SAFE,
SECURE, AND
LOVED:
RESILIENT FAMILIES

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Safe, Secure and Loved: Resilient Families Parent Education Programs represent a new and exciting community solution to tackle current community challenges. It is well known that  children growing up with economic hardship, racial and ethnic discrimination, and community adversities have been shown to be at risk for educational deficits and health problems as early as the time they enter kindergarten. New research from psychology, child development, and public health has provided a new understanding that economic disadvantages, community violence, unstable housing, and food insecurity lead to adversity and toxic stress which negatively impact early brain development. Young children who face adversities are more likely to enter kindergarten with underdeveloped self regulation, learning and social-emotional skills. There is a compelling and urgent need for early intervention with families such that parents and communities can help their children begin kindergarten prepared, like their middle-income peers, to learn and build a healthy foundation for well-being and academic achievement.

 

Safe, Secure and Loved: Resilient Families Parent Education Programs have tremendous potential for community adoption and sustainability for two reasons:

 

First, Safe, Secure and Loved: Resilient Families Parent Education Programs leverage the power of new scientific research on neurobiology and resilience coupled with the clinical science of mindfulness to empower families facing poverty to level the playing field for their children.

 

Second, Safe, Secure and Loved: Resilient Families Parent Education Programs are designed for COMMUNITY-LED programming. The leaders of the parent groups are members of the community who have completed Safe, Secure and Loved workshops and then decide to continue to train as community champions. The COMMUNITY-LED approach is unique, as most early intervention program are not led by community members but by early intervention specialists. Community leaders have special and authentic abilities to share messages about resilience to day-to-day parenting experiences to community neighbors, friends and family.  The extensive community champions training employs a hybrid models of online videos and user-friendly community champions facilitation workbooks, and additional educational supports.

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