Building Relationships with Community Resources

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015 Last Modified: 31 May 2017

Keywords: essay about the resources of the community, narrative essay about the resources of the community

It is really important that we build positive relationships with our students and their families. It is normal for families to struggle with different issues. The children's school itself may not be able to help. But if they are familiar with the different agencies in the communities and the services they offer. It can be very beneficial to all the parties involved. They are able to work together as a team and help each other. This paper will first discuss the community resources that are available in my area, second how I will make the information available to my families, and finally how it fits with my Vision, Mission, and Philosophy statement.

There are lots of resources available in my community. There is the Guildford Department of Public Health which a few services like child care nursing who are registered nurses who are Child Care Health Consultants (CCHC) with "skills in public health, pediatric nursing and child care licensing requirements. The CCHC strive to promote the healthy development of children and the reduction of illnesses in the child care setting." (Guilford County Government, 2012) There is child care/preschool dental services are provided by a dental hygienist in child care centers and child care homes. They have "Care Coordination for Children that's a program which provides formal case management to eligible children, birth to five years of age, at risk for or who have diagnosed special needs. The staff includes registered nurses or social workers who provide access to needed preventive and specialized support services for children and their families through collaboration." (Guilford County Government, 2012) The last one is "Community Transition Coordinator (CTC) is a registered nurse who screens all children born at Women's Hospital of Greensboro and all pediatric admissions to Moses Cone Health Systems to identify children birth to age five who are at risk for developmental delays or have diagnosed delays or chronic illnesses." (Guilford County Government, 2012)

"The North Carolina Early Intervention Branch (NCEI) is a part of the N.C. Division of Public Health. It is the lead agency for the N.C. Infant-Toddler Program (ITP). The Infant-Toddler Program provides supports and services for families and their children, birth to three who have special needs." (NC Dept. of Health and Humans Services, 2012) They offer service coordination, physical, occupational and speech-language therapies, family support, special instructions, assistive technology, and other services. To help assistance parents that have children with identified disabilities is a program called Guilford County Partnership for Exceptional Children. They put together a directory of different local organizations that serve multiple disabilities in our community. They include programs for children with autism, visual and hearing impairments, orthopedically impaired, speech/language impairments, and other health impairments.

We have the "Mental Health Association" to help provide information and help concerning mental health issues. This Association creates programs that encourage better mental health, and provide support to those who suffer from mental illness and strives to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, through education and service. It is a place that helps families with domestic violence. It is called "Family Service of the Piedmont" this program offers domestic violence shelters. These shelters provide safety, therapy, and court advocacy for battered women and their children. They have Children Advocacy Centers who coordinates the investigation and treatment of child sexual abuse. They offer "individual and family counseling for victims of depression, anxiety, relationship problems, substance addiction or other mental health issues. They also have "Family Preservation" that's an intervention for families at risk of having their children removed from the home." (Family Service of the Piedmont, 2010) This program also works with those with substance abuse. They offer "diagnostic, assessment and referral services are designed to provide comprehensive assessment and referral to individuals with alcohol, drug or other substance abuse problems which include appropriate evaluation of the needs of co-dependent individuals, family members, and significant others. Co-dependency counseling provides comprehensive appropriate evaluation of the needs of co-dependent individuals, family members, and significant others." (Family Service of the Piedmont, 2010)

Since there are a lot of resources in my area there are a few different ways I can get the information to the families at the center. I can have like a community day at the center, invite some of the workers of these agencies to come speak during a parent night, or ask them for flyers/packets of information to send home to the parents. The preschool working with agencies like these in the community we are able to carry out our mission "to serve and act on the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources." (About NAEYC, 2009)

"Sometimes children are exposed to conditions that undermine their well-being. But by recognizing and building on existing strengths within communities and families, we can support all families in providing a healthy, safe, and loving environment for their children." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011) This paper just touched on a few agencies in my area that can be used as community resources, how the information can be presented to the families, and discuss how they will work with us to accomplish the goals for the children at my center.