Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength

The Crisis Nursery is unique to Champaign County by being the only 24-hour, 365-days a year child abuse prevention and family support agency in the area. This non-profit organization was developed in 1983, thanks to the combined hard work and dedication from exceptional individuals and organizations in the community.

The Nursery holds strong to the belief that children should be cared for in an atmosphere of security and joy, which fosters self-confidence, independence and growth. Each child that enters our facility due to a crisis situation needs to have their feelings validated so they are able to build a bond of trust with the caregiver. We put great effort into understanding their individual situations and feelings in order to connect with them. After this is achieved the child can feel safe to explore his surroundings, which we have made developmentally appropriate and challenging for each individual child.

The environment of Crisis Nursery is child-centered and our focus is on ensuring that the child feels safe and loved. This allows a child to become comfortable in exploring themselves and their surroundings, encouraging them to develop self-confidence and feel respected, which will carry through in his/her interactions with others.

Crisis Nursery uses redirection as a positive form of discipline. By using clear, strong boundaries we support the child to make positive choices and make the child aware of his/her choices in any situation. At the Nursery, we validate a child’s situation so they are able to grow and have the life that every child should-a life full of love, security, fun and respect.

Goals

Protect our most vulnerable population: our children
Reduce parental stress which can lead to harm or death of a child
Improve parental knowledge of child development, child management & discipline
Assist parents and families in attaining self-sufficiency and stability for themselves and their children
Strengthen and develop positive parent-child interactions

Basic Programs

Immediate crisis childcare, keeping our most vulnerable young children out of harm's way during critical times of parental stress, illness or emergencies
Respite care to prevent problems from escalating or exploding with harmful results to children
Welfare-to-work child care which enables first-time workers to begin a job immediately and provide linkage to permanent child care and subsidy programs
Parent support and education groups to enhance self-esteem, parent-child interaction, child management & discipline
Community resources of in-kind donations such as diapers, formula, etc., when families have no other resources
Crisis counseling regarding immediate situations
Referrals and follow-up services addressing the client's crisis situation
Incorporate assessment, education, modeling and follow-up of child development modalities that can affect the child and subsequently carry on to the parent's child rearing abilities
Regardless of what is happening in a child's life, their experience at the Nursery can be more than a 'safe haven'

Please view our virtual tour of Crisis Nursery to see how our programs reach out to families in crisis situations.

Clients

Crisis Nursery's clients are children, ages newborn through 5 years old, whose families are experiencing a crisis/emergency and have no support resources available at the time. A secondary client is the family entity. Most clients are young, single parents who have multiple children, are under- or un-employed, under-educated and have minimal parent-child interaction skills or understanding. However, our services are also utilized by parents who are simply in need of emergency care for a crisis or unexpected situation which could put a child at risk of harm, and don't have any help available.

Crisis Care Components

Crisis Counseling - Helping families problem solve and prioritize so they can effectively handle an acute crisis
Referral Process - Linking families to appropriate agencies and assisting them in accessing the services and resources they need within the community
Basic Need Items - Items given to families in need: diapers, formula, clothing, etc.
Developmental Screening Tool - Called Ages and Stages, this tool gives us an opportunity to learn about the child’s developmental growth as well as share the information with the parent as a step to start building a relationship with both the child and the parent.
Family Programs - For families who need more help because their life is in crisis

Family Philosophy

Promote family unity, independence and self-efficiency
Stabilize, support and strengthen families by helping to structure social networks
Empower the parent-child relationship by assessing the bond between them and working to reinforce their positive interactions.

Family Service Components

Parent Child Interaction Groups with home visits and earned respite. Infant and toddler parent-child interaction groups meet once a week for twelve weeks. These groups assist parents in learning how their children grow and develop as well as learn how to encourage their children’s growth and development.
This program is open to both Crisis Nursery clients and community members who have not utilized crisis care.
Beyond Blue, our perinatal depression program working with new mothers
Support groups that meet once a week to help parents cope with the aftermath of a crisis and the stresses from day-to-day life. A children group meets while the parents are in group.
Educational workshops held during the school year
Short educational workshops for parenting skills and behavior management
Crisis resolution counseling
Resource rdentification
Referrals to other community agencies

This unique marriage of crisis and corrective services make up the holistic program of Crisis Nursery as we partner with parents to protect children and to enhance the family unit. Through Crisis Nursery services children’s lives can be forever affected in a positive and educative manner. Parents can learn to understand their children’s developmental needs and address them positively, creating a better environment for the child to grow.