Insights Teen Parent Program

Tuesday, April 17 10:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Friday, April 20 10:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

The Insights Teen Parent Program, a nonprofit social service agency for 27 years, has become the primary provider of no-cost services and support to pregnant and parenting teens and their children in Portland and Multnomah County. Thirteen programs offer comprehensive, wrap-around services to an average of 1,500 young families every year in an effort to develop healthy parenting and foster healthy children among this vulnerable population. The Insights philosophy is respect-based, its services strength-based.

Over the years, Insights created many new programs designed to meet the specific needs of its clients. For example, these include: Program Puentes, which offers in-home case management, parenting education, support groups, housing, information and referral, and other services to Spanish-speaking teen and young families; Christina Project, which focuses on pregnant and parenting teen/young parents who are or have been the victim of domestic violence; SEEDS (Supporting Early Emerging Developmental Skills), which provides such school readiness services as attachment-based parenting education and child development screenings; and Enhanced Case Management, which strives to prevent child abuse in high-risk young families. Additionally, each of the 13 programs provides basic needs assistance in an effort to relieve the stressors of poverty.

The Insights Executive Director will guide the tour, providing an informational overview on the variety and scope of the agency’s programs and best-practice services. Direct service staff together with representatives of the Insights Youth Council answer questions and share their personal stories.

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

Tuesday, April 17 10:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Thursday, April 19 10:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Originally founded in 1975 to meet the needs of migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families, the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center now serves annually 30,000 low-income and uninsured persons representing many cultural, linguistic, and vocational backgrounds. The Center, which began humbly in a three-car garage, has grown to six locations in four cities. As a component of its philosophy of providing comprehensive care and high-level wellness, the Center established Padres Con Iniciativas in 1988. This primary prevention program aims at reducing risk factors associated with child abuse and/or neglect. The program, which targets young Hispanic families with children ranging from prenatal through age five, addresses the children’s physical and social emotional health by providing education, outreach services, and support to families in the early years of the child’s life – a time when primary prevention has been demonstrated to be effective.

Participant visitors will travel west from Portland to rural Washington County for a site visit at the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center’s Cornelius campus. In addition to a tour of the multi-building facility providing primary care, vision/dental, pharmacy, and outreach services, visitors will learn firsthand about the Padres Con Iniciativa parenting program.

Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services Northwest

Wednesday, April 18 10:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Celebrating its 20th year, Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services Northwest (CARES NW) is a collaborative, community-based center serving more than 4,000 children annually with state-of-the-art medical assessment and treatment of child abuse services. Services at CARES NW, one of the oldest and largest child abuse assessment centers in the nation, include a comprehensive medical evaluation of sexual and physical abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence and/or to a critical incident; triage; consultation and training; research; and prevention.

CARES NW staff will guide participants on a tour of its medical clinic, a walk-through of the program with an accompanying description of each service. Visitors gain an opportunity to speak with CARES NW staff regarding the referral and evaluation process, as well as with law enforcement and Child Protective Service community partners to learn how a collaborative multidisciplinary program operates.

Early Childhood Campus Community Collaboration to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect

Thursday, April 19 10:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Participants visiting the Early Childhood Campus Community Collaboration will convene at the Center for Family Success, which serves as the hub for families involved with the criminal justice system in a community notable for its high crime rate and poverty level. A facilitator will guide a tour of the community center and the crisis relief nursery, explaining and elaborating upon this early childhood campus model of services designed to prevent abuse and neglect. Participants gain an opportunity to see how a continuum of services is delivered to children ranging from birth through early elementary school ages via a collaborative network of partners, involving: a crisis relief nursery, early childhood programs, neighborhood schools, county programs offering resources and referrals to community services, and a special project designed to build connections between girls and their incarcerated mothers.

Following the tour, visitors will be invited to chat one-on-one with community providers at a resource fair, observe a parenting class designed specifically for those involved with the justice system, as well as view a powerful video of young girls sharing their experience as daughters of incarcerated moms. Community providers will conclude the visit with a brief overview presented in a panel discussion and question and answer format.