Offered to Court-Referred Clients through our DCS Community-Based Contract

Regions Served

4 & 10 and parts of 6 & 7

Counties Served

Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Whitley, and Marion

Service Standard

Parenting Education

Target Population

Families who have been reported to the child welfare system for child maltreatment including physical and emotional maltreatment in addition to child neglect; may be used as a court-ordered parenting program.

Service Description

The Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers is a family-centered, evidence-based, program designed for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Service Delivery

The program lessons focus on remediating five parenting patterns known to form the basis of maltreatment:

Having inappropriate developmental expectations of children

Demonstrating a consistent lack of empathy towards meeting children’s needs

Expressing a strong belief in the use of corporal punishment and utilizing spanking as their principle means of discipline

Reversing the role responsibilities of parents and children so that children learn to become the caregivers to their parents

Oppressing the power and independence of children by demanding strict obedience to their commands

Goals

Measurable gains in the individual self-worth of parents and children

Measurable gains in parental empathy and meeting their own adult needs in healthy ways

Measurable gains in parental empathy towards meeting the needs of their children

Utilization of dignified, non-violent disciplinary strategies and practices

Measurable gains in empowerment of the parents and their children

Measurable gains in nurturing parenting beliefs, knowledge and utilization of skills and strategies as measured by program assessment inventories

Reunification of parents and their children who are in foster care

High rate of attendance and completion of their program

Low rates of recidivism of program graduates

Structure

26 group sessions in total

One session per week

Sessions are 2-hours long each

Morning or evening groups

8-10 participants per group

Individual sessions as needed