Family Development Services

Program Overview

Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio fosters transformative relationships of solidarity and empowerment. A key focus of our Family Development Services is keeping families together by recognizing the family as a system in which the care and well-being of each member is essential for all to thrive.

Services Offered

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultations

An increasing number of infants, toddlers and preschoolers are experiencing trauma that might lead to behavior problems and other developmental concerns. Parents, childcare providers and other early care professionals often lack adequate training and support to deal with these issues.

Family Development Services has developed an effective program in Butler and Hamilton counties to train and provide consulting to providers of care for children from birth to 6 years of age, including their families. The consultation services focus on social-emotional growth and development of young children, family and community relations, assessment and intervention for young children, and training for childcare providers and other early care professionals.

The Parent Project®

This 10-week, evidence-informed, parent training program teaches concrete, behaviorbased strategies for managing challenging behaviors in children and adolescents.

  • Parent Project® Sr. is designed for parents of strongwilled, outofcontrol or highrisk adolescents (ages 11-17). It provides stepbystep behavioral strategies to address serious issues such as truancy, drug use, family conflict and defiance.
  • WhyTry® runs concurrent to Parent Project Sr. for youth whose parents are Parent Project Sr. participants. It is designed to inspire unmotivated students, support youth experiencing trauma and improve school engagement and behavior.
  • Loving Solutions®, also known as Parent Project Jr., adapts the same principles as Parent Project Sr® for younger children (ages 5-10), especially those who are strongwilled, impulsive or diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. The curriculum focuses on managing difficult behaviors, improving routines, strengthening communication and building positive habits.

Parent Education Classes

Parent Education Classes teach effective strategies for parents of children up to 12 years old. Over six weeks, parents increase their knowledge of child development and build appropriate discipline skills to improve their relationship with their children. The classes empower parents to foster growth in their children so they achieve success in school and life. Classes are offered to all parents regardless of faith and are taught by experienced instructors who are also parents.

Eligibility

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is offered in Butler and Hamilton counties.

Parent Project® and the six-week Parent Education Classes are offered virtually and are open to any parent in Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio’s service area. 

FAQ Eligibility Questions

FAQs

Contact Family Development Services Director Pam Mortensen at pmortensen@ccswoh.org or 513-867-7063.

The six-week Parent Education Class costs $80 per participant.

Parent Project® is offered at no cost to Butler County residents. Participants outside of Butler County cover the cost of the manual (about $45).

This class teaches normal child development, realistic expectations, positive discipline strategies, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and coping skills and stress management.

Parent Education Classes cover practical topics that all parents can benefit from. Classes are held every Monday for two hours (excluding holidays). The six-class series repeats on a rolling basis, so parents can join at any time and complete all topics over time.

Parent Project® is designed for parents of children with very challenging or out-of-control behaviors. This class is a 10-week closed group; all participants start and end at the same time.