(Washington, DC) Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders, Neil Albert, DHS Director Yvonne Gilchrist, Ballou High School principal Daniel Hudson, and Rev. Dr. Glen A. Staples of Temple of Praise church today cut ribbons to officially open the Parenting Center at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast, DC. The center, the first of its kind in the District, is a collaboration of the DHS Strong Families program, Ballou Senior High School, and the Temple of Praise Church located in Southeast, DC.
The DHS Strong Families program has joined with several area churches to establish parenting centers that will provide workshops and training, led by professionally trained staff, for parents located in high-crime areas in the District. The parent centers are designed to promote confidence and competence in parents in order to encourage optimal child development. Additional centers are scheduled to open before the 2005 school year ends at Woodson and Anacostia senior high schools; Fletcher Johnson Middle School; and, Davis and Stanton elementary schools.
“This kind of a concept is long overdue,” said Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. “This center provides, to parents in need, a place to go and receive the most critical training in the world-guidance in raising children to secure a safer and healthier society.”
Core services and activities available to parents include: parent education classes; parent support groups; parent counseling; and fathers only support groups; lunch bag seminars and workshops for working parents; evening parent-teacher workshops regarding roles, rights, responsibilities, and relationships; and, sponsored parent-child field trips and activities.
Parent education classes will cover such themes as: family literacy and GED; dealing with grief and trauma; teen pregnancy prevention; landlord tenant rights and free legal aide; the impact of domestic violence and substance abuse on children and families; and, anger management.
Staff from the Temple of Praise church will provide counseling while DHS staff will provide case management services for families at the center, which are expected to be open during the school year Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 1 pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm.
The DHS Strong Families Program was prompted to pursue the idea of parenting centers after a review of its casework with families. The Program has worked with families in crisis and provided ongoing case management and clinical intervention to 434 families with 1005 children since it was established within the Family Services Administration in fiscal year 2003. Of the total population served in FY 2004, 261 families had mental health issues, 155 had poor family relationships, 194 had a member with some significant medical issue, 215 were facing some critical financial problem, 144 were determined to need parenting skill education and services, and 224 had children that had significant academic problems.
“We looked at the families we were serving and could see the obvious connection between at-risk families and failing, unmotivated students,” said DHS Director Yvonne Gilchrist. “I am very excited about the impact this parenting center can have, not only on DC Public School students and their families, but on our overall community.”