at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies
Faith
Directory
New Parent
Outreach
Literacy
Interns
Speaker's Bureau
Support for Individuals W/
Diabilities
1207 18th Ave. S. Nashville, TN 37212
at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies
Faith Community Initiative
New Parent Outreach Initiative
One
of the things that congregations know how to do is acknowledge and celebrate
the birth of a child. It is a
time to welcome a new member of the community and provide support and attention
to the child and the parents. Many
congregations provide natural opportunities for new parents to gather with
other new parents, or with more experienced parents. We do not call these opportunities “parent support groups”
or “parenting classes”, but that is in fact what these informal systems provide.
Unfortunately,
not every child is born into a family that has that kind of support group
available. Many parents face
the challenges of being their child’s first teacher and first preacher without
the mentoring and assistance that many of us who are parents received from
friends and family.
The
Child and Family Policy Center is interested in developing a coalition of
churches within a targeted neighborhood to commit to “acknowledging and celebrating”
every birth in the neighborhood by having a representative of the coalition
make a direct personal contact with a new parent on behalf of the faith community.
The
Center convened an advisory group to the initiative that included local clergy,
members of interested congregations, and staff of agencies which use “home
visiting” as a significant component of their program.
There
were a number of possible approaches and activities discussed and suggested
by the advisory group. One approach
was to try to enlist the support of congregations in an effort
to deliver a series of welcome wagon baskets filled with a variety
of children’s consumer goods, age appropriate toys and books, and information
on parenting to new parents at significant points in their child’s development.
The congregations could
identify contents for the baskets, local businesses that might be potential
donors of such contents, and existing publications (such as those from the
UT Extension Service) that provide valuable information on child development
and parenting tips.
Also
discussed was the possibility of churches linking with existing home visitation
programs and supplementing the work done with families by the staff of the
program by responding to specific needs identified by the staff.
Revised 01/06/03
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