April 2011Vol. 12, No. 3Children's Relief Nursery Aids Prevention
The Oregon Children's Relief Nursery is a private nonprofit family support program that continues to develop innovative strategies for keeping children safe from abuse and neglect. In operation for over 30 years, the Relief Nursery serves low-income families with children up to 6 years old who are at high risk for abuse or neglect. It provides a variety of services such as emergency child care, therapeutic classes for young children, parenting education, home visiting, mental health and substance abuse recovery counseling, and community resource referrals. A unique satellite office at the courthouse in downtown Eugene offers immediate respite services to domestic violence survivors seeking restraining orders.
The Children's Bureau's Office on Child Abuse and Neglect highlighted the Oregon Children's Relief Nursery for its noteworthy aspects in the 2003 report, Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. A program evaluation conducted in 2008-2009 identified the following positive outcomes for families served by the Relief Nursery:
- Children were less likely to be abused following enrollment.
- Children spent fewer days in out-of-home placements and were more likely to be reunified with their parents.
- Parents increased positive parent-child interactions and frequency of reading to their children.
- Families that spent 1 year with the Relief Nursery reduced their level of risk by 21 percent.
The Relief Nursery was recently funded to open a second location in East Portland to further expand its service area to support more children and families at risk. Visit the Oregon Children's Relief Nursery website to learn more:
www.reliefnursery.org
