Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center (CFDC) is a ministry of Providence, located in Santa Monica, CA. For over 50 years, the CFDC has provided empathetic care to underprivileged families, adolescents and children throughout the Los Angeles area. Through safe, nurturing and confidential programs that recognize each individual’s culture and identity, the CFDC has served families and children who struggle with developmental disabilities, emotional challenges, encounters with domestic violence, and substance or physical abuse. Known as a “clinic without walls,” the CFDC expands these programs to school sites, homes, clinics and community centers throughout Los Angeles.
Recently, the CFDC’s Early Childhood Assessment and Treatment Team (ECAT) has been working under the auspices of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant, a mental health project focusing on Preschool Wellness. They partnered with the Santa Monica School District to develop a trans-disciplinary model to address the needs of the students, by empowering school administration, teachers, parents and preschoolers with tools to transform obstacles into opportunities.
The CFDC team also had the opportunity to work with experts from UCLA and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to provide training in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. This partnership includes ongoing consultation with the LAUSD Social Workers over a period of six months. This training and consultation will be provided to 18 school-based LAUSD social workers that will be serving approximately 500 preschoolers and their families.
The CFDC has been recognized in the county as experts in this area. Even though there are many online resources, there are no existing training programs yet in Los Angeles. They are excited to use the training curriculum they have developed to partner with other entities, in order to help teachers and children across the City of Los Angeles to benefit from their Preschool Mental Health Consultation and wellness model.
