PROGRAMS
Children/Youth/Families
KELLI
Mother Goose
Community Living
Affordable Housing
Nutritional Support
Kamloops Community Gardens
RESOURCES
Support to Family Care
Network
Youth Links
Community Links
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT &
EVENTS
Agency Events
A Year in Review
VOLUNTEERS
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MISSION STATEMENT |
EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS
First Steps |
Babies Head Start |
Families First |
Healthy Beginnings |
Make Children First
First
Steps
First Steps is a
classroom-based program that offers academic upgrading, parenting and life
skills classes and support for women between the ages of 14 and 24 who are
parenting. Specialized onsite daycare provides an opportunity for parents to
develop their parenting skills in a supportive environment. First Steps is a
partnership program between The University College of the Cariboo, Boys and
Girls Club of Kamloops, School District #73 and Interior Community Services.
First Steps is self-referral. Location: S201-202 (classroom), 215 (office)
-750 Cottonwood Avenue Kamloops, BC VSB 3J3. Phone: 250 -376-9119 (office)
250-376-7518 (classroom)
Babies Head Start
Babies Head Start
is a pregnancy outreach service incorporating free nutrition/vitamin
supplements, individual and family support, group work and community referrals.
Services are provided free to women less than 28 weeks pregnant (up to 40 weeks
depending on situation) through to 6 months postnatal. The Babies Head Start
team is comprised of Outreach Workers, a Registered Nurse and a Registered
Dietician. Babies Head Start is a self-referral program, although community
referrals are welcomed with the permission of the client.
Families First
Families First is a preventative,
family centered in home support program. Families who are eligible will be
parenting an infant less than 3 months old upon entry. Families are supported
with current information and education to provide a safe and nurturing
environment for themselves and their child(ren) The program promotes
parent/child interaction/bonding, language development, routines,
relationship/trust building, child development and positive parenting
strategies. Families First assists families in connecting with other families
and other community resources. This service is a long-term program that invites
families to be involved until the infant reaches 3 to 5yrs of age. This service
is offered in Kamloops, Chase, Barriere, Cache Creek and Ashcroft. Referrals
can be made by: Self, Public Health Nurses or other community professionals.
Click here for the Families First Referral Form
Healthy Beginnings
Healthy
Beginnings offers community-based parent/child weekly drop in groups for
parents/caregivers and their children aged birth to 6 years. These groups
provide a social, safe, welcome and supportive opportunity for young children
and their parents to come together on a regular basis. These groups are offered
in the Kamloops and region including: Chase, Barriere, Merritt, Kamloops,
Ashcroft, Cache Creek and Clinton. This program is open to all families of all
cultures and race with children birth to six years of age. Healthy Beginnings
is a self-referral program
Early Connections
This service provides early
intervention in families with children aged 0-6 who are at moderate risk of
developing a child mental health disorder. The goal of this service is to: a)
enhance and strengthen attachment relationships and b) for parents to be able to
demonstrate an increased knowledge of child development milestones and parenting
practices that promote healthy child development. This program addresses the
needs to create secure attachment relationships between parents and their young
children.
The program is based on research regarding early detection of infant/child
mental health disorders. The research supports the notion that infant/child
mental health concerns are manifested as a result of insecure attachment
relationships. Attachment based theories, research and interventions indicate
that secure parent/child relationships are necessary for optimal emotional
health.
Make Children First
Make Children First (MCF) is a
community development initiative that works to strengthen and support the
healthy development of young children and their families. As a community
coalition made up of individuals and organizations, MCF acts as a catalyst and
facilitator for improving early childhood development systems and networks. The
work is guided by a community owned and driven strategic plan that focuses on
capacity building and increasing the effectiveness and efficiencies in service
delivery and planning. Teamwork, public awareness, research, strategic planning,
advocacy and evaluation are fundamental to the community development work of
Make Children First. Working together with the community MCF is striving
to make Kamloops the best possible place to raise young
children.
Understanding the Early Years
Understanding the Early Years (UEY) is a
national research initiative that enables members of communities across Canada
to better understand the needs of their young children and families so that they
can determine the best programs and services to meet those needs. Kamloops is
one of 14 UEY sites.
The focus of UEY is capacity building using local research on young children.
The broad objectives of UEY are to:
· Strengthen the capacity of communities to use quality local research to help them make decisions to enhance children’s lives; and
· Enable community members to work together to address the needs of children.
The Initiative provides members of participating communities with quality information on the school readiness of their kindergarten children; family and community factors that influence children’s development; and the availability of local resources to support young children and their families. Parents, teachers, key decision-makers, and others interested in the well-being of children in each community can then work together to address issues identified by this information.
Kamloops Early Language and Literacy
Initiative (KELLI)
The
Kamloops Early Language and Literacy Initiative is comprised of a partnership of
early childhood professionals, community members and parents, all with a
commitment to building early language and literacy skills in preschool children.
KELLI provides a continuum of early literacy information and programs for
families with children from birth to age 5 in Kamloops. Interior Community
Services is the host agency for KELLI. Programs KELLI offers include;
Parent-Child
Mother Goose Program, You Make the Difference (YMTD), Parents as Literacy
Supporters (PALS), Friday Family Fun with Literacy Nights, Family Literacy
Activities, ABC Family Literacy Day.
Please note the Mother Goose sessions are not scheduled until after the middle of September.
Courtyard Daycare
The
Courtyard Child Care is a licensed child care facility. Operated by Interior
Community Services, the center is located within the Spencer Court housing
complex in Kamloops, British Columbia. A staff team of 3 full-time licensed
Early Childhood Educators provides exceptional care to 20 children aged 30
months to 5 years. The program operates year-round and is open Monday to Friday
from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. All of the food is provided, as well as a kindergarten
pick-up/ drop-off service to the neighborhood school. We serve families within
Spencer Court as well as community spaces. The Courtyard Child Care recognizes
that play is an essential component to every child’s physical, social,
emotional, and intellectual development. The children are provided with a
stimulating indoor and outdoor environment where they have large blocks of time
to freely discover, create, pretend, explore, build, and learn through play.
Natural materials are provided that allow opportunities for incidental learning
and to demonstrate how things live, die, grow, change, and evolve through the
cycles of life and the seasons. We encourage independence by allowing children
to choose their own activities, access their own materials, and be an active
participant in both problem solving and program planning. We recognize that a
strong relationship with the family is essential to providing the best possible
care for the child. And, as the center of this complex, we hope to provide
opportunities for the children to interact with the people, places, and events
that shape their community and our world.
