EveryChildSucceeds: Program helps families, children
CINCINNATI (Rich Jaffe) - Our continuing investigation into the problems and solutions of Childhood Poverty: Cincinnati's Crisis has found a program which seems to be making a significant impact on families.
We first mentioned the United Way's "Every Child Succeeds" in October.
We said we would check back to gauge the program's performance.
The goal is to make sure children and families are prepared to move into the pre-school years.
The case worker you're about to meet said that their role is to be "momma's to the masses."
At 13-months-old, Arielle is doing projects aimed at kids 3 to 6 months ahead of her.
She's enrolled in a United Way, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Program called Every Child Succeeds.
It's all about nurturing and encouraging new moms.
The coach for Ari and her mother Shanice is Teresa Hortenberry.
"I'm not just looking at can they say their ABC's and 123's," said Teresa. "I'm looking at how they're interacting with each other, connecting up, pulling other members of the family into the growth of the baby. Everybody is moving in the same direction all for the benefit of the baby. That's why this works."
23-years-old, Shanice works nights and goes to the University of Cincinnati. She gets daycare help from her grandmother.
Once a week, Shanice and Arielle get an hour long visit from Teresa.
Teresa helps guide mother and child through the brave new world of healthy relationships.
The training is absolutely fascinating to watch and so much of it is really based on having fun and playing.
It deals with things that are as simple as a clothes pin. The fine motor skills used to squeeze the clothes pin are also connected to speech in the brain, and Arielle's already talking.
Working through 9 different agencies in 7 counties, United Way's providing $2.8 million in funding for the program which serves 2700 families each year.
Their efforts usually begin while the mom is pregnant and last until the child turns 3.
"In that prenatal time they're working towards that healthy birth: Nutrition, not smoking, really emphasizing the healthy birth," said Margaret Clark of Every Child Succeeds. "Then after birth they're working on child health and development, parenting, and then mom's self-sufficiency."
The goal is to help parents be the best they can knowing that love needs a safe base.
"Many of our moms have not had trusting relationships in their lives and to have somebody who cares about you is really the magic of relationships," said Margaret. "Someone who's going to listen to you, advocate for you, who believes in you that can be so powerful."
Shanice had a real parental moment when she was asked what the biggest lesson has been for her.
"I would say patience," said Shanice. "Because my patience level was not nearly as good as it is now and also learning that I'm her role model. I know that I need to keep going. I can't give up because I know she's looking at me and everything that I do. I want her to do better, ten times better, so"
On Friday afternoon, a group of families graduated from the program.
Knowing both the kids and family members are better prepared for what the rest of life holds.
Last year, United Way came up with additional "accelerator funding" that allowed an additional 110 families to be added to the program. There are currently 130 on the waiting list. That's about half what it was in October.
It's believed that additional funding will also be available this year.
