a parent and their child twice a week for 2 years increases graduation by 30% and results in a 50% reduction in the need for special education? Something so simple has tremendous impact on families! Loving parents care for their children in the best way they know how, but they may not know the power they have to help their children out of poverty. For one mother, playing with her child was all about tickling and peek-a-boo. “I didn’t know we could teach about colors and numbers so easily. Look at how much he knows now!” A loving parent, she just needed the opportunity to learn how be her child’s first teacher.

Providing Resources

The majority of the families in our ParentChild+ program — 95% — live in extreme poverty. They get by on less than $16,000 per year. That is simply not enough to buy the educational toys and books that those with higher incomes take for granted. So we bring free books and educational toys to their homes and help parents — who may never have had a book read to them as children — learn how to make play a learning experience. Our home visitors model for parents ways to incorporate learning about shapes, colors, numbers, and more into their daily life. As parents and children learn together, family relationships are strengthened. Our program has shown a 133% improvement in parent-child bonds.

Closing the Achievement Gap

With their parents engaged as teachers and educational role models, children in this program don’t lag behind their middle- and upper-income peers. They start school equipped for success.

Graduates of our program:

Enter kindergarten with skills an average of 10 months above their age.
Are 50% better prepared for elementary school than low-income children who do not attend the program.
Are less likely to need special education or remedial services.
Are less likely to repeat a grade.
Are more likely to graduate from high school.
Have a higher lifelong income of $600,000 to $1,000,000 more than their peers who did not participate in the program.

Parents, too, close a gap in their education. Many are immigrant families who do not speak English at home. After experiencing success with their children, many are inspired to pursue their own educational goals, including ESL classes or obtaining their GED. In this way, our program supports entire families and our community as a whole.

Graduation

Contact

Jamaica Community Partnership

Our Mission

We work with community partners to ensure that every person – children, young adults, and families – in the Jamaica, Queens area have equitable access to resources and opportunities that place them on a path to an improved quality of life.

Our Vision

A just world where every person feels inspired to achieve their fullest potential, participate in, and contribute to activities that affect their lives, families, and their communities.

To stay informed about upcoming events, resources, and opportunities in Jamaica, please join our mailing list or visit our Facebook Page or follow us on Instagram.

RESOURCE GUIDE

Social Capital

Click the link above for organizations who support a referral to Social Capital. Referrals to Social Capital include organizations that support peer and family networks, coaching, and cohort strategies.

Education

Click the link above for organizations who support a referral to Education. Referrals to Education include organizations that support Early Childhood Development (head start, early head start, child care partnerships, preK, and home visiting) and Postsecondary and Employment Pathways (community college, training and certification, workforce partnerships).

Health and Wellbeing

Click the link above for organizations who support a referral to Health and Wellbeing. Referrals include organizations that support mental, physical, behavioral health, health coverage, and access to care, support for adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress.

Economic Assets

Click the link above for organizations who support a referral to Economic Assets. Referrals to Economic Assets include organizations that support asset building, housing and public supports, financial capacity, and transportation.

Volunteer With Us!

We encourage the participation of volunteers who support our mission and are willing to contribute. Click here to fill out our volunteer form.

Contact

Soundview Family Resource Center

A Place to Come Together and Learn

Soundview Family Resource Center 4

Being a new parent is a time of wonder and excitement. You are filled with joy at each new development of your child — her first smile, his first steps, the first time she says, “Mama!” But it is also a time of questions and challenges. “How do I deal with this new behavior?” “My child didn’t eat much at all today. Should I be worried?” Nearly 40% of families in the Bronx live at or below the poverty level, which is an added hurdle.
We help families meet these challenges at the bilingual Family Resource Center in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx, where all services are free. We bring parents and caregivers together to build a community of support and to provide a safety net for families. Targeted to families with children under the age of 5, the Center equips parents and caregivers with knowledge, stability, support and access to resources so they can help children develop to their full potential.

Building Bonds with Children and Parents Alike

The Center hosts a wide range of free family and community activities — playgroups, movie afternoons, festivals, and field trips — so parents and caregivers have the opportunity to come together with others in a warm, comfortable environment. Parents and children bond while meeting neighbors, building a sense of community in a neighborhood with limited outlets and where families, particularly those with limited English-language skills, might otherwise feel isolated.

Parents and caregivers, along with their children, join us weekly for free arts, crafts, readings and other activities. Our staff model how parents can interact with children to promote positive social, emotional and intellectual development.

In addition to activities for families, parents and caregivers can share and learn from each other through workshops and other activities, such as a moms nights out, a parenting support group and more.

Making Sure Families Have the Resources They Need to Thrive

We offer a wide range of multilingual, essential resources in one community hub, at no charge.

Parenting and life skills workshops
Assistance with public benefits, health services, and advocacy for tenant’s rights
Career and job-readiness including help accessing GED and ESL classes, adult education services, job skills, and assistance writing resumes and seeking jobs
Access to a free computer lab
Assistance with tax preparation
Referrals to community organizations for other services

The Parenting Journey

For parents and caregivers who need more intensive help, including those involved in Family Court, we offer a 12-week, evidence-based curriculum called The Parenting Journey. In addition to helping parents develop a greater understanding of child development, the program helps uncover patterns of behavior and shifts the focus away from the child to the welfare of the family as a whole. This curriculum encourages positive parenting and gives parents the tools they need to build united, strong families.

Contact

Family Stabilization Services

A strong, nurturing family is the foundation of every child’s success. Promoting child safety and prosperity by strengthening and preserving families is at the heart of all our work. Yet, families sometimes struggle to build and maintain a supportive, healthy home where children can thrive. Our Family Stabilization program offers families facing a wide array of challenges the support they need to remain together. Although families come to us in times of crisis and under stress, they emerge stable, strong, and secure.

Overcoming Challenges to Thrive

We help families discover their own strengths and build upon those strengths using evidence-based models with proven records of achievement. We work with each family and family member to resolve the conflicts that brought them to a crisis point, working toward a belief that change is possible. Then, we work together to create plans that become the roadmap to the family’s — and each family member’s — success. As families set their own goals, we also guide them to any additional resources needed, such as food, housing, or healthcare.

And the work isn’t just about helping families address momentary crises. We equip them with communication skills, knowledge of resources and a network of support for today and the future.

A Community-Based Approach

We work with families in their communities to ensure their full participation in the process and build trust. Our social workers visit families in their home so all family members can be included. We tailor plans to be responsive to cultural beliefs and each person’s approach to problem-solving. Wherever a family is, we meet them at their comfort level — whether it be in their own living room, on a basketball court or at the neighborhood diner.

Thanks to these interventions, we keep 98% of families safely together and prevent foster care placement for hundreds of children each year.

Fatherhood Initiative

An extension of our Family Stabilization services, the Fatherhood Initiative works with non-custodial fathers to improve relationships with their children. This free 3-month program helps fathers to obtain greater insights on parenting while also providing programs focused on various life skills that might impact their relationships with their children. The program includes workshops twice a week, one-to-one mentoring services, credit repair workshops, co-parenting workshop, employment assistance, free monthly family activities, and domestic abuse intervention classes.