Emotional Support

UNICEF

Help Your Child Navigate their Emotions with the new school year, click here.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Helping your Child Cope with Emergencies, check out Caring for Children in a Disaster.

Childcare

Tarrant County CCMS

Parents striving to become self-sufficient must have access to dependable quality care. Child Care Associates is the Child Care Management Services (CCMS) Contractor for Tarrant County.

The CCMS gives parents flexibility in choosing care for children and encourages all interested child care providers to enter into a provider agreement with CCMS. All providers entering into an agreement must comply with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) Licensing requirements.

CCMS provides subsidized child care, an essential employment support service for families in Tarrant County. It helps parents who need assistance paying for child care become self-sufficient. Most CCMS clients are required to contribute to the cost of child care, with their fees being a percentage of the family’s monthly gross income. To see if you might be eligible, visit their website.

Center for Transforming Lives

Center for Transforming Lives transforms lives by preparing young children for school in a safe, affordable and stimulating educational environment, while providing parents an opportunity to work and improve the family’s economic well-being.

Early Childhood Education at CTL provides high-quality, affordable, year-round care and education at four childcare centers and three partner childcare centers throughout Tarrant County. The program provides literacy-rich, child-centered classrooms with low child-to-teacher ratios, individualized care, healthy daily meals, abundant outdoor time, and social strengthening activities.

Program fees are on an income-based sliding scale and are offered at no costs for families experiencing homelessness. This early childhood education program is a powerful two-generation approach to disrupting the cycle of poverty. When children are educated and parents supported, economic stability improves. In 2018-2019, CTL served 392 children, nearly 70% of whom were from homeless or low-income families. To see if you might be eligible, visit their website.

Parenting Education & Supportive Services

The Parenting Center Advice Line

The Parenting Advice Line is a free, confidential telephone line for concerned parents or caregivers with questions about raising children. Our telephone line is open Monday through Friday from 12 to 3 p.m.

If you have a question after hours, you may fill out the PAL form.

Phone: 817-332-6348

The Parenting Center Parenting & Family Life Education

The Parenting Center offers more than 50 relevant topics on a wide range of topics in their parenting classes to help parents feel confident and successful in their role.

They offer support at every stage of development, birth to teen, to assist parents in nurturing and guiding their children. They offer classes at their main offices, online, and in other community locations throughout the Metroplex. Online registrations are simple and fast. You may also call them directly, and they will be glad to help.

Family Life Education classes are taught by trained, degreed, and experienced professionals whose goal is to deliver quality, research-based instruction on effective, non-violent child-rearing practices, so that parents and caregivers can feel positive about their relationships with their children.

View the class calendar and list of online courses here.

Phone: 817-332-6348

The Parenting Center Co-Parenting

The Parenting Center’s Co-Parenting program, Family Transitions, provides comprehensive support, education and guidance designed to help parents keep their children safe and happy throughout the transition. Their dynamic services are offered to parents, step-families, grandparents, and children and include classes, consultation and mediation.

Raising children between two homes is a challenging task. And when families experience transitions, children especially need and deserve the love, care and support of both their parents.

Co-Parenting Classes:

•Co-Parenting Essentials - Designed to help prevent problems resulting from divorce and to keep children out of the middle of conflict.

•Kids First - To help adults explore how children perceive divorce and litigation.

Both classes uphold the basic concept of empowering family members to look at their situation from a more effective point of view, make better decisions and focus on the most important people in their lives: their children. Participants learn how to make better choices themselves, and also discover the various professional services that are available to them.

Register for upcoming classes.

Phone: 817-332-6348

Presbyterian Children's Homes & Services

Most people think of Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services as the agency that cares for children whose families can’t care for them anymore. But a huge part of our mission is helping families in crisis stay together. We do this at no cost to the families, regardless of their circumstance. The families we serve face enormous threats to their unity: the death of a parent, divorce, illness, homelessness, violence and substance abuse.

We help:

•Families in need of emotional support •Single parents who feel overwhelmed •Grandparents raising grandchildren

•Families struggling with a child’s difficult behavior •Parents who are at the end of their rope and not sure where to turn

Our masters-level degree specialists have served more than 10,000 families over the past ten years. Their proven approach, as well as their compassion and patience, has saved many families from breaking apart. First, specialists make sure the children are safe. Then they help families create goals to work toward and support them when they need it, for as long as they need it. This may include:

•Identifying a family’s strengths and areas where they can grow •Building up parenting skills •Individual and group counseling

•Working on daily routines and healthy relationships •Assisting a family member with temporary out-of-home placement if needed

For more information visit their website.

Phone: 1-800-888-1904

Early Childhood Intervention

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) provides services to families with children (birth to 36 months) who have developmental delays and disabilities. They can help you with:

• Audiology/Hearing • Assistive Technology • Behavioral Intervention • Case Management • Counseling • Family Education

• Health Services • Infant Massage • Nursing • Nutrition and Feeding • Occupational Therapy • Physical Therapy • Social Work

• Specialized Skills Training • Speech & Language Therapy • Transition to Services Beyond ECI • Translation/Interpretation

Early Childhood Intervention makes an investment in babies today for a better tomorrow. We all win when a child is given the best start in life. ECI of North Central Texas has a team of professionals who are incredibly dedicated and caring people. Their passion is to meet the needs of the youngest children in our society.

If you are concerned that an infant or toddler may have a developmental delay or disability, contact ECI for an evaluation. Anyone can make a referral: a parent, family member, health care professional, social worker, caregiver, friend or neighbor). A referral may be based on a professional judgment or a family’s concern. Your child will be assigned to an ECI Service Coordinator, who will contact you to schedule an appointment. At the first visit, your child will be evaluated to determine if your child has a delay and to determine what services are needed to help your child develop. ECI professionals partner with families, listen to their concerns, and work on a plan for services and assistance. Each child will have his/her own individual plan, according to his or her needs.

Insurance may cover the cost of some services. ECI will bill your family’s insurance, with your permission. Families are billed based on a sliding fee scale. A sliding fee scale is determined by HHS/ECI, according to the family’s ability to pay.

For more information, visit their website.

Phone: 817-446-8000