In an effort to reach more families from the northern reaches of the city to the southern edge, First Things First and the City of Phoenix have partnered to open four new family resource centers dedicated to providing services to families with children birth to age 5.<\/p>\n
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego recently joined FTF CEO Marilee Dal Pra, along with others to celebrate the opening of one of the centers at Burton Barr Library.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a great effort of people coming together and saying we want to care about our kids,\u201d Gallego said in her opening remarks. \u201cThey are the future of our community, our most important asset and today\u2019s opening is a great symbol of that.\u201d<\/p>\n The dedicated area on the first floor of the library provides a space where parents or caregivers can check out books on parenting and a specially curated section of books that are developmentally appropriate for young children. There\u2019s also a meeting room where story times will be held, along with space for parenting classes.<\/p>\n FTF funds family resources centers throughout Maricopa County and in Santa Cruz County to help support parents as their child\u2019s first teacher. At these one-stop centers for families of kids birth to age 5, families and caregivers can attend parenting classes on topics such as early literacy, the importance of play to children\u2019s learning and how to deal with challenging behaviors.<\/p>\n The four new Phoenix Families First Resource Centers are located in the communities of Aeroterra in south Phoenix, Burton Barr in central Phoenix, Beuf Community Center in far north Phoenix and Cesar Chavez Laveen Village in the southern edge of the city.<\/p>\n \u201cEach of these locations is a key cornerstone in its community and will make these resources far more accessible,\u201d Gallego said.<\/p>\n The centers provide families with children birth to age 5 with a place to learn more about other programs that can help support their child\u2019s health and learning, said Pastor Karen Stewart, chair of the FTF Phoenix North Regional Council.<\/p>\n \u201cIn partnership with schools, community centers and other neighborhood locations, family resource centers provide a one-stop-shop where parents can learn more about early brain development, participate in classes and workshops to expand their knowledge and confidence as their child\u2019s first teacher,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In Phoenix last year, 14,600 caregivers attended family resource center workshops, more than 22,000 referrals were provided to families for other support services, and early childhood information and resources were provided to more than 43,000 caregivers.<\/p>\n The four additional centers expand the network serving families and children in the Maricopa County area to 37 family resource centers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very excited that all four of the centers are in locations such as libraries and community centers that are within walking distance for families and do not close down when schools are not in session,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThis thoughtful approach to where we located the centers would not have been possible without the amazing staff at the city of Phoenix, including the City Manager\u2019s Office and the departments of Human Services, Parks and Recreation and Housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Family Resource Network<\/p>\n Parents and families are a child\u2019s first and best teachers. That\u2019s why the family resource centers in the First Things First Family Resource Network give parents and caregivers the tools they need to support the learning and healthy development of their young children.<\/p>\n Click for more information on the 37 FTF-funded family resources locations<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FTF and the City of Phoenix have partnered to open four new family resource centers dedicated to providing services to families with young children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74,86,157,177,308],"class_list":["post-24296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-early-learning","tag-family-support","tag-phoenix-north","tag-phoenix-south","tag-family-resource-centers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n