SAINT FRANCIS CHILDRENS CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
To serve and educate children with special needs in inclusive environments enabling them to reach their greatest potential.
About This Cause
In 1968, St. Francis Children’s Center started with one belief…the earlier children with special needs received assistance, the more opportunities there would be for them to achieve success. Today, SFCC is a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization that serves over 800 children—from birth through age 22—and their families throughout the Milwaukee area each year. The goals of St. Francis Children’s Center are to: * Provide the best in education for children with and without special needs from birth through Kindergarten along with high-quality therapy and support services for children with special needs through age 22. * Support and engage in activities that reflect our values of promoting socioeconomic and ethnic diversity. * Continue collaborations with other service providers and educators serving children with special needs. * Empower and educate parents as advocates for their children. Our four core programs are: Our Early Intervention/Birth to Three Program, contracted through Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), provides children, under the age of three, who have been diagnosed with a developmental delay or a disability with important special education, therapy and support services. Our Birth to Three team of therapists, teachers and service coordinators work in partnership with each child’s family to outline developmental goals for the child. With goals in place, our team determines the most appropriate services needed. These can include special education, speech, physical and occupational therapies, psychology, family education, training, social work and more. Our staff will provide their services in the child’s home or another natural environment to take advantage of the natural learning opportunities that occur throughout their typical day. Services can also be provided in our Early Childhood Education classrooms so the child is able to interact and learn from typically developing peers. In 2017, our Early Intervention/Birth to Three team served 325 children and their families in Milwaukee County. Of these children, 62% were living at or below the poverty level. Our Children’s Long-Term Support Program provides support and service coordination for children, ages three through age 22, with autism or other severe long-term impairments. Our staff works to empower families to meet the special needs of their kids from within their own homes. To achieve this, each child is assigned a service coordinator who coordinates a broad range of services that will improve each child’s health, safety, functioning and quality of life. Our staff works in close partnership with each family to determine their child’s goals and greatest needs so they can be connected to area resources and services that will best enhance their child’s development. In 2017, our CLTS Program served 294 children and their families in Milwaukee County, and 73% of them were living in households at or below the poverty level. Our Early Childhood Education Program provides individualized care and education to children from six weeks old up to five-year-old Kindergarten. Our classrooms are fully inclusive, which allows typically developing children and children who have special needs the chance to grow, learn and play together. This model ensures that children of all backgrounds and abilities have the same early education opportunities. Our classroom environment is mutually beneficial for both groups of children by providing peer role models for children with special needs while fostering acceptance and understanding in all children. Our caring staff helps to foster growth in all areas of development including social-emotional, academic and physical growth, as well as skills in early literacy, pre-math and other areas essential in building a strong educational foundation. In 2017, our Early Childhood Education Program served 135 children, approximately 15% of them with a developmental delay or special needs. Our Center-based programming also features an onsite child psychologist who provides weekly consultations to our teaching staff. This unique opportunity allows our staff to receive additional strategies and techniques for working with children with special needs. In September 2016, we opened our Family Activity Center for children with special needs and their family members. The FAC offers free drop-in programming that includes play time, planned activities, speaker presentations, parent coaching and networking. Parents and caregivers have the opportunity to bond with their children as they explore new activities together in a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment. Children with special needs and their siblings have the chance to meet friends, have fun and develop new skills. At the same time, adults can share experiences, ask questions and connect to important resources. The FAC is open to the public and is intended to help families reduce feelings of stress and isolation associated with raising a child with special needs by creating networks of support and encouragement. In 2017, our FAC served 106 families in over 32 counties across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties.