Nurturing
Notes
Family Nurturing Center, Jackson County Children’s Relief Nursery • Spring 2015
H
appy Spring! This year has continued to bring growth and change to the Family Nurturing Center! At the end
of May our classrooms at Kids Unlimited are ending and will be moving to a permanent location on the Santo
Center property. We are grateful to Medford Parks and Recreation for their support, excited about the
opportunities this change brings, and looking forward to continuing to serve the families in our community!
Also, the Oakdale Family Nurturing Center has added a new Parent/Wobbler Group! This group provides the
opportunity for parents of walking wobblers to learn new, positive, developmentally appropriate ways to interact
with their children. Our wobblers love showing their parents all the great new things they can do, and our parents
love getting support from the group facilitator and other parents in the group. We are working on a significant
renovation of the play yard at Catherine’s Cottage to provide a safe, engaging, and fun place for our wobblers to
explore!
The OnTrack and Family Nurturing Center collaborative farm is up and running! An expansion of the Healthy Food
for Healthy Families program, this 5 acre farm off of Delta Waters is providing the opportunity for families to learn
to grow and harvest healthy food, as well as time to get outside in a therapeutic setting.
There is a lot of exciting change and growth at FNC! Everything we do here is made possible
through the generosity of individuals and local businesses, as well as the incredible support of
community foundations...Thank you!
Our Wish!
The Oakdale Family Nurturing Center is renovating the Preschool Play Yard! Our current wooden structures are
aging and in need of repair. Our hope is to develop a fun and engaging sensory environment for the preschool
children, including the water and sand table shown below. The cost is $3,300...please consider a donation to help
us reach our goal!
Open-ended, sensory-rich experiences such as sand-and-water play encourage children to create, investigate,
and explore the world around them. Through child-directed, cooperative play, children build social skills,
increase communication skills, and develop large muscles. Plus, it’s fun!
Visit us online at www.familynurturingcenter.org or www.facebook.com/FamilyNurturingCenter
One Family’s Journey...
“We were introduced to the Family Nurturing Center by Child
Welfare referring ISRS services. When Stefanie began doing
home visits we were amazed at how kind she was and that
there were so many kind people in one place. The services FNC
provided were an amazing part in our recovery.
Some of the services were help with children’s clothing, toys,
diapers, a wonderful Parent-Baby Group, preschool for our
son, help with moving to assist us to get out of a bad situation,
and support at child welfare meetings.
The Family Nurturing Center has been an amazing support.
At FNC you are not just a client, you are treated with tender
love and care, respect and honesty. We will forever be
grateful for the Family Nurturing Center and the friendship
we established with them.”
ISRS – In-home Safety and Reunification Services
ISRS is an intensive 6-week program working with families referred by Child Welfare to either keep children safely within their
parents care, or to reunify families when children have been removed from the home. Child Welfare, OnTrack, and the Family
Nurturing Center work together to support the safety of the children and strengthen the family. FNC’s intent is to address the safety
needs of the family, help with parenting skills, and provide family specific support. The Family Nurturing Center has 2 ISRS workers
Diapers! Diapers are an important part of keeping children clean, dry, healthy, and safe. However,
for low-income families diapers can be a cost many cannot afford. The Family Nurturing Center helps provide
diapers to families in our community...THANK YOU to the many supporters who have helped us to provide this
essential service to families, including:

Crater High School– Chloe and Lauren’s Service Project

Soroptimist Medford and Soroptimist North Valley—Baby Shower donations

Southern Oregon University, Philanthropy Club—No Frills Conference

Trinity Episcopal Church of Ashland

Westminster Presbyterian Church of Medford

Ruch Community School– Diaper Dash 5k
Healthy Food for Healthy Families OnTrack Farm Project
On February 21st the Family Nurturing Center and OnTrack broke
ground on a new Healthy Food for Healthy Families farm at OnTrack’s Home Program. Moms in this residential treatment program are learning how to transform a field of grass into a productive farm, working together to grow food that will be harvested for use in meals at the Mom’s Home, as well as taken home
by program graduates moving on to independent housing. Participants in this program are learning to plan and prepare growing space, start seeds, transplant young plants, and care for an
organic garden. The moms love getting outside and working on
this exciting new project! We are very thankful for the support
of OnTrack, The Leightman Maxey Foundation, The United Way, The Schwemm Family Foundation, and The
Carpenter Foundation for their generous support to help make this project a reality.
Notes from the Classroom:
A
s the weather warmed up our oldest preschool class began
exploring the exciting world of bugs and plants! From catching and
observing the habits of our local bug life, to drawing pictures and
diagrams of plants found in our next-door community garden, the
preschoolers are busy bees! Every year our classes have their own
flow and special interests. This year, preschool teachers LesLee and
Kari love how interested their students are in the world around them,
and enjoy working with such hands-on learners!
Last week each child planted a pot of wildflowers and is now watching
them grow and flower! Sometimes the class goes on field trips to the garden where they learn about what is growing
there including a giant artichoke plant even taller than they are! As a special treat, the class is now learning about
picnics and eating outside with the knowledge that they will all go on a class picnic this summer at Alba Park!
Staff Highlight– Wendy Bonsi, MSW, LCSW
Therapist Wendy Bonsi joined the FNC staff seven years ago. She has a bachelors degree in sociology and
psychology, and a masters in social work from Portland State University. Throughout Wendy’s twenty two
years in social service she has worked in several community partner agencies including Head Start,
Community Works, JCMH and DHS/Child Welfare.
Wendy provides relationship play therapy services to children and their families. She works closely with FNC
teachers and Care Coordinators to provide an integrated, trauma-informed array of services within the
therapeutic environment. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (P-CIT) is one of the modalities provided through
FNC. It is a treatment for young children & their families who are experiencing chronic neglect, abuse or
foster care placement. P-CIT increases attachment/bonding and assists in changing parent-child interaction
patterns. Parents are taught specific skills to establish a nurturing and secure relationship with their child, while increasing their child’s ability to emotionally regulate and decrease negative behavior. The treatment uses direct moment by moment coaching of the parent as they
interact with their child.
Wendy is married to a fly fishing pharmacist, has three grown children & six grandchildren. She enjoys hiking, reading and travel.
Non Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Medford, OR
Permit No. 316
212 N. Oakdale
Medford, OR 97501
541.779.5242
Strengthening families so that children can live safely and develop fully in their parents’ care
Thank you...
Thank you for your support of the Family Nurturing
Center! Because of you we are able to serve a great
need in our community:
845 Jackson County children, and 317 Josephine
County children were victims of child abuse and/or
neglect in 2014*
Relief Nursery outcomes:
Keep children safe in their homes
Reduce the number of children in foster care
Save the date...
Saturday June 6th
TLM Training Center in Eagle Point is
hosting the 2nd Annual Barn Dance and
Silent Auction!
Barn opens at 4pm, dinner at 5pm, and
music starts at 6:30. Tickets are $30 in
advance, $35 at the door, table for eight
$200.
Reduce family risk factors associated with child
abuse and neglect
For more information contact FNC at
541-779-5242 or purchase
online on our donation
page.
Enhance literacy and increase school readiness
Hope to see you there!
Decrease emergency room use
Thank you TLM!
* Source: Children First for Oregon 2014 County Data
TLM Training Center: 716
Riley Rd., Eagle Point
Improve family economic stability