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The best car seat will be the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle and the one that you will use correctly every time. If a car seat is not installed correctly, your child's safety could be in danger. Every car seat has different installation instructions. Here are key items to keep in mind when installing a car seat.
Lori Wasson was licensed on October 18, 2011 for one child, but when she was asked if she could take two in order to keep sisters together, she quickly agreed.
For the past three years Heartland for Children has worked in cooperation with Deana’s Educational Theater to bring the Yellow Dress Production to High Schools in Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties. The Yellow Dress is a dramatic one woman play based on the stories of young women who were victims of domestic violence.
Heartland for Children coordinates a community wide effort to provide information and resources to parents/caregivers, professionals, business partners and community leaders on how each person in our community can help contribute to preventing child abuse and neglect. Through presentations, community awareness activities and parenting tip sheets, Heartland for Children hopes to bring awareness of the importance of helping families before harm occurs and the importance of positive parenting practices.
Faith-Based Communities play a vital role in the safety and well-being of children and families. Each and every day Faith Communities are helping to prevent child abuse and neglect. Heartland for Children is thankful for the wonderful work our local faith communities are doing each and every day. As part of our Faith-Based Prevention Initiative, Heartland for Children invites local faith leaders and other representatives of faith communities to work together with us to identify additional opportunities to positively impact families in the communities we serve.
Heartland for Children knows that it is critical to have a community that comes together to support parents on their parenting journey. Many agencies and groups provide this type of support to families each and every day. When Parents find themselves in a position where they don’t know where else to turn, Heartland for Children is committed to assisting them in connecting to the right resources and support for their family. Parents can call (863) 519-8900, x.224 to reach a Prevention Specialist who will work to link that parent to the resources and support they need.
Heartland for Children is committed to improving the safety of all children in the communities we serve. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 90% of car seats are improperly installed because of the lack of education, difficult instructions and failure to read the owners’ manuals. Heartland for Children collaborates with local agencies within Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties to help educate caregivers, as well as professionals that work with children, about Child Passenger Safety.
The Yellow Dress is a one-woman play that is focused on teen dating violence prevention. It is a program from Deana’s Educational Theater group and Heartland for Children has purchased limited production rights to implement the program locally. The Yellow Dress was developed as an educational tool to illustrate the seriousness of violence in dating relationships, and offers a platform from which discussion can begin around healthy dating relationships.
This family was matched with Faith and everything started to come into place - just as if they were the family meant for Faith!
When speaking of Adoption Success Stories I automatically think of the Goff Family!
This sibling group met their forever family at a local matching event. Their instant connection with this family lead to a perfect match and a forever family through adoption!
It was just last fall that Jacob began visits with a prospective adoptive family when everything just fell into place and this family knew he was just perfect for them!
When Larry and Brenda Wenning decided to become foster parents in 2007, they intended on being licensed for teens and were willing to help with up to five youth. Since their own children had grown up and moved away, they wanted their four bedroom house filled again.
"It’s not just about helping the children, the children impact our lives as well. My family is multi-cultured..."
Now is the time for my really awesome Community Program!
We knew we wanted to adopt again after we finalized David's adoption. We had been searching the websites and reaching out to all of the local agencies. In November of 2012 we attended a matching event held by Heartland for Children at Family Fun Center.
My wife, Joy-Lynn and I became Foster Parent Mentors (FPM) through Heartland for Children in 2012. When we were approached with the opportunity to be an added support for incoming Foster Parents, we jumped at the opportunity because we saw the value in having someone who other Foster Parents could relate to as being an invaluable resource; especially, if the individual(s) were completely new to the fostering and/or parenting experience.
As FPMs through Heartland, we've had the chance to interact with incoming Foster Parents on many levels including assisting with respite, providing guidance or best practices with difficult behavioral issues, advocating for a child who had to be moved from one home to another, making recommendations on working with case management, providing another vantage point through the process of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and many other areas that Foster Parents can encounter during their first and continuing years of child advocates.
What we've gained as FPMs is a heightened level of understanding of how important it is to identify the needs of incoming Foster Parents. Being able to make recommendations on how the training component has and can continue to successfully equip incoming parents with the proper training and education; is a value add that Heartland has really welcomed input on.
Cebien Alty - HFC Foster Parent, Foster Parent Mentor