Programs

A comprehensive, prenatal, education program offering free and low cost classes to women enrolled in the Healthy Families Program,  as well as the community. Childbirth Education, Newborn Care, and Breastfeeding Basics prepare families for birth and their new role as parents. Interactive workshops are offered in: labor and delivery, breathing and relaxation, caring for your newborn, reading baby’s cues, infant sleep and feeding, coping with crying and fussiness, and breastfeeding basics, including returning to work and pumping. Mothers attending breastfeeding classes are eligible for free and low cost lactation counseling through the Baby Cafe if problems occur while nursing their newborn.

As any parent knows, babies don’t come with an owner’s manual. At Baby Bungalow, we provide direction and resources for parents and caregivers to help them successfully raise the next generation.

Actual Baby Bungalow Class

Since 1999, Baby Bungalow has worked in conjunction with the Healthy Start Coalition and the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County. From 2003, in addition to its main location in Tampa, Baby Bungalow also began offering its widely popular programs through the Children’s Board Family Resource Centers.

Designed for “any baby, any family,” Baby Bungalow hosts classes such as developmental playgroups, baby sign language, parent support groups, infant massage, child development workshops, and music classes. It’s not just for children served by Champions for Children, but for any child from birth through age five, and any parent who strives for a content and well functioning family. “The information shared at Baby Bungalow regarding temper tantrums, breastfeeding and appropriate discipline methods has been a lifesaver. Having a group of parents to share concerns with is extremely supportive and helps relieve the pressures of parenthood.”

To learn more about Baby Bungalow, visit www.babybungalow.org, or call (813) 356-1293.

Breakaway Family Learning Center is a program of Champions for Children – a leader in child development and parenting education in the Tampa Bay Area. We are a School Readiness Provider that enrolls children that are newborn through five years old. We are open Monday through Friday 7:30 am- 5:30 pm. Our procedures are governed by Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing.

Breakaway is a small facility with only 20 openings available for enrollment. All meals are prepared on site in accordance to the USDA food guidelines.

Breakaway has on-site management and qualified teachers that have a vast knowledge in child development and curriculum. Also fun family activities are planned monthly.

To learn more about Breakaway call (813) 384-4089

Champions for Children’s childcare center provides quality, affordable childcare for children of working families in underserved areas of Hillsborough County. The center is open to infants and children up to 12-years-old. According to the National Research Council, children enrolled in high-quality early childhood programs have better developed cognitive, emotional, social, regulatory and linguistic capabilities.

• Our childcare center specializes in such high-quality care, offering a safe, stimulating, and supportive environment for children. The centers provide individual attention, flexible academics, qualified teachers, and small student/teacher ratios, as well as a family-oriented atmosphere to help parents understand their child’s development and behaviors.
• Working with various agencies, the center also provides a number of other services.
• Tuition assistance and subsidized childcare are available to qualified families through a contract with the Hillsborough County Early Childhood School Readiness Program.
• School-age children are transported to and from school through the support of the U.S. Department of Transportation. All children receive free, nutritious meals and snacks funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

To learn more about Dimples Playland call (813) 673-4646.

Family Involvement Connections (FIC) is a family involvement and support program offered through participating childcare centers in Hillsborough County. The program is provided through a collaboration with the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.

The program gives parents the information and support they need to raise healthy children. FIC coordinators help parents plan activities and gatherings for families enrolled in their childcare centers. PSP coordinators also help identify potential risks and challenges facing children and work with parents to address those concerns.

The Kindergarten Transition Program (KTP), a service of PSP, works with pre-school children and their parents, along with local elementary schools, to ease the child’s transition into kindergarten. KTP encourages parents to build a relationship between the kindergarten teacher, their child and the school prior to the start of the new school year. KTP also suggests that parents implement daily routines associated with attending school, including developing reading readiness skills and practicing positive social interaction.

To learn more about Family Involvement Connections call (813) 673-4646.

FRANC (Fathers Resource and Networking Center) serves as a community-wide hub for fatherhood initiatives, activities and services. The mission of FRANC is to make available resources, support, information and education to enable dads to address the challenges and celebrate the joys of positive fathering and involvement with their children. FRANC services are for all dads… married, single, divorced, foster, surrogate, expectant and mentors.

FRANC’s services include:

• Nurturing Dads course that assists dads to be the “best father they can be.”
• Boot Camp for New Dads uses veteran fathers to orient “rookie” dads expecting their first babies.
• Dads Dinners are informal monthly gatherings where dads hear about important fathering topics, receive advice and support from one another, and plan recreational outings with their children.
• Nurturing Parenting is designed to strengthen families by encouraging empathy and caring, responsibility and discipline, and family growth.

To learn more about FRANC, call (813) 356-1293.

All new parents need guidance, but a pregnant teen often needs so much more help and support. She needs people she can talk to about her fears and expectations. She needs to make sure her young baby is being well nurtured and well nourished and that she’s preparing herself mentally for the journey ahead. Healthy Families puts family support workers into teen mothers’ home settings from birth to age five, to help young moms and dads truly appreciate these special parent-baby moments in their lives. Champions for Children conducts this program in conjunction with the Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County and the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.

To learn more about Healthy Families, please contact Michelle Gilyard at (813) 673-4646 x.1131.

Face-to-face with the friendly voices and amusing antics of child-sized puppets, children listen, laugh and learn how to recognize child abuse and bullying. Kids on the Block puppet shows are an excellent way to teach children how to stay safe.

The Child Abuse Prevention Program is presented to third-graders by extensively trained puppeteer educators to explain child abuse and neglect. Listening to the puppet characters’ age appropriate stories, students learn that abuse is never their fault and to use the “NO, GO and TELL” safety message.

The Bullies School Safety Program presented to fourth-graders creates an awareness of what constitutes bullying and encourages empathy for the victim. Respect of physical, developmental and cultural differences is also addressed. Students explore non-violent choices and skills to handle bullying and promote school safety.

At the presentations, children, their teachers and guidance counselors, watch an entertaining and educational 45-minute show. During “Question and Idea” time, students interact directly with the puppet characters and become actively engaged in problem-solving.
This highly successful program, part of a respected international organization, is the only interactive abuse and bullying prevention presentation available for school children in Hillsborough County.

Funding for the Kids on the Block program is through the generousity of the following:

• Allegany Franciscan Ministries
• GFWC Tampa Woman’s Club
• Hillsborough County School Board
• Brighter Tomorrows
• Lockheed Martin
• Community Foundation of Sun City Center

To learn more about Kids on the Block or how you or your group can help support this program, please call (813) 673-4646.

In collaboration with the YMCA, Champions for Children introduces its newest program in the Sulphur Springs Community: Layla’s House. Modeled after the CFC’s Baby Bungalow program, Layla’s House provides resources, activities and opportunities that enhance positive early childhood development and support for families with children ages 0-5 years. Every child can succeed and the early childhood years are key to building a strong foundation for future success. Layla’s House assures every young child in Sulphur Springs has a safe, healthy and wholesome early childhood providing a foundation for them to enter school ready to learn.

PAT is a child development program that uses the most current research to promote school readiness. It is based on the belief that the parent is the child’s first and most influential teacher. Parents are empowered to work directly with their children to help them develop to their fullest potential. There are no predetermined criteria or assessments required to become a PAT family. It is an “any baby, any family” service.

The components of PAT are:

• In-home visitation by certified Parent Educators trained in child development who teach families according to the “Born to Learn” curriculum developed by the Washington University School of Medicine
• Parent group gatherings with other PAT families
• Screening of the overall health and development of the child, including vision and hearing
• Six-week-long developmental groups to help parents learn about their child’s physical, emotional and intellectual development
• Referrals to link families to additional services

Champions for Children offers the PAT program county-wide to all parents under the “any baby, any family” philosophy and integrates PAT with other agencies and programs.

To learn more about PAT, or call (813) 356-1293.