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The Family Center of Utah Valley
systematically works to assist families in attaining knowledge and skills
that result in safe, healthy families and communities. Our center is
actively engaged in this meaningful service. We understand that parents are
their children’s first and lifelong teachers. The Family Center offers
services to young and inexperienced parents through the
Parents As Teachers program,
“Wiggles ‘n Giggles program, and
parenting classes and
workshops. The Parents As Teachers program is a
home visit program that serves families with children prenatal to
kindergarten entry. Wiggles ‘n Giggles is a Kindergarten readiness
parent/child interactive program that includes parent education in parenting
and child development, and also includes music, crafts, literacy, and movement
activities with parent and child.
The Family Center of Utah
Valley successfully operates as a 501c3 under The Family Life Education
Institute, through the organization and support of its executive committee,
advisory board, collaborative partners, volunteers, and specialized staff.
Our
mission
The
Family Center of Utah Valley recognizes that the family is the basic unit of
society and supports parents in their vital role of raising children by
providing education, resources, referrals, and opportunities to enhance
attachment and bonding in family relationships through participation in art,
music, literature, and nurturing activities. We strive to refocus parents
and caregivers on children and their developing brains and to establish
nurturing, balanced, and healthy relationship patterns that build strong
families, neighborhoods, and communities.
Our vision
To
accomplish this mission, The Family Center of Utah Valley envisions a
facility where parents can bring their young children to play and strengthen
bonds in their relationships. This facility would act as a respite from
small homes and apartments providing room for children to run, jump, climb,
and play indoors. There would be space for young children to explore art,
textures, music, pretend play, etc. and to engage in positive social
interactions with their parents and peers. These experiences build brain
connections and are the foundation for all future learning. Positive social
interactions and appropriate nurturing not only strengthen the family but
are important preventative factors for societies ills such as substance
abuse, gangs, violence, etc.
The
center would function as a connecting point for parents to receive support
in their stressful role of parenting. They will feel comfortable in asking
questions and sharing concerns about their parenting challenges with our
qualified staff. Our vision is to provide these services free of charge or
at low cost so young families with limited income will be able to access our
services.
This
facility would also house:
Parent
Information Resource
Center (PIRC) for parents to check out books, toys, games, and
other educational materials free of charge.
Office facilities
Educator preparation space for the Parents As Teachers early childhood
in-home visit program.
Classrooms for parenting classes and child development workshops.
The Listening Program, a clinically proven, music-based auditory stimulation
program targeting young children who demonstrate
delays in
attention, concentration, focus, communication, speech and language,
social skills, physical balance & coordination, memory, listening, sensory
integration,
and those children who fall into other at-risk categories such as autism
spectrum disorders.
Our guiding principles
are to:
Puts families and
communities at the center of everything we do, reinforced by caring and
pro-active partnership working.
Builds on
existing areas of excellence in serving and educating parents and maximizes
opportunities to add evidence-based improvements in
curriculum
as available.
Support academic success for all children.
Participate
positively and constructively in joint working with partner agencies in
public, voluntary, and independent sectors.
Facilitate early learning opportunities.
Facilitate family literacy.
Cultivate character education opportunities.
Promote safe & drug free communities & schools.
Connect families with resources.
Encourage strong, happy, effective marriages and
families.
Honor diversity & equity.
The Family Center of Utah Valley has the
collaborative support of virtually every similar service agency and
organization in our state. Among our partners are: The Utah State Office of
Education, Utah Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA), Coalition for Utah Families, Primary
Children's Hospital, The Utah Health Department, Head Start/Even Start,
Title I, Utah Governor's Commission on Marriage, Utah Literacy Coalition,
Governor's Commission on Woman and Families, Community Action Program, Utah
Commission on Volunteers, Utah's Promise, Families and Communities Together
(FACT), Utah Department of Substance Abuse, Utah
School Boards Association, Prevent Child Abuse Utah, National Association
for Education of Young Children, Utah Association for Education of Young
Children, Utah Education Association, Utah Principles Association, Centro de
la Familia, Utah Parent Center, Brigham Young University, Utah State
University, Utah Valley State College, Safe and Drug Free Schools, United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, 21st
Century Learning Centers, Utah Arts Council, YWCA,
The Utah Federation for Youth, 4-H, Utah Crime Prevention Council, Reading
Excellence Act Grant Recipients, US Office of Justice, and Utah Governor's
Initiative on Families Today, Children's Justice Center, Intermountain
Specialized Abuse Treatment Center, Timpanogos Community Network, Child Care
Resource and Referral, Partners For Infants And Children, House of Hope,
Kids on the Move, PEEP Early Childhood Intervention, Kids Who Count.
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