Children and parents in a nine-county region are benefiting from a partnership between Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
As result of a $342,000 grant from the Arkansas Division of Human Services and its Division of Children and Family Services, ATU is serving as a subcontractor for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital SafeCare AR program in the counties of Baxter, Boone, Conway, Faulkner, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy and Van Buren.
The initiative serves individuals from birth through age 5 by helping parents create a secure home environment, structure and routines for their children during home visits by trained providers.
According to information provided by LeCole White, SafeCare Arkansas state manager, the goals of SafeCare AR are to “help parents prevent and identify common childhood illnesses or injuries, determine when a child should go to the doctor, aide parents in keeping their homes safe and increase positive interactions with their infant or child.”
The grant funding will allow ATU to employ a full-time coordinator, three full-time SafeCare providers and four part-time SafeCare providers.
Dr. David Ward, head of the ATU Department of Behavioral Sciences, is serving as the grant director/principal investigator.
To learn more, visit www.arhomevisiting.org/app-programs/safecare-arkansas or call (479) 968-0305.
