Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength

Begun in 1983-4 by dedicated community individuals and organizations, Crisis Nursery is the only 24-hour, 365-days a year child abuse prevention and family support agency of its kind in Champaign County.

Children should be cared for in an atmosphere of security and joy, which fosters self-confidence, independence, and growth. Coming from crisis situations, children need to have their feelings validated so they are able to build a bond of trust with the caregiver. 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 Crisis Nursery environment is child-centered where we strive to provide a program, which facilitates a child’s sense of security. As a result the child will develop self-confidence and gain the knowledge that he is respected, which will carry through in her interaction with others.

Crisis Nursery uses redirection as a positive form of discipline. With clear, strong boundaries we support the child to make positive choices as well as make the child aware of her choices in any situation. At Crisis Nursery, we always have arms to hold, comfort and validate a child in crisis and an environment that supports their growth.

Goals

Protect our most vulnerable population---our children
Reduce parental stress which can lead to harm to or death of children
Improve parental knowledge of child development, child management & discipline
Assist families in attaining self-sufficiency and stability for themselves and their children
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 mounting problems from exploding with harmful results to children.
Welfare to work child care enabling first time workers to begin a job immediately and providing linkage to permanent child care and subsidy programs.
Parent support and parent education groups to enhance self-esteem, parent-child interaction, child management & discipline.
Community resources of in-kind goods such as diapers, formula, etc., when families have no other resources.
Crisis counseling regarding the immediate situation.
Referrals and follow-up services addressing the client's crisis situation.
Incorporation of assessment, education, modeling and follow-up in child development modalities, which can affect the child and 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 (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 Nursery Crisis Care Components

Crisis Counseling - helping families problem solve and prioritize so they can effectively handle to acute crisis.
Referral Process - linking families to appropriate agencies and assist them in accessing the services and resources they need within the community.
Basic Need items - given to families in need; such as diapers, formula and clothing.
Developmental Screening tool called Ages and Stages. We use this tool because it 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 to families who need more help because their life is in crisis.

Family Philosophy

Promote family unity, independence and self- esteem
Stabilize, support and strengthen families by helping to structure social networks
Empower the parent-child relationship by validating 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.
New Perinatal Depression program working with mom’s experiencing this.
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 are held during the school year.
Short Educational Workshops for parenting skills and behavior management.
Crisis Resolution Counseling
Resource Identification
Referrals to other community agencies

This unique marriage of crisis and remedial 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. Through Crisis Nursery services, parents can learn to understand their children’s developmental needs and address them positively.