A pact approved by the Longmont City Council this month will fund a parenting program that keeps families from being torn apart through struggles with juvenile delinquency, alcohol and child abuse.
The council unanimously voted for an intergovernmental agreement between the city and Boulder County to continue the Nurturing Parenting program with a $76,290 grant that will pay for three part-time, non-benefited employees to facilitate parenting programs throughout the year, according to a city staff report.
The city contracted with Boulder County to provide the program since 2013 and its aim is simple, said Christina Pacheco, Children, Youth & Families manager for the city.
“What this program is meant to do is provide the opportunity to do prevention work so that families don’t end up in the child welfare system,” Pacheco said via email.
The $76,290 grant is 3.5% more than the previous year’s award from Boulder County. To date, the parenting program has served almost 700 parents with more than 400 children, the staff report states. At least 15% of the participants have been primarily English speaking families and 85% have been primarily Spanish speaking.
Referrals to the program come from the Boulder County Housing and Human Services, schools, community, as well as self-referrals through friends, family and neighbors, the staff report states.
The program helps youth and their families assess issues, set goals, improve communication and interactions, resolve conflicts and provide a positive direction for the future, the staff report states.
Youth and families engage in “positive educational” and skill building activities that decrease involvement in children welfare or the criminal justice system, the report said.
In all, the program attempts to “stop the intergenerational cycle of abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors,” the report states.
