Family resource center adapts to clients' needs
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Children and parents are the focus of a Janesville non-profit marking years of service. Kyle Geissler reports. You can read more in Saturday's Janesville Gazette.
For help
The Exchange Family Resource Center, 2020 E. Milwaukee St., Suite 5, Janesville, is open 8:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
For more information, call (608) 314-9006 or visit cssw.org.
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From left to right, 2-year-old Alex Swanson, 3-year-old Ryan Swanson and 3-year old Elinore Hammerstad have fun playing with floating toys in a water tray during a playgroup at the Exchange Family Resource Center in Janesville. The center, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is described by director Nancy Brooks as a place where people learn to be the best possible parents they can be.
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A child at the Exchange Family Resource Center works on an art project during a play group.
JANESVILLE — Without the help of the Exchange Family Resource Center, Kayla Williams knows she would not be where she is today.
Ten months ago she wasn't sure where to turn for help. Today, the 22-year-old single mother of two credits the center with helping her get her driver's license, find a job, enroll in technical school and become a better parent.
Williams of Janesville is a participant in the center's Community Response Program through a partnership with Rock County's Child Protective Services.
"Before I was childish," Williams said. "I'd sleep all morning and wouldn't try and find a job. I was depressed and they helped me get out of that."
Anniversary
The Janesville-based Exchange Family Resource Center, which Director Nancy Brooks describes as a place where people learn to be the best possible parents they can be, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Making the anniversary even more special was word that the center had secured Children's Trust Fund funding—$150,000 for each of the next five years. The money will help the facility provide more services to at-risk targeted populations.
"In the past, the trust fund financed 20 resource centers and 10 community response programs, and we had one of each of those grants," Brooks said. "Beginning July 1, they will only fund eight programs statewide. We are delighted our site was selected, which was the cause for our June open house."
According to Brooks, the center provides a nurturing environment where parents can strengthen family relationships, connect with resources, access programs and enjoy activities with their children at no cost. Other services include in-home parent education, developmental screening, a warmline, lending library, information and referral plus volunteer opportunities.
Growth
Brooks notes a growing demand for resource center programs today, and she says the faces of clients have changed.
"That first year in 2001 we served 303 families. Now we're serving over 600 families," she said.
The resource center also is seeing more participants who are unemployed, and those with no work experience, Brooks said.
"Before they were able to get entry-level jobs. Now those jobs are taken," Brooks said. "A lot of families are unemployed with no job skills,"
In the beginning, the goal was to provide parent education and support to all families in Rock County with children 5 years old and younger, Brooks said. That goal remains today.
"All families can benefit from education and resources," Brooks said.
To meet the demand, staff at the center has grown from its initial 1.5 full-time positions to five full-time and five part-time employees today.
"If we didn't have such great community partners, we wouldn't be able to run the number of programs we do," Brooks said.
Programs and workshops are offered in Janesville, Beloit, Evansville, Milton, Edgerton and Clinton and include play and parent groups, she said.
Community Response Program
The local resource center was one of six community response programs awarded the first Community Response Grant in 2006, Brooks said.
The program works with families who have been referred to Child Protective Services for child abuse allegations and have been assessed but do not receive ongoing services because the level of risk does not meet state mandates.
Since CPS staff still believes there is the potential for future allegations, families like Williams' can voluntarily agree to participate, Brooks said.
"Key strategies are goal-setting, family team meetings, connections to community resources and use of flex funds," Brooks said.
In the beginning, Williams met weekly with a program staff person in Williams' home. Two months later, meetings were reduced to every other week.
Williams found the convenience of the free program beneficial.
"I would not pay for something like this because I wouldn't be able to afford it," she said. "I feel great, and the children's behavior has improved because there's routine and consistency with me going to work."
Since 2006, the resource center has worked with 150 families including newborns to 5-year-olds. In January, the county used Brighter Futures Initiative funding to pay for another position to increase programming to include families with children up to age 12, Brooks said.
Future
Brooks dreams of a seamless coordination delivery system so the resource center and more than a dozen agencies its works with can offer a central place for families to connect to services.
"This would avoid duplication and much better use of resources," she said.
Already, Brooks said, leaders of these agencies are taking baby steps to reach this goal like Williams did.
Before the resource center, Williams said she thought about making changes to improve her life. She just never took the steps.
"To have somebody supporting me and pushing me has helped in moving ahead so I'll be able to be financially and emotionally stable, be a good parent and person in general," Williams said.
Brooks said that's what the resource center is all about—providing education and support to families with young children.
"We have a menu of comprehensive services families can pick and choose from," she said.
Jul 21, 2011 at 12:02 p.m.
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Fear...what I should have said to you is this: If you are trying to educate the ignorant about what a great place the family resource center is, calling them names will not help your cause. You clearly feel strongly about the benefits your kids are receiving, as you should! But...screaming out facts while interjecting name calling is not the way to educate those who do not know how a place like this works.
Jul 19, 2011 at 8:37 p.m.
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has NOTHING to do with politics Boo, it has everything to do with people getting help from professionals with thier kids. I call people "mental midgets" because thats exactly what they are talking about "baby daddies', and " Dad is somewhere drinking away the unemployment check". People that make stupid statements based on prejudices should be called srt\tupid because thats EXACTLY what they are! I could care less if I lose "credibility" in your eyes or anyone else's.
Whizz- Thhe program is based on personal or family income. So my familymakes enough where we make FULL price payments. I certainly do NOT begrudge a single mom of 2 who is recieving aid from the state anything based on her lack of being able to pay. If her kids need services that can be provided by professionals , why shouldnt they recieve them? The whole republican mentality of leaving behind families based on their ability to pay is just preosterous! Why is it that you guys are so intent on letting struggles become generational? Instead of providing services to those in need? You would just assume that those kids be left behind? I certainly would rather my tax dollars be put to that type of use , instead of imperialization of the middle east, or tax loopholes for oil companies. I swear you people are so drowned in your own disgusting ideologies about taxes this and whos paying for it that, you cant even understand the absolute NEED for programs like these. Another reason that COMMUNIST countries like China will surpass us in every facet in the world. We sell our kids down the road for defense contracts and freetrade deals. What a country right?
Remember I pay full price for my kids as do MANY of the other families there, whom are sent by their doctors and then told that insurance doesnt cover it. Talk about a fallacy! Insurance is the most underhanded business practice on earth, they produce nothing and continue to drain on each and every American. Wake up IDIOTS!!! Oh NO there goes just a little more of my "credibility", knuckleheads!
Jul 19, 2011 at 3:10 p.m.
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What a great resource this is for families in need! I hope all communities will have such a place someday.
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Fearandrhetoric...you lose credibility when you call people "mental midgets" and "idiots."
"Sometimes you should take a breath and step away from the idiocy of your own politics..." Maybe you should take your own advice.
Jul 19, 2011 at 2:16 p.m.
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Pay what you can means someone else is picking up the rest of the tab.
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:56 a.m.
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BTW I hap[pen to know those kids in the pic and they have a loving mother AND father. Kids in need , doesnt always mean economically. If you dont know what youre talkin about you really should shadap!
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:54 a.m.
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Of course as usual the idiots who have NO idea of what they are talking about come out of the woodwork with their less than intelligent remarks.
As a father of twins whose children BENEFIT from the services of the family center, I would like to say thank you!
Not that it is any ones business at all but we are a perfectly functional family with three kids 2 of my boys are twin 20 month olds that have slow speech development. Otherwise they are perfectly normal boys. The center offers public playgroups and also has the birth to three program with speech and physical therapy available for kids with deficiencies and disabilities. It also has NOTHING to do with economic where with all. You pay based on what you can afford. My boys were born pre maturely and are starting to speak very well now thanks much to the wonderful staff at the center.
To all of you onbelievable people with nothing better to do than rip on folks that use these services, I hope that you someday have family members that have some sort of disability or deficiency. You look like absolute idiots!! This is NOT some kind of "big government" program. This is a program for families that have kids with needs. You A$$umptions about "baby daddies" and others are just stupid! I know MANY of the families that attend these groups and use these services and they are mostly of middle class means.
What a pathetic community Janesville is!! I am absolutely appalled and embarassed to share space with you buncha mental midgets! Sometimes you should take a breath and step away from the idiocy of your own politics and try to understand that not everyone tries to solve their kids issues with video games. We were made aware of the birth to 3 program by our pediatrician at 18 months when our kids werent speaking quite as much as they should.
To those of you speaking to the FRC as anything other than a wonderful place with wonderful people should be ashamed of yourselves. I swear the rednecks in this town make me wanna puke.
Anyone on this thread talking out of their rear without any knowledge of what goes on there should apologize for their idiocy and stay off this thread! Matter of a fact you should be the ones "drinking away" your unemployment checks! Pathetic!! Wish I could swear on this site cause I would have used them all, idgits!
Jul 18, 2011 at 12:06 a.m.
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Strange how this website doesn't let you write a post in most articales like the latest news. But articales like this one is wide open to posts.
I think that this program for the little kids is great and I hope that it will always be there for them.
Jul 17, 2011 at 9:17 a.m.
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The gov't makes a good gang-member daddy, too.
Jul 17, 2011 at 9:13 a.m.
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Not saying its the case here, but thousands of "single mothers" want the gov't as "daddy" and the gov't is happy to oblige by stealing working peoples' money to give to them regardless of how much money it requires.
Again, I'm not saying thats the case here, just responding to the posters.
Jul 17, 2011 at 6:13 a.m.
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I'm glad these families are receiving help but wonder too where the fathers are. And why an increase over the years? Why aren't researchers and journalists writing articles about what is happening to our family units and why the rise in single parent homes. Do we as a society care so little about the children being raised in fatherless homes? What are we teaching our young women about the men they chose make babies with?
Jul 16, 2011 at 9:25 p.m.
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Where's the baby's daddy? Probably a the local tavern drinking up the unemployment check.
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