Lund’s Parent Child Center is excited to expand our support for families this fall! By adding more services and resources, we are ensuring that parents and caregivers have access to the help they need, whether they’re welcoming a new baby or nurturing a young child.
Expanding DULCE
We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our DULCE (Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone) program to Timber Lane Pediatrics’ North Avenue location.
We currently have a Family Specialist, Theresa, embedded in the Timber Lane Pediatrics South Burlington location, providing invaluable guidance and resources to families with newborns during the first six months of well-child visits.
We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Lund. Through our partnership with Lund and NCSS we are now able to provide DULCE to all families at Timber Lane Pediatrics. DULCE offers our new and expanding families a space to cultivate the health and well being of the whole family. At a time when so much of the focus is on the newborn our family specialists walk in and support the parents, guardians and caregivers. The US Surgeon General Dr. Murthy recently issued an advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents. In this advisory, he stated ‘we know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children.’ I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and feel proud to be part of DULCE, a national program that supports parents and caregivers from the moment their child is born.
Dr. Leah Costello, Timber Lane Pediatrics
Through DULCE, families of newborns are offered early developmental guidance, screens for caregiver mental health and depression, and connection to community resources. What makes this program truly special is its accessibility—there are no barriers to entry. It’s available to all families with a newborn using the practice. This expansion will allow us to offer essential support and universal prevention to even more families throughout Chittenden County.
To learn more about DULCE, watch this short video.
Introducing a New Program: Parents as Teachers
Starting this fall, Lund’s Parent Child Center is adding a new home visiting model to better support families in our community. We will continue to offer our current responsive home visiting model, while also offering the new Parents as Teachers (PAT) sustained evidence-based model. The new PAT program will serve folks who are pregnant or parenting children through age 5 on Medicaid.
Through this new program, Parent Educators will partner with families to provide vital resources like case management, parent education, care coordination, and screening and assessments. The goal is to help parents understand their strengths and build skills that promote the healthy development of their children, from pregnancy through age five. Offering both models means we can provide the support that best fits each family’s current needs, whether that’s short-term, flexible assistance, or sustained, guided involvement through the PAT model (learn more about both models here).
Lund will be the only Parent Child Center in Chittenden County offering this sustained home visiting model. This makes our expansion in this area a crucial step toward ensuring that more families receive the support they need.
Join Our Team
We’re growing, and we’re looking for passionate individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of children and families. We are currently hiring for roles in both the DULCE and Parents as Teachers programs. If you’re interested in being a part of this important work, check out our job openings here.
