Direct Family Services is made up of our Parent Education and Supervised Visitation programs.
Parent Education Program
The Parent Education Program focuses on providing early childhood prevention and intervention training courses for parents and children.
The Parent Education Program uses the Incredible Years® evidence based parenting and child training programs that focus on strengthening parenting skills and parent-child relationships to promote children’s academic, social and emotional skills and reduce conduct problems.
The child programs strengthen children’s social and emotional skills, such as understanding and communicating feelings, using effective problem-solving strategies, managing anger, practicing friendship and conversational skills, and behaving appropriately in the classroom.
The Parent Education Program offers the following Incredible Years courses:
The Preschool & School Age Parenting Courses strengthen parent-child interactions and attachment, reducing harsh discipline and fostering parents’ ability to promote children’s social, emotional, and language development. Parent groups are delivered in 2.5 hour 12 -14 weekly group sessions with free child care and family style meals provided.
The Incarcerated Parent Enrichment Course is offered in 6 weekly group sessions with 1 hour per session for incarcerated parents.
The Parents & Babies Course strengthens parent-infant interactions and attachment while parents learn how to help their babies feel loved, safe, and secure. Parents also learn about their babies’ physical and language development milestones. The parent groups are delivered in 2 hour 9 weekly sessions with child care and meals provided.
The Dina Dinosaur’s Social Skills & Problem Solving Foster Care Course uses dinosaur-themed materials and life-size puppets to engage children and strengthen social, emotional, and academic skills. The curriculum is delivered by trained group leaders in a small group setting to provide intervention treatment for children ages 4-8 years that are experiencing behavioral challenges or transiting into foster care. The small group treatment is a referral based program and is delivered in 1 hour 8 -12 weekly sessions with snacks provided.
The Dina Dinosaur’s Social Skills & Problem Solving in the Classroom uses dinosaur-themed materials and life-size puppets to engage children and strengthen social, emotional, and academic skills. The curriculum consists of 26+ classroom lesson plans for children 4-6 years old in the Del Norte Unified School District. The program curriculum sessions are delivered weekly by trained group leaders and incorporated and sustained in the classroom by the teachers.
Supervised Visitation Program
A safe visitation setting for families in conflict
What is Supervised Visitation/Exchange?
Del Norte Child Care Council Supervised Visitation Program provides families with a safe place to have neutral, conflict-free supervised visits/exchanges in a child friendly setting.
Supervised visits are typically one – two hours, once per week, and supervised by a trained professional visitation monitor.
Supervised exchanges provide the supervised transfer of a child(ren) from one parent to the other, before and after an unsupervised visit.
How is a family referred?
All families are referred to the program through the Del Norte Superior Court via court orders. Once the court order is issued, both parties are responsible to contact Del Norte Child Care Council Supervised Visitation Program at (707) 464-8311 to schedule a pre-service intake and orientation.
Intake and orientation are by appointment only.
How long does it take to complete the program?
It is at the discretion of the courts to determine how long a family will participate in the program. The court’s decision will be based on the safety needs of the child(ren), the progress of the visits, as well as the availability of other resources for visitation arrangements.
Where do the supervised visits take place?
The supervised visits occur in Del Norte Child Care Council’s child and family friendly facility. The designated visitation rooms are designed specifically in areas that are safe and vibrant for the children.
This program is funded in part by: Judicial Council of California, Operations and Programs Division, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Access to Visitation Grant Program & the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Victim Services (VS) Branch.