Parenting and Child Development

Santa Maria's Parenting and Child Development programs are designed to strengthen families and help increase the emotional connection with their children. We recognize that many parents are single, experiencing financial difficulty, and may have chaotic home situations. These programs include support services for Cincinnati's Westside's parents, grandparents and caregivers so that their children reach their highest potential - socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. Santa Maria offers home based support, skill building and resources for families, parent leadership training, support groups, advocates in the schools, and outreach and connection to parent resources in the community.

Santa Maria works closely with parents to help them be the first and best teachers of their children through our well established Every Child Succeeds (ECS) program and the new, very successful program called Promoting Our Preschoolers (POP). While ECS focuses on parent support for children ages 0-3, the POP program helps parents make sure their children are ready for and will perform at the highest potential at kindergarden.

Parent training programs build on the strengths of each family and help each family to function in a safe, nurturing manner. Being able to share experiences and successes through support groups is often a big help to struggling parents.

One of Santa Maria's programs that has flourished is the Mommy and Me group that is held at the Sedamsville Neighborhood Center. This group allows moms to bring their young children together for quality time. Activities, such as crafts and outings, are provided so that the mothers and their children can interact together.

In 2006 Santa Maria became a lead agency in implementing the Family Violence Project supported by the YWCA. This is a collaborative project between parents in Price Hill and the school and organizations their children attend. Parents, older siblings, key school and community center staff learn together about the violence their children contend with and how to prevent it. Together they learn how to train the children to avoid violence using the ACT (Adults and Children Together - against violence) Curriculum. Specifically, parents and older siblings team up with staff from Whittier Elementary, the Price Hill Community Center, Oyler Elementary and the ESPY Boys and Girls Club to plan and participate in a community violence prevention program--the ACT community training program--preparing parents and professionals with research based information on:

• Child development
• Young children and violence
• Violence prevention skills for adults and children

Additional Information regarding the Family Violence Prevention Project with the YWCA can be found at: Embrace Hope.

Information regarding Santa Maria's Home Child Care program can be found at: Home Child Care

For more information about the Parenting and Child Development programs at Santa Maria contact Christine Zimmerman at 513-557-2700, ext. 213.