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Healthy Families Make the Critical Difference
Tender Beginnings (previously
the
Healthy Families Program for Clay County) is a voluntary home
visitation program aimed at supporting vulnerable, first-time
parents beginning at their child's most rapid and significant
developmental phase of life, from birth to age five. Tender
Beginnings invests in the health, early stimulation and nurturing of
children born at-risk of poor outcomes. Its mission is to provide
in-home support, education and resources to at-risk families in
order to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote healthy
families.
How It Works
New parents who might need extra
support with the birth of their first child are referred to the
program by local hospitals, health departments and other community
agencies. From these referrals, highly trained interviewers help
identify those who would most benefit from intensive home
visitation. Voluntary services designed to help parents be "the best
they can be" are offered to those parents most in need. Specially
trained home visitors provide support and guidance to enrolled
families until the child is prepared to enter school. Beginning on a
weekly basis, the home visitor will share parenting guidance and
offer support in a range of areas including child development,
nutrition, preventative health care, child care, employment, housing
and links to other community resources. The benefits of the program
include preventing child abuse and neglect, enhancing family
stability, and promoting school readiness.
Tender Beginnings Sub-Programs
Tender Beginnings provides
sub-programs designed to enhance services to special groups. These
programs include:
Healthy Babies - A
collaborative program with Synergy Services, Inc., designed to
target teen parents. Participants receive the blended support of
intensive mentoring and home visitation offered simultaneously
through one process.
 Parent Connections - A
program designed to enhance services to low-income, stay-at-home
parents. Participants receive home visits, a monthly parenting group
and participate in an incentive program that rewards their
involvement by offering points that can be redeemed for educational
toys and products for their children.
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The
Negative Effects
of Child Abuse - and How
You Can Help
According to
the Vision North 2000 study conducted by the Northland
Community Foundation and the Northland United Way, there are a
growing number of children living in poverty in the Northland.
Children in these families are less healthy, less successful
in school, more likely to be victims of child abuse and
neglect are more likely to become delinquent or violent. Those
who do not receive sufficient nurturing and support have
higher incidences of school failure, emotional problem, teen
pregnancy and other poor outcomes n later years.
The results are
taxing our resources. According to this study, the number of
child abuse cases has doubled over the past five years and
out-of-home placements have remained constant. KIDS COUNT in
Missouri (2001) reports 400 children in the Northland
receiving public mental health services for serious emotional
disorders. High school completion rates have declined. The
National Commission on Children estimates that dropouts are
3.5 times more likely to be arrested than high school
graduates and six times more likely to be unmarried parents.
How You Can Help
You can help
prevent child abuse by proudly
displaying the official Children's Trust Fund (CTF) license
plate on your vehicle. All CTF plates feature the distinctive
green child's hand prints logo and a "prevent child abuse"
message. Go to the
Children's Trust Fund web site for more information. Or
just make an annual contribution of $25 or more to CTF by
sending a check or money order to:
The Children's Trust Fund
P. O. Box 1641
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1641
Your entire donation can go to the Healthy Families C & S
Tender Beginnings program if you write "Clay County" or
"Healthy Families Mid-America" on your check. |
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