A mother and her daughter engage in a parent-child learning activity provided by the Treasure Valley Children’s Relief Nursery. The mission of TVCRN is to prevent child abuse and maltreatment by strengthening the family unit. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Collins)
ONTARIO – The Treasure Valley Children’s Relief Nursery is offering home visits to families within Malheur County.
“We want to keep young children at risk for maltreatment safe and isolation can be a risk factor for abuse or neglect,” the nursery’s executive director Kathie Collins wrote in an email.
The home visits are funded by a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation.
The goal is to provide parents with child rearing knowledge and parenting support.
“Each home visit is tailored to fit a child’s age and stage of development,” said Collins.
Collins said the idea is to help parents detect signs of developmental delays and health issues early, which can help prevent child abuse and neglect.
“We just try to encourage parents to be positive with their kids,” said Collins. “Our mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect.”
Collins said the relief nursery is the only nonprofit in Malheur County that solely focuses on child abuse prevention.
“We don’t have that many nonprofits in Malheur County,” Collins said. “We’re the only program in the county providing therapeutic services for families that might be in danger of abuse and neglect.”
All the organization’s services are free. The nonprofit relies on private foundation support, donations, grants and volunteers. Collins said the relief nursery is hoping to “get to those families in more rural, isolated areas.”
Those who are interested in the program or want to refer a family for a home visit can reach out to Kimberly Looney at [email protected] or call 541-212-2710.