For Immediate Release: October 5, 2009

Contact: Kate Bernyk (609) 633-8507

Trenton Mothers Learn Important Sleep Tips for Infants, Toddlers
State-supported Family Success Center offers valuable resources for local families and children

TRENTON – The Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts joined several mothers and their children in a workshop today at the South Ward Family Success and Parent Child Center – managed by the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey – to support safe sleeping habits for infants and young children.

“This family success center is just one example of Governor Corzine’s commitment to supporting a statewide network of local services to enrich the lives of children and empower and equip families with skills to be self-sufficient,” Commissioner Ricketts said. “The workshops offered here in the South Ward center in Trenton are an amazing example of the resources and supports available to families right in their own backyards.”

The bi-lingual workshop, “Helping Babies and Toddlers to Develop Good Sleeping Habits,” was facilitated by a representative from the Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies coalition and focused on educating parents on best practices for putting their infants and toddlers to sleep safely.

In addition to the South Ward center in the Roebling Market, Children’s Home Society also manages a North Ward center on Princeton Avenue in Trenton. Between these two centers alone, over 2,000 Mercer County families have been served since July 2007.

These Trenton centers offer a wide range of services available to the community, in addition to various parenting classes, also include services such as links to health care support like NJ FamilyCare, computer classes and assistance with job training or resume building, and linkages to social service agencies and local clinics.

Governor Corzine’s administration, through DCF, has established 37 family success centers throughout the state. These centers have served nearly 50,000 families since July 2007. The purpose of these centers are to provide community-based, family-centered neighborhood gathering places where any community resident can go for family support, information and services.

DCF has made a Community Program Directory available to the public that inventories all of the programs supported by DCF’s Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships, county by county. The directory is available on the DCF Web Site: http://nj.gov/dcf/prevention/directory.html.

For more information on the state’s campaign for safe baby sleep, visit the DCF Web site: http://www.nj.gov/dcf/safety/campaigns/safesleep.html. 

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