2008 Family Support Program Grant Recipients

Play & Learn group at the Family Resource Center in SeaTac.  The Angle Lake Family Resource Center grant will help fund a new “Play & Learn” group for Spanish-speaking parents aimed at promoting early literacy. Some 40 percent of the nearly 1,500 people served by the Angle Lake center are Hispanic parents, who have expressed a need for local programs to strengthen their families, support them in raising their children, and help them prepare their children for school.

Parenting With Love and Logic at the Bethel Family Center in Spanaway.  The Bethel Family Center grant will support “Parenting With Love and Logic” classes which strengthen family bonds by helping parents learn to give their children opportunities to be responsible, empowering them to make their own decisions, allowing them to live with the natural consequences of their mistakes, and showing empathy for their pain, frustration and disappointment.

Early Childhood Play Group hosted by Catholic Charities’ Childbirth and Parenting Alone in Spokane.  The Catholic Charities’ Childbirth and Parenting Alone grant will support monthly play groups that provide young, low-income, single parents with a social network and beneficial play and learning time with their children. The play groups strengthen the bond between parents and children and help prevent abuse and neglect by teaching parents how to lovingly communicate with their children.

Connected Families program at the Darrington Family Resource Center in Darrington.  The Darrington Family Resource Center grant will help fund the Connected Families program that supports parents, caregivers and their children in an effort to prevent child abuse and neglect. The program includes a monthly dinner, speaker family nights and parenting training and support.

Parent Education program at Encompass in North Bend.  The Encompass grant will provide specialized parenting education and family support services to some 75 families in crisis, including low-income and Latino families living in the rural communities of the Snoqualmie Valley. The program will include both English- and Spanish-language programs to help prevent many of the difficulties experienced by children of divorce by creating sensitive and knowledgeable parents.

Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families and Communities (in Spanish) parenting classes at the Family Support Center of South Snohomish County in Lynnwood.  The Family Support Center of South Snohomish County grant will support the parent education program, Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families and Communities. The program helps parents gain tools that empower them to nurture and bond with their children, to take significant and positive roles in their child’s lifelong learning, and to strengthen their involvement in their communities.

Teen Parents program at FamilyWorks in Wallingford.  The FamilyWorks grant will support the Center’s program that helps teenage parents gain parenting and life skills, to build a network of support through connection to other teen parents, and to access the resources they need to successfully nurture and bond with their children. The programs involve weekly Saturday meetings, bi-weekly meetings at Marshall High School, field trips and ongoing one-on-one advocacy.

Your Baby and You: Survival 101 parenting classes at First Step Family Support Center in Port Angeles.  The First Step Family Support Center grant will help fund “Your Baby and You: Survival 101” classes for low-income parents with babies and toddlers. In the classes, parents interact with their children and with each other while increasing their parenting skills and gaining confidence, competence and an increased investment in their children’s well-being.

Play Groups and Parenting Classes and the International Family Center in Seattle.  The International Family Center grant will help fund a program to support Chinese- and Vietnamese-speaking parents and their children with the goal of increasing parents’ knowledge and skills to strengthen their ability to support the development of bilingual and bicultural children and to improve parent-child relationships.

Parent Advocacy Program at the Lopez Island Family Resource Center on Lopez Island.  The Lopez Island Family Resource Center grant will provide parenting classes on Lopez Island and strengthen the role of the Center’s early childhood advocate. The collaborative program aims to take advantage of planned community gatherings to increase parent participation in training that will help them improve their parenting skills and better nurture and bond with their children.

Somali Families Project at the New Holly Family Center in Seattle.  The New Holly Family Center grant will support the Center’s Somali Families Project serving Muslim families residing in the NewHolly/Othello community. The program is aimed at helping to reduce mothers’ isolation, support their adaptation to American culture, encourage positive family relationships, improve children’s academic performance, and increase parents’ English communication, life and employment skills.

Strengthening Families Program at The Parenting Place in Bremerton.  The Parenting Place grant will help fund the Strengthening Families Program, which focuses on helping parents with young adolescent children reduce teen substance abuse and other behavior problems, improve parenting skills, and build on family strengths.

Dads for Dads Support Group at the Vancouver Family Resource Center in Vancouver.  The Vancouver Family Resource Center grant will help fund the Dads for Dads Support Group, where fathers learn to address parenting challenges, develop strategies for reducing stress and conflict, and build mutual support networks. Co-facilitated by fathers who act as peer role models, the program aims to build the strengths that are important to a father’s sense of success and a child’s health and well being.

Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families and Communities (in Spanish) at the West Hill Family Center in Renton.  The West Hill Family Center, operated by Renton Area Youth and Family Services grant will support a parenting education program for Spanish-speaking parents and guardians. The goals of the program are to increase parents' sense of competence, enhance their involvement in community activities, improve parent-child and family interactions, and raise children's self-esteem, self-discipline and social competency.