Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services, Inc. in partnership with The Children’s Trust has launched the Nurturing Parent Program. The prevention-based, home visiting program helps to ensure children are provided an environment that nurtures growth and development potential.
According to Florida’s Department of Children and Families, there are between 9,000 and 10,000 children who are removed from their homes every year due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. This program is a family-centered, trauma-informed initiative designed to facilitate referrals. It conducts universal screening of all youth and targets youth ages 12-17 who may have disabilities, come from a low-income and high-need family, display disruptive behaviors, have mental health or substance abuse issues, and are at risk of homelessness or are homeless. It offers intensive in-home services with a family coach, parenting classes with a trained facilitator, case management and aftercare planning, and referrals.
“Our goal is to increase the likelihood that these families will implement the skills learned in an independent setting,” stated Dr. Dorcas Wilcox, CEO of Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services, Inc. “Because the focus is on prevention, early intervention can help mitigate any simmering or festering issues before the situation becomes unmanageable.”
Currently 12 families, for a total of 31 people, meet every week with their family coach for about two hours with meals included. Michael Rebimbas, Miami Bridge’s Director of Behavioral Services, hopes the program makes a difference by strengthening a primary caregiver’s parenting skills, attitudes, and behaviors. In addition, its goal is to decrease the at-risk behaviors of at-risk youth, improve parent-child relationships, and decrease family recidivism in those receiving social services.
Miami Bridge’s community-based programs offer services to a wide range of at-risk youth. From LGBTQ kids and teens facing problems at home to truant students in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system, Miami Bridge makes free counseling, case management and mentoring services readily available to this often-invisible population. Yearly, these programs, in conjunction with the organization’s residential services, have provided counseling to more than 500 families with children ages 6-17 in Miami-Dade County.
About Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services, Inc.
Miami Bridge was established in 1985 and serves as Miami-Dade County’s only 24-hour emergency shelter for children and teens in crisis ages 10-17. For more than 33 years, the non-profit organization has worked to rescue youth in the community from lives of victimization and crime by providing refuge, protection and specialized care in a nurturing, stable environment. Annually, Miami Bridge shelters more than 600 children and teens, providing over 10,000 care days for those individuals, as well as counseling to more than 550 families with children ages 6-17. For additional information, please visit www.miamibridge.org.
About The Children’s Trust
The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County. To learn more visit www.thechildrenstrust.org.
