Protecting Children is Everyone's Business

It is important to support families in order to keep children safe from abuse and neglect.

The Family Connection

The Family Connection provides early childhood educational programs designed to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women, parents, and their children ages 0-5. Personal visits are the foundation of The Family Connection program. During a personal visit we will:

  • Share information about child development and help you to anticipate what your child will do next
  • Help you find answers to questions and concerns that you may have regarding your child or other family issues
  • Provide an age-appropriate activity to help you observe your child’s abilities while having fun and building a solid foundation with your child
  • Always support you in becoming confident in your role as your child’s first and most important teacher

Group classes have resumed! Call for details.

While participating you can earn points to redeem at Parents Place for diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, baby clothing, and other basic baby supplies.

All Family Connection programs are free of charge to Henry County residents with children ages 0-5, pending availability.

Henry County Extension Office
127 N. Main Street, Mt. Pleasant

Call Amy at 319-385-8126 for more information.
amclaugh @ iastate.edu

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Boot Camp for New Dads

Real men, real babies, real-world advice.

Boot Camp for New Dads® (aka Daddy Boot Camp®) is a unique father-to-father, community-based workshop that inspires and equips men of different economic levels, ages and cultures to become confidently engaged with their infants, support their mates and personally navigate their transformation into dads.

Expecting dads join veteran dads (and their babies) to learn how they made it through the first months of parenthood and resurfaced as confident, on-the-job fathers. In this men-only environment, no question is stupid and no topic off limits.

Boot Camp is validated by research and has been named a best practice by many organizations that consider it an exceptional means of supporting dads-to-be and fostering behaviors that greatly benefit children and help prevent a wide range of social ills.

COVID put a halt to in-person workshops in Henry County. For now you can attend virtually at bootcampfornewdads.org/online

Community Partnerships for Protecting Children

Community Partnerships for Protecting Children (CPPC) is a community-based approach that strives to support families in order to keep children safe from abuse and neglect.

  • CPPC is an approach that neighborhoods, towns, cities, and states can adopt to improve how children are protected from abuse and neglect.
  • It aims to blend the work and expertise of families, professionals and residents to bolster supports for vulnerable families and children.
  • Community Partnership is not a program…it is a way of working with families that helps services to be more inviting, strengths and needs-based, accessible and relevant.
  • It incorporates prevention strategies as well as strategies needed to address abuse and neglect, once identified.

The Henry County Child Advocacy Council serves as the shared decision making board for CPPC. We meet the 4th Thursday of each month from 12-1:30pm with part of the meeting focused on child abuse prevention strategies and the other part an interagency meeting to share and learn about other agencies serving Henry County. Everyone is welcome to join us!

We are also part of the Quad-County Community Partnerships for Protecting Children.

Henry County Extension Office
127 N Main Street, Mt. Pleasant

Call Arin Jones at 319-385-8126 for more information.
arinj @ iastate.edu

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1st Five

Iowa’s 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative was designed to build partnerships between physician practices and public service providers to better meet the developmental needs of all children during the first 5 years of life. Medical providers are encouraged to use developmental screening tools that screen for social-emotional, developmental, and family risk factors to better identify children at risk for a variety of concerns.

If a concern is identified, the provider can make a referral to the 1st Five staff who will then contact the family and help them find resources that will address those concerns. 1st Five staff will follow up with the family to ensure that services are effectively meeting the needs of the child and family, and then close the loop by sharing this information with the referring provider. 1st Five services are free, voluntary, and confidential.

When concerns are identified and addressed early in a child’s life, it creates an opportunity for the best possible outcome for both the child and the family. The first five years last a lifetime!

Coordinated by Lee County Public Health, serving Southeast Iowa.
Call Tessa at 319-372-5225  for more information.

Learn more here

Learn More

25 Ways to Be a Loving Parent

Prevent Child Abuse Iowa

Stewards of Children – Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training for Adults. Call Arin Jones at 319-385-8126 to schedule a training for your organization.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that can dramatically upset a child’s sense of safety and well-being. Learn more about ACEs and their impact at iowaaces360.org

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ parenting website is a great place to go for the most recent information on all kinds of topics, including breastfeeding, giving medication to children safely, and whether or not your child should be using electronic devices. healthychildren.org

Find a variety of great articles, blogs and more at the National Association for the Education of Young Children website.

Click here to download the full infographic.

Learn more at connectionsmatter.org

Call Arin Jones at 319-385-8126 to schedule a training for your organization.

To report suspected child abuse please call 800-362-2178