News and Events

Announcements

Office Hours: 9 - 5 Monday through Friday, Ring #103 at the Moultenbrey Entrance on Third St. in Turners Falls

Program Cancellation Policy: If the Gill-Montague School System is closed due to weather, all MCSM programs are closed. If there is a 2 hour school delay, Playgroup will be closed.

NEWS & EVENTS of 2010:

Family Day Dinner 2010 was a grand success thanks to the generousity and culinary excellence of the Culinary Arts program of the Franklin County Tech School.

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A wonderful time was had by all!


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MCSM extends a heartfelt thanks to Maeve Shaughnessy for making possible a wonderful donation of children's books. They are a great blessing to our Family Center after losing so many books to flooding from a broken sprinkler. An added bonus - they were a great benefit to our Monday morning program Vecina a Vecina ~ Neighbor to Neighbor in the Women's Center where the Spanish language children's books helped women learn Spanish and English!

 

Paula Lambert (right), formerly of MCSM, receiving a treasure trove of over 3oo books from Maeve Shaughnessy.

 

 

 

 

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DEVELOPING NURTURING FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

On June 28, 29 and 30, 2010, Sue Parker of the Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts in Dorchester, and Heather McCauley, from the Athol-based “Valuing Our Children” and trainer for Family Nurturing Programs, presented an overview of the Nurturing Programs that have been developed during the past 30 years by Dr. Stephen J. Bavolek.  The three-day, 9AM – 4PM, Developing Nurturing Families and Communities workshop acquainted over thirty representatives from more than eleven local programs/agencies, partnerships and schools, in the nurturing philosophy and core concepts.

Nurturing Parenting Programs are validated, family-based programs with a proven track record of preventing the reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect.  During the past 30 years, well over a million families have participated in home-based or group-based programs.  There are nurturing programs for parents and children of all ages from prenatal to adolescent, for Teenage Parents, Foster and Adoptive Families, Fathers, Families in Recovery and even for particular ethnic groups, such as Hispanic and Cape Verdean Families.  One specialized program has been developed to nurture Birth and Foster Families together!  Nurturing Programs are designed for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.  To meet the specific need of families, programs have been identified according to the standard levels of prevention: primary, secondary (intervention) and tertiary (treatment).

Contemporary social scientists agree that maltreatment of children today is primarily the result of poorly trained adults who, in their roles as parents and caretakers, attempt to instill discipline and educate children within the context of the violence they themselves experienced as children.  An average of three children per day die from abuse and neglect in the United States.  It has been shown to be one of the leading causes in the development of juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior in adults.

We learned that four patterns: Inappropriate Parental Expectations of the Child, Lack of Empathy Towards Children’s Needs, Parental Value of Physical Punishment, and Parental Role Reversal lead to Oppression of Children’s Power and Independence and limit children’s opportunity to become successful, independent people.  The foundation of the Nurturing Parenting Programs is that parenting is learned.  All the programs are based on six assumptions:

* The family is a system
* Empathy is the single most desirable quality in nurturing parenting
* Parenting exists on a continuum
* Learning is both cognitive and affective
* Children who feel good about themselves are more likely to become nurturing parents.
* No one truly prefers abusive interactions.

The assessment and evaluation tools provided by the Nurturing Programs are extensive.  Everyone came away from the three days with a feeling of exhilaration and empowerment that we might be able to work together in new ways to assist families in our communities.

There is a planning committee who will begin meeting in September 2010 to collaborate on funding and design of a Nurturing Families Program.  The Gill-Montague Regional School District has already committed their facilities to the project.  Representatives from United ARC of Franklin County; Community Action/ Family Literacy Center; the Western Mass Training Consortium/Greenbook Project; CA/ Headstart Parent Child Development Center; Berkshire Children and Families, Athol Regional School District; Gill-Montague Regional School District; the Gill Montague Community School Partnership; The Brick House Community Resource Center; the MA Department of Children and Families; Children and Family Services; CA/ Healthy Families/ Parent Child Home Program; Montague Catholic Social Ministries/ Basic Needs/ Playgroup/Family Support Home Visiting/ Connecting Through Literacy programs, learned together and shared expertise.

News Archive

Turners Falls Women's Resource Center monthly newsletters

Winter/Spring 2010 Newsletter (PDF format) from The Brick House

December 2009 MCSM Newsletter (PDF format)

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On June 28, 29 and 30, 2010, Sue Parker of the Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts in Dorchester, and Heather McCauley, from the Athol-based “Valuing Our Children” and trainer for Family Nurturing Programs, presented an overview of the Nurturing Programs that have been developed during the past 30 years by Dr. Stephen J. Bavolek. The three-day, 9AM – 4PM, Developing Nurturing Families and Communities workshop acquainted over thirty representatives from more than eleven local programs/agencies, partnerships and schools, in the nurturing philosophy and core concepts.

Nurturing Parenting Programs are validated, family-based programs with a proven track record of preventing the reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect. During the past 30 years, well over a million families have participated in home-based or group-based programs. There are nurturing programs for parents and children of all ages from prenatal to adolescent, for Teenage Parents, Foster and Adoptive Families, Fathers, Families in Recovery and even for particular ethnic groups, such as Hispanic and Cape Verdean Families. One specialized program has been developed to nurture Birth and Foster Families together! Nurturing Programs are designed for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. To meet the specific need of families, programs have been identified according to the standard levels of prevention: primary, secondary (intervention) and tertiary (treatment).

Contemporary social scientists agree that maltreatment of children today is primarily the result of poorly trained adults who, in their roles as parents and caretakers, attempt to instill discipline and educate children within the context of the violence they themselves experienced as children. An average of three children per day die from abuse and neglect in the United States. It has been shown to be one of the leading causes in the development of juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior in adults.

We learned that four patterns: Inappropriate Parental Expectations of the Child, Lack of Empathy Towards Children’s Needs, Parental Value of Physical Punishment, and Parental Role Reversal lead to Oppression of Children’s Power and Independence and limit children’s opportunity to become successful, independent people. The foundation of the Nurturing Parenting Programs is that parenting is learned. All the programs are based on six assumptions:

* The family is a system

* Empathy is the single most desirable quality in nurturing parenting

* Parenting exists on a continuum

* Learning is both cognitive and affective

* Children who feel good about themselves are more likely to become nurturing parents.

* No one truly prefers abusive interactions.

The assessment and evaluation tools provided by the Nurturing Programs are extensive. Everyone came away from the three days with a feeling of exhilaration and empowerment that we might be able to work together in new ways to assist families in our communities.

There is a planning committee who will begin meeting in September 2010 to collaborate on funding and design of a Nurturing Families Program. The Gill-Montague Regional School District has already committed their facilities to the project. Representatives from United ARC of Franklin County; Community Action/ Family Literacy Center; the Western Mass Training Consortium/Greenbook Project; CA/ Headstart Parent Child Development Center; Berkshire Children and Families, Athol Regional School District; Gill-Montague Regional School District; the Gill Montague Community School Partnership; The Brick House Community Resource Center; the MA Department of Children and Families; Children and Family Services; CA/ Healthy Families/ Parent Child Home Program; Montague Catholic Social Ministries/ Basic Needs/ Playgroup/Family Support Home Visiting/ Connecting Through Literacy programs, learned together and shared expertise.