Grant will fund Family Opportunities Center
Jun. 20—Delaware Opportunities will host a kick-off party for its new Family Opportunities Center Wednesday.
The party will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the First Baptist Church at 55 Townsend St. in Walton. According to the flyer, the event is open to any family living in Delaware County and there will be free food, prizes and a raffle.
Delaware Opportunities Executive Director Shelly Bartow said in an email, the program is housed at the office in Hamden, "however, activities and outreach can and will occur throughout the county. The program is very mobile."
Delaware Opportunities received about $42,000 from the Maternity and Early Childhood Foundation to to pilot the model prior to receiving funding this past March from the state Office of Children and Family Services, she said.
Delaware Opportunities submitted a request for proposal to the state agency because "this model is something DO had been interested in and exploring for the past few years," she said.
The state responded with a grant of $250,000 per year for three years, Bartow said.
According to a media release from the state Office of Children and Family Services, the office and the state Education Department collaborated to launch the centers. The centers are aimed at improving the safety and well-being of children and families by addressing issues of poverty, education barriers, substance use disorders and lack of adequate physical and mental health care, the release said. The goal of the centers is to reduce the risk of child abuse and maltreatment and improve scholastic outcomes for students.
"We were interested in this funding/initiative because we wanted to provide a stronger more streamlined connection and pathways for the families we are serving," Bartow said in an email. "Navigators are able to meet families where they are at, triaging their needs, and connecting them with the services, resources and supports most needed based on their individual needs. Simultaneously to that Navigators are providing parent education and other programming aligned with the protective factors framework."
Services offered through the center will vary based on the needs of the families, Bartow said. Services include: evidence-based parent education, workshops, activities for families, referrals and connection to other programs and services, goal setting, programming and supports to address concrete family needs such as food insecurity, job skills training and Parent Advisory Board/peer support. "Ultimately the program is about meeting the family where they are at and working to identify what their goals and needs are and then helping them to work towards those things," she said.
The state Office of Children and Family Services announced May 18, Delaware Opportunities was one of eight centers that will open across the state. The others were: St. Catherine's Center for Children in Albany County; Every Person Influences Children serving Cattaraugus and Niagara counties; Rockland BOCES in Rockland County; Children's Home of Poughkeepsie NY, Inc. in Dutchess County; North Country Prenatal/Perinatal Council, Inc. serving Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties; Hillside Children's Center serving Monroe and Onondaga counties and Watervliet City School District in Albany County.
The centers are funded by an initial $12 million in grants made available through state funds and the federal Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention program where supplemental funding was provided under the American Rescue Plan, the release said. Both community-based and school-based programs are eligible for the grants. The release said the state Education Department would fund second round of grants to assist underinvested school districts.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
