May 13, 2013 (Council Bluffs) – After years of serving babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents, it was time for an extreme makeover at the Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families®. Thanks to generous donors and community supporters, the Center has a new and refreshed space. Volunteers spent hours painting and installing new (donated) carpet and furniture.
The public is invited to see the big “reveal” at an Open House and Ribbon-Cutting on May 23, 2013. At 4:00pm, Mayor Tom Hanafan will participate in the ribbon-cutting for the updated space, and then everyone is welcome to have a cookie and take the short tour.
The Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families® has been positively impacting the lives of children since 2005. The Center is located on 2nd Avenue on the east end of the Omni Center at 300 West Broadway. It was once called the “Boutique” for incentive programming where parents earn points for healthy behaviors, then redeem them on items for their children, like diapers.
The Center has now grown to include a wider range of services for expectant women and families with children under the age of five, including early childhood mental health therapies, and help for parent-child bonding and trauma recovery, including the RSafe® program. RSafe ® provides the only coordinated and comprehensive outpatient treatment services for children and families impacted by child sexual abuse – both victims, and children who act out sexually.
Highly-stressed parents are getting the essential skills and support they need — with the overarching goal of reducing the likelihood of child abuse and neglect in Pottawattamie County.
Services at Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families:
- Early Childhood & Parenting Specialized Therapies
- RSafe® for families impacted by child sexual abuse
- Incentive/Prevention/Intervention Programs
- Nurturing Parenting ® Classes
- Pregnancy Counseling & Adoption
- Parenting Support Groups
