The Responsible Parenting Program is one of the few programs in Washington, DC providing multilingual, culturally competent services to Latino and other young immigrant and minority parents.  The project allows the LAYC to bring essential parenting development skills and other assistance to a target group of young parents who are greatly in need of these services and have few, if any, options to receive this level of support.

Embracing a positive youth development model, the LAYC Responsible Parenting Program will provide a range of services including: effective parenting skills; life skills, educational and work skills development (including English and computer classes to facilitate improved parenting skills); domestic violence prevention and conflict resolution; crisis intervention and individual and group counseling; substance abuse prevention and treatment; mentoring; home visits; and information and referrals to health care, legal aid, and other services.

The program addresses self-sufficiency through several key elements:

• Enhancing relationships;
• Domestic violence prevention;
• English skills;
• Computer skills;
• Leadership;
• Community involvement;
• Critical thinking; and
• Life skills.

Mentee short and long term goals:

• To increase parenting skills;
• To strengthen parent/child interaction and communication; and
• To foster positive relationships.

You qualify if you:

• Have children under the age of 21;
• Are a parent between the ages of 16-30;
• Have financial hardships;
• Live in DC, in wards 1, 2 or 4.

Mentor Requirements:

• Have at least one child between the ages of 3-18 years;
• Attend three hours of workshops to learn active listening, positive role modeling and leadership; and
• Spend at least five hours with mentees outside of the regular class schedule.

Goal

The goal of the Responsible Parenting Program is to increase the ability of young parents to be responsible, involved parents who have meaningful relationships with their children, are emotionally and financially supportive of their children and partners/spouses, and make healthy decisions for themselves, their families, and communities.

To reach this goal, the parents will be provided with 14 consecutive weeks of comprehensive life skills training to support them in their working, parenting, and overall day-to-day needs. Thirty parents will graduate over the course of the program year. These parents will be matched into mentor/mentee teams.

Contact Information

Maria Iglesias
Progam Coordinator
(202) 319-1239
mariai@layc-dc.org

David Stephenson
Parent Educator
(202) 319-2272
david@layc-dc.org

Alvin Alvarado
Case Manager
(202) 319-2255
alvin@layc-dc.org