Current Initiatives

 

•Welcome Baby- trained volunteers make home visits to new parents bringing gifts from the community and information on local resources, including Help Me Grow. Instruction is available for parents to form neighborhood playgroups emphasizing early childhood literacy, and provides resources and information on child development, health, safety and early childhood literacy to parents. Also as part of Welcome Baby, trained volunteers visit the Utah state female correctional facility and digitally record qualifying inmates reading children's books.  The recording is then made into a CD and mailed to the woman's child, which provides a literacy experience with the child and his or her mother.

 

-Help Me Grow - a free parent information line linking families to community resources and child development information (Dial 2-1-1). Parents of children from birth to 8 years can access free developmental questionaires, can speak with a child development specialist to find community resources appropriate for your child, can discuss ways to talk to your child's doctor about your concerns, and can learn activities to use with your child at home.

 

•Crisis Nursery- provides a safe home-like environment where parents can bring their children for up to 72 hours during times of stress and family crisis at Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•Adoption Respite- an in-home service to parents who have adopted children from the Division of Child and Family Services. This service helps parents rejuvenate and help them to better handle the unique challenges that come with adoption.  This program provided at Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•Shelter care- shelter provided for children whose safety has been determined by the police or Division of Child and Family Services to be in question should they remain in the home. Children are generally sheltered for up to a two week period but may stay longer should the situation warrant an extended shelter placement.  This program provided at Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•In-home parenting- provides outreach services for parents identified as at-risk for child abuse and neglect. Parents are educated in their home environment to increase healthy parenting skills and promote optimal child development.  This program provided at Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•Prevention education- provides primary education services to junior high and high school age students. Presentations provide youth with fundamental life skills that will prepare them for future roles of adulthood and parenthood.  This program provided through Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•Education for adulthood- educates teenagers on how to form healthy relationships, recognize the signs of depression and how to cope with and effectively handle stress.  This program provided through Family Support and Treatment Center.

 

•Healthcare for uninsured children- assures access to affordable, high quality primary health care for children in Utah County whose families experience economic, geographic, cultural and language barriers to receiving care. In 2010 more than 1,200 children received medical and dental care through Mountainlands Family Health Center.

 

•Child victim services- provides safety for children who are victims of domestic violence, aiding in their recovery while promoting self sufficiency. This service is provided through Center for Women and Children in Crisis and seeks to decrease this type of violence within the community. Approximately 70 percent of domestic violence in our area involves children, either as a witness or a victim.