Friday, May 6, 2016

Parent Expo Addresses Topics of Interest, Provides Resources for Local Families



Sussex and Warren County parents recently enjoyed a Parent Expo, sponsored by the Sussex County Family Success Center at Project Self-Sufficiency and Project Sussex Kids, the County Council for Young Children.  The event featured interactive sessions about nutrition, child assault prevention, summer activities for kids, and resources for families with special needs children.  Keynote speaker Diane Lang addressed Positive Parenting while patrons enjoyed dinner.  Participants were also treated to raffles and goodie bags filled with parenting resources. 

Montclair State University Adjunct Professor Diane Lang instructed parents about effectively communicating with their children by using the Positive Parenting method to avoid power struggles during the keynote presentation that highlighted the evening’s activities.  In addition to the keynote presentation, break-out sessions were available to patrons about a variety of topics.  Sussex County Family Success Center and Project Sussex Kids staff members offered an overview of ten conversation topics for parents and children to help prevent child sexual abuse.  Vivian Berrio of NJ SNAP-Ed Rutgers Cooperative Extension discussed the prevalence of sugar in foods and offered nutritional alternatives for children and parents.  Ria Smith and Charlene O’Brien of the Hardyston Township Special Education Parent Advisory Group provided advice about resources for children with special needs, and gave tips to parents about starting advisory groups in their own school districts.  Free programs for adults and children within the Sussex County library system were explained by Jenise Sileo and Beverly Rowan.

In addition to Project Self-Sufficiency, organizations which hosted information tables at the event included American Red Cross; Birth Haven; Care Plus New Jersey; Caring Partners; Center for Prevention and Counseling; Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center; DAWN Center for Independent Living; DL Counseling; Family Intervention Services; Family Partners of Morris and Sussex; Family Promise; Ginnie’s House; Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey; Hardyston Special Education Parent Advisory Group; Legal Services of Northwest New Jersey; NAMI; New Jersey Comfort Partners; NJ Shares; NJ SNAP-Ed; Parent Interactions with Schools; Partnership for Maternal and Child Health; Planned Parenthood; Project Self-Sufficiency Master Gardeners; Statewide Parent Advocacy Network; Sussex County Community College; Sussex County  Division of Social Services; Sussex County Library; Sussex County Office of Public Health Nursing/NJ CEED; Sussex County Special Child Health Services; Sussex County YMCA; Sussex/Warren Chronic Disease Coalition; United Way of Northern New Jersey Success by 6; and Zufall Health Center.

“The Parent Expo gives parents the opportunity to interact with experts in a variety of fields, and to ask questions and get information about issues faced by their families,” commented Deborah Berry-Toon, Executive Director of Project Self-Sufficiency.  “We are grateful to the community groups, parent volunteers, educators, health organizations, and social service agencies in our community who came together to offer this event for local families.”

The Sussex County Family Success Center at Project Self-Sufficiency is part of a network of Family Success Centers across the state whose purpose is to strengthen families and neighborhoods; develop networks of family services that foster healthy families; and to build connections within families, between families and to the community.   The Family Success Center provides a wide range of services to participating families, including assistance with healthcare, substance abuse prevention services, career planning, job training, parenting workshops, and life skills training. 

Project Sussex Kids, the Sussex County Council for Young Children, is an effort funded by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, which is designed to address the needs of families who are expecting or who are already parenting children up to the age of eight.  County Councils for Young Children are being established in all of the state’s 21 counties to bring together parents, caregivers, and professionals to enhance communication, coordination and collaboration of services.

For information about the programs and services offered at Project Self-Sufficiency through the Sussex County Family Success Center or through Project Sussex Kids, call 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500, or visit www.projectselfsufficiency.org.




No comments: