AWARE used their Go Grant award to purchas supplies for Parent-Child Interactive Therapy.
About AWARE
- AWARE Early Head Start provides services to low income children, ages birth to three, and their families in Yellowstone County.
- Services
- Traditional center-based classroom
- 6.5 hours per day, for 32 children
- full day childcare classroom
- 10 hours per day serving 24 children.
- Early Head Start (EHS) therapist provides services to non-EHS children 0-5 residing in Yellowstone County, as referrals necessitate.
- Teacher Child Interactive Therapy (TCIT)
- Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT)
- The length of PCIT therapy averages 12-15 weeks with parent coaching services provided for approximately one hour per week.
- An estimated 30-35 parents and children are served over the course of the EHS program year.
- Approximately ten non-EHS children participate in PCIT services over the course of a program year.
- Traditional center-based classroom
School Readiness
- Social and emotional literacy is the foundation of infant and toddler school readiness.
- Strong social and emotional skills develop with the presence of a close, nurturing relationship or bond with a parent or primary caregiver.
- Within these relationships, young children develop trust, empathy and curiosity, qualities that allow children to grow school readiness skills.
- The ability of young children to be receptive to school readiness relies on having an adequate home and family environment as well as quality child care environments.
Enhancing Relationships
- PCIT improves parenting skills to enhance the parent-child relationship
- Positively impact on the child’s social and emotional development
- TCIT focuses on positive teacher classroom management strategies
- Supports the development and improvement of social and emotional skills.
- Outcomes of PCIT and TCIT participation:
- Strengthening of parent-child interactions
- Strengthening of positive caregiver-child relationships
- Reduction of ineffective interaction patterns by parents and caregivers
- Reduction of disruptive behaviors
- These strategies reduce the risk of future behavioral challenges and increase school success rates.