Programs
Boston Parent-Child Home Program | The goals of this intensive, evidence-based, national home visiting model for low-income parents and their children ages 18 months to 3 years are to promote school readiness and academic success by strengthening parent-child verbal interaction and reading and play activities in the home.
Parenting Education Series and Workshops | FNC offers parent workshops and training series on a variety of topics for parents, including brain development, social-emotional development, early literacy and school readiness, infant massage, and discipline. We develop parents as leaders (Parent Partners) in doing outreach and education with
their peers.
Training and Program Development Support | FNC is the nationally recognized trainer in Massachusetts for the Nurturing Program curriculum. We train 175 individuals annually in Nurturing Families and Nurturing Fathers’ Program development and facilitation. We support neighborhood organizations to expand Welcome Baby and parent-child playgroups.
Dorchester Cares Community Coalition | FNC invites community parents to get involved in making Dorchester a safe, healthy, nurturing community for families through the Coalition. Monthly meetings and special events are open to all in the neighborhood.
Patch | Named for the British word for neighborhood, Patch is a partnership with DCF to support families in the section of Dorchester where our main office is located. A team of social workers is on-site at 200 Bowdoin Street to provide prevention services to neighborhood families in need.
Welcome Baby | A trained Home Visitor who lives in the community visits parents with newborns, celebrating the birth and bringing parenting information, books for all family members to promote early literacy, a community resource guide, and a gift bag including a handmade baby blanket. The Visitor models family reading time, talks with new parents about their needs, and connects families to other services in the neighborhood. Visits are available in five languages.
Parent-Child Playgroups | Parents, grandparents, and caregivers with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers can attend our parent-baby and parent-child playgroups facilitated by an Early Childhood Specialist (ECS). Family members learn about “ages and stages” of child development; explore the fun and value of reading to their children; form friendships with other parents; and enjoy songs, games, art, and other activities to optimize their child’s social and emotional development. The ECS also refers families to Early Intervention, speech and language assessments, Head Start, and other resources.
Nurturing Parenting Programs | FNC coordinates Nurturing Programs as a preventive and intervention strategy with at-risk families, many of whom are involved with the Department of Children & Families (DCF). The goal, over 12-15 weeks, is to prevent child abuse and neglect by helping families to replace negative, dysfunctional patterns of thought and behavior with healthier ones. The structured curriculum engages the whole family in interactive, self-reflecting, and educational classes one night per week for 2.5 hours. Each program serves 12–15 families. FNC coordinates Nurturing Programs for birth and foster families, Cape Verdean-speakers, parents and teens together, and offers many programs specifically for fathers. Staff is also trained in curricula for prenatal parents and parents with babies.
Training Across Massachusetts
Family Nurturing Center leverages funding and increases impact by building the capacity of other organizations to provide parenting education and family support programs. Each year, our training team prepares 175–200 providers statewide in the fundamentals of the Nurturing Program philosophy and curriculum. The map below shows the locations of agencies trained by FNC between 2013 and 2015. For a detailed list of agencies, please see the Professional Trainings document on the Get to Know Us page.
