Prevention

A key strategy in helping lift families and communities to success is prevention. Children’s Bureau offers an array of prevention programs and services designed to nurture the child, strengthen the family and build a caring community. Our prevention work represents the largest portion of what we do. Magnolia Place Community Initiative As a result of Children’s Bureau’s 2001 strategic plan, a national model for prevention is emerging called Magnolia Place Community Initiative. The dream of Magnolia Place Community Initiative is that the children living in surrounding neighborhoods of the West Adams community of Los Angeles, especially the youngest ones, will break all records of success in their education, health, and the quality of nurturing care they receive from their families. Our hope is that other people living in neighborhoods and communities across the country will eventually ask themselves, “Why don’t we do what they did?” Others will learn from what we did wrong and the much we did right, and replicate the effort in their own community. We are creating sustainable change for families, by building neighborhood resiliency. And, importantly, the vehicle for the rapid and deep spread through the neighborhoods will be generated by the families themselves, in collaboration and at the table with community-based organizations, government, and philanthropy. We are using the best wisdom in the country, based on research from the Center for the Study of Social Policy, to build five key systems of resiliency in the community. The five resiliency systems are: 1. Personal resiliency of hope and personal power to act to improve oneself, their family, and their community; 2. Knowledge of nurturing parenting, economics, and health; 3. Social support of friends; 4. Availability of services (and comprehensive services) when one is in crisis, and 5. social/emotional competence of young children. The Magnolia Place Community Initiative is applying these resiliency systems to achieve the four most important and interdependent outcomes we all want for our young children and parents: health, parenting, kindergarten readiness, and economic stability that will take the cutting edge off of poverty. Click here for more information. Magnolia Place Network We hope to achieve our bold vision for the Magnolia Place Community Initiative by the development of the Magnolia Place Network, which will unite County, City and Community to strengthen individual, family and neighborhood protective factors by increasing social connectedness, community mobilization and access to needed supports and services. A rich and diverse network of organizations has been formed including the faith community, parent associations, non-profits, advocacy groups, schools, and other community institutions that share our dream. Uniquely and importantly, the network partnerships include the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office (CEO) Services Integration Branch (SIB), Los Angles County Child Support, Los Angeles County Children and Family Services (DCFS), Los Angeles County Public Social Services (DPSS), County Public Health (DPH) Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) Program, and County Mental Health (DMH), and Los Angeles County Children’s Council SPA4. Also, United Way’s Economic Success Initiative and the DCFS Prevention Demonstration Initiative Project are woven into the network. The Magnolia Place Network is expanding and has developed a strong awareness of the specific assets within the communities and among many of our key partner organizations that can be brought together to support the Magnolia Place Community Initiative. The Magnolia Place Community Initiative and Network plays an important role in helping transform vulnerable communities. While social services are necessary to support struggling families and children, they alone can’t create complete change or build resiliency at the community level. Click here for more information. In-Home Parent Education and Support In Orange County, families with newborns considered at-risk for child abuse or neglect are referred to Children’s Bureau’s Bridges for Newborns or Creating Pathways programs. Families are screened for parenting risk factors before being enrolled in the program. Family support counselors and a registered nurse provide the following in-home services for one year or more: family assessment; parenting education; developmental screenings; health and safety education; health insurance and medical home linkage to assure on-going preventative health screenings and immunizations; and family support and case management with referrals to numerous community resources. Kindergarten Readiness Serving children up to the age of five, Children’s Bureau’s kindergarten readiness programs use the Creative Curriculum, an extensively researched and validated learning model for preschool children that helps develop the skills and awareness needed to become successful, lifelong learners. Age-appropriate academics, such as the alphabet, colors, numbers, shapes, phonics, reading, math, and science are introduced. Kindergarten Readiness is offered at Children's Bureau's Wallis Annenberg Child Development Center at Magnolia Place and Oakwood School Readiness Center in Los Angeles. Family Resource Centers A Family Resource Center (FRC) is a team of collaborating agencies working with parents and local businesses in one neighborhood facility to provide large numbers of high-risk families with comprehensive services and support. A primary FRC goal is to decrease isolation by connecting families with their community and providing services that strengthen family functioning. The combined efforts of Children’s Bureau and our partners, in seven sites in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, produce a wealth of services such as parent education, after-school activities, domestic violence counseling, legal assistance, adult literacy and English as a Second Language classes. Children’s Bureau FRC's are located at Magnolia Place Family Center and Oakwood Family Resource Center in Los Angeles and in Orange County at Anaheim Harbor Family Resource Center, Anaheim/Fullerton Family Resource Center, Corbin Family Resource Center, Oak View Family Resource Center and South Orange County Family Resource Center. NuParent NuParent is a unique parent education program with curriculums that cover all of the ages and stages of a child from birth to five years. It focuses on helping parents to become the "best parents they can be." Parents participate with their children to enhance and improve both the learning and bonding processes. There is ongoing group support for parents through the NuParent Club. Furthermore, agencies or organizations that provide parent education and development can partner with NuParent to use the NuParent program at their sites. Click here for list of NuParent program locations or Click here for more information about NuParent. Partnership for Families Children’s Bureau is the lead agency for the Antelope Valley Partnership for Families. This collaborative is part of First 5 LA’s Partnership for Families Initiative, a groundbreaking child maltreatment prevention effort designed to create a network of partnerships between new and existing service agencies and groups that are coordinated, accessible and responsive to the needs of children and families residing in Los Angeles County. Click here for more information on our Antelope Valley Services. Preventative Health Programs Home Visiting Programs - Children’s Bureau’s home visiting programs focus primarily on pregnant women and families with children ages five and under. These programs provide parenting education, in-home family support services and counseling for families living in Orange County. The goal is to reach vulnerable children with accessible, culturally-sensitive services that build on family strengths while improving parenting skills, family functioning, and health outcomes for children. We work to ensure that children have their immunizations, a pediatrician and medical insurance. Health Access – “Promotoras,” health care coordinators, and public health nurses are used to focus on families in Orange County who are screened as lower risk for parenting concerns but who have very limited resources. The word “promotora” is a Spanish term used to describe lay community educators/promoters and what we call our community health advocates. Through in-home parent and health education, classes, referrals, and community outreach events, the objective of Health Access is to make sure that all children served have their immunizations, a primary care doctor and medical insurance. Our promotoras, many of whom grew up in the communities they serve, are also trained to screen for domestic violence and postpartum depression, assess home safety, and provide breast-feeding education to new mothers. Breast-feeding has been proven to have multiple positive health benefits for children and their mothers, including being the first step in the battle against childhood obesity. It also promotes maternal-infant bonding and decreases the financial burden of a new baby. Providing one to three home visits to each family, Health Access serves a large number of children and parents. Magnolia Place Family Center Community Health Outreach — Promotoras at Magnolia Place Family Center in Los Angeles provide trainings and workshops to educate community members on preventative health topics including nutrition, oral health, immunizations and asthma.