With funding from Boston ABCD and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the program will soon expand to eight Early Head Start and Head Start Centers and provide city-wide training conferences for Head Start staff.

The purpose of the Family Connections project is to strengthen Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) staff's ability to reach out to depressed mothers and fathers and support their children's positive development.

Our working model is based on three key assumptions:

1. EHS/HS families and staff are often in difficult situations - including poverty, exposure to violence and social isolation.
2. Depression is a common response to such difficulties. In fact, recent research reports that nearly 48 percent of EHS parents identify as being depressed (MPR, 2002).
3. These difficulties affect the ability of parents and staff to effectively relate with other adults, with their children or the children in their care and with the EHS/HS community.

• To build EHS/HS staff's ability to engage parents, especially those who may suffer from depression.
• To teach the importance of self-care and how to meet staff mental health needs.

• To help EHS/HS programs develop resource and referral plans to respond to adult mental health needs.
• To provide information and support about depression and its negative effects on the parent/child relationship.

Our approach is based on the idea that parents can best be reached by helping them be more effective parents and that depression negatively affects their parenting.

We emphasize the importance of building family relationships and encourage parents and Early Head Start/Head Start staff to interact positively with their children and with the Early Head Start/Head Start program.

At EHS/HS Centers, we create groups to teach parents and staff the skills they need to deal with depression and build skills to promote children's social interactions. We use classroom consultation and special interventions at the Centers.

We also work within the community to increase parents' involvement with their children. We use home visitation and community resource networking.

Our services include:

• Training and consultation with Early Head Start/Head Start program managers and staff to develop new skills and better understand difficult emotional issues, adversity and depression.
• Working directly with children in classrooms and in extended social-emotional interventions to build positive interactions.

• Working directly with parents by offering both regular group and individual consultation around issues of parenting and dealing with adversity.
• Networking with organizations and institutions to improve child and adult access to mental health services.

Head Start

Because recent statistics show that up to 48 percent of Early Head Start mothers are depressed, and that there are harmful effects of parental depression on young children, Family Connections works to support parents and Head Start staff to alleviate depression.

Contact Us

Family Connections
1 Autumn Street
Room 438
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 617-355-1896
Fax: 617-730-0271
Email Mary Watson Avery, MS

Mary Watson Avery, MS
Director
Phone: 617-355-1896
Email

Emily Callejas, EdM
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant
Phone: 617-355-2525
Email

Alissa Coggins, PsyD
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant
Phone: 617-355-2525
Email

Andie Hernandez, MSW, EdM
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant
Phone: 617-355-2525
Email

Linda Howes, EdM
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant
Phone: 617-355-2525
Email

Kristin Stephenson, EdM
Project Coordinator
Phone: 355-0494
Email