WNMU La Familia Resource Center

CONTACT: Alice Jones

                                                                        Outreach & Development Officer

                        ECP/WNMU

538-6813

jonesa3@wnmu.edu

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            La Familia Resource Center, one of the six Early Childhood Programs at WNMU, now offers an important new service for childcare centers and home providers serving children with special needs. Cherie Pralle joins the La Familia staff as a Child Care Inclusion Specialist who will work with child care providers and child care center staff in a five-county region to help them improve services to children with disabilities and their families.

            This new program is supported by funding from the CYFD Office of Child Development and by a generous grant from the New Mexico Community Foundation.  The new program also offers the support needed to encourage other providers to accept children with disabilities into their programs. 

            “It’s extremely difficult for parents with special needs children to find child care,” Pralle said. “It’s not that providers aren’t sympathetic. The problem is that they are afraid they lack the skills to care for these children or think they may require too much specialized attention. My job will be to support them on site with information and resources that can make these placements successful for the child, the parent, and the provider.” Pralle will be working in Grant, Luna, Hidalgo, Sierra, and Catron Counties.

            Her work is already making a difference. Our Guardian Angel Preschool and Day Care Center in Silver City is dedicated to including children with disabilities in their program. Three children with moderate to severe disabilities are currently enrolled in the child care center. Staff at the center were having trouble lifting one of the children who has very limited mobility. When Pralle discovered the program lacked the resources to solve the problem, she obtained a donated wheelchair and a positioning seat that can be used to safely move the child from one activity to another. She suggested new procedures for the child’s personal care and is working with the provider and parent to smooth the transition from Early Intervention to the school district’s DD programs. Pralle is also working with a provider in Columbus to develop techniques to better manage the behavior of a severely autistic child.  Pralle is trained to work with children with both behavioral disorders and physical disabilities. Child care providers who would like to schedule a consultation, should call 505-538-6489. All the services of the program are provided without charge.

            La Familia Resource Center offers child care resources and referral for parents seeking care for their children and training and technical assistance for child care providers in five southwestern New Mexico counties. La Familia also operates free toy and resource lending libraries in Deming and Silver City.

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Permission to take photos on site at Our Guardian Angel has been obtained from the parent and the director. To schedule a photo shoot, contact Lori Goetz, Director at 388-5789.