Holy Family Childcare and Development Center partner with Sisters of St. Joseph Wellness Foundation, West Liberty University and Kendall Behavioral Solutions, LLC to bridge the gap for children with development delays who do not qualify for services or fell through the cracks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Early intervention services in the Ohio Valley are incredible. Unfortunately, during COVID-19, many families avoided services leading to children aging out of the window to qualify for services out of concern for their safety. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children and their caregivers” reports that behavior, aggressiveness and agitation occurred more frequently among preschoolers than infants and toddlers. The Bridge program provides resources and support for staff and families to address the impacts of COVID-19 on our children.” Terra Crews, Executive Director, Holy Family Childcare & Development Center Sisters of St. Joseph Health and Wellness Foundation granted Holy Family with $50,000 to support the Bridge Program and partnerships.
“Our foundation strives to improve the health and wellbeing of children by supporting programs that offer preventive services and that focus on strengthening families—so partnering with Holy Family on their Bridge Program was a natural fit. We are inspired by the collaborative work Holy Family is doing with West Liberty University and Kendall Behavioral Solutions to provide early intervention for children.” Elizabeth Collins, Executive Director of Sisters of St. Joseph Health and Wellness Foundation.
“We are so excited to partner with Holy Family on the development of the crisis care and to not only support more students, but teachers and families and providing them with additional resources.” Katie Kendall, CEO and Board Certified Behavior Analyst Ledger is a four-year-old preschooler who attends HF. With his parent’s permission, Carol Zombotti, WLU Director of Clinical Education in Speech-Language Pathology/Assistant Professor and her students who identified a speech developmental delay, assessed him.
“He has made strides in the short amount of time that they have been working with him. I love that HF and West Liberty University have partnered because his pediatrician us told to wait until he starts elementary school to see if he qualified for speech services, but with this program, he is getting help now during the most opportune time in his development.” Jessica Cook, mother of Ledger.
“The Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and speech-language pathology graduate program is extremely grateful for our partnership with Holy Family. We are very appreciative of the generosity of the staff and families to allow our graduate students to gain experiences in working with the youngest of populations in the prevention and treatment of communication disorders. We look forward to continuing our partnership between West Liberty University’s CSD program and Holy Family Child Care and Development Center in the
future.” Carol Zombotti.
“I am so grateful for the experiences I acquired throughout my clinical practicum partnership at Holy Family Child Care and Development Center. The staff was extremely welcoming, and always went above and beyond to ensure a positive learning experience for me and my West Liberty University graduate classmates. The knowledge I obtained from gaining exposure to low-incidence areas of communication sciences and disorders will undoubtedly assist me as I work toward becoming a future clinician.” Alexis Mullen, WLU student.
“The Child Care Resource Center recognizes the critical need for developmental and behavior support programs for young children, particularly post COVID. With the Bridge Program, children and families will have access to much needed services that support a child’s developmental and behavioral needs during critical years of early development and while in a childcare setting.” Linda Reeves, Behavior Consultant, Child Care Resource Center said.
“Young children with behavioral health issues often hop from childcare center to childcare center because they are dismissed from care due to lack of staff to provide the needed attention for the child or untrained staff. We are trying to address this with partnerships so that hopefully one day, we will be an inclusive center who is able to support families and children of all needs.” Chelsea Freshwater, Assistant Director, Holy Family.
