baker city relief nursery
All families have strengths; all families need hope.
Baker Relief Nursery works to help children thrive by assisting vulnerable families in Baker County and North Powder.
Preventing Child Abuse
& Neglect
Keeping Families Safe
& Together
Empowering Families is a Community Effort
Baker Relief Nursery works to prevent child abuse and neglect by assisting vulnerable families and promoting the health and safety of children in Baker County and the community of North Powder in Union County. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and one of 40 certified Relief Nurseries throughout Oregon working to keep infants, toddlers, and preschoolers out of the foster care system and better prepared for kindergarten and beyond.
About Us
Our Mission, Vision & Values
Our Mission
To nurture rural children and families to be safe and successful while empowering parents to be their best selves.
Our Vision
Baker County & North Powder families are healthy and resilient; parents have the tools they need to be successful; and children are safe, confident, and learning.
Our Values
Optimism | Respect | Joy | Generosity | Trust
Our Commitment to Equity & Inclusion:
Baker Relief Nursery aspires to be an organization that is equitable, diverse and inclusive in our relationships, leadership, and services. We honor the variety of cultural perspectives and lived experiences in Eastern Oregon, seek to overcome disparities, and will integrate equity and inclusion into all aspects of our work and interactions.
What We Do
Building Healthy Connections in the Therapeutic Classroom
Our classroom is child-centered. Although there is a consistent pattern to each day, children largely decide in which activity they will engage. Our well-trained staff use what they know about the child, his current home situation, and the activity he’s chosen to help him move toward the goals established by his parents, with help from the child’s home visitor.
Children enrolled at Baker Relief Nursery attend this therapeutic classroom for 47 weeks of the year. The focus of the classroom is on social-emotional skills, helping infants and toddlers (up to age 6) develop a strong sense of self. Children who may initially respond to their environment with fear, anger, and outbursts often make significant strides toward a calmer, less reactive way of engaging with their world.
Research tells us that 90% of brain development occurs before the age of 6. The architecture of the brain is making constant connections. Children enrolled in the Relief Nursery are getting the language, touch, sound and movement they need in order to make positive healthy connections at this critical time. This is important work!
What We Do
Building Healthy Connections in the Therapeutic Classroom
Our classroom is child-centered. Although there is a consistent pattern to each day, children largely decide in which activity they will engage. Our well-trained staff use what they know about the child, his current home situation, and the activity he’s chosen to help him move toward the goals established by his parents, with help from the child’s home visitor.
Children enrolled at Baker Relief Nursery attend this therapeutic classroom for 47 weeks of the year. The focus of the classroom is on social-emotional skills, helping infants and toddlers (up to age 6) develop a strong sense of self. Children who may initially respond to their environment with fear, anger, and outbursts often make significant strides toward a calmer, less reactive way of engaging with their world.
Research tells us that 90% of brain development occurs before the age of 6. The architecture of the brain is making constant connections. Children enrolled in the Relief Nursery are getting the language, touch, sound and movement they need in order to make positive healthy connections at this critical time. This is important work!
Fostering Emotional Stability Through Home Visits
There is a large body of research showing that an evidence-based home visiting program consistently delivered over a long period of time can substantially lift a family. Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and brain researcher, cites the emotional stability of the home as the greatest predictor of intellectual success.
Our home visits center around child development and parenting strategies. By better understanding the ages and stages of infants, toddlers, and young children, parents can have more reasonable expectations for their child’s behavior. This makes them less likely to respond with anger or violence.
Our model also lends itself to kindergarten readiness. By helping children develop a strong sense of self as well as social and emotional skills, children are better prepared for kindergarten. Kindergarten teachers can then focus on instruction instead of having to discipline children who misbehave.
Promoting Positive Interactions with Family Fun Nights
Staff provide a monthly Family Connection Event for our parents. These events include a program, often with a guest speaker, which centers on a topic that is helpful to our clients. These events may be virtual as needed.
We provide child care and transportation for parents when needed, and serve light refreshments. Family Fun Nights provide opportunities for helpful information and positive parent-child interactions.
Nurturing Hope Through Outreach Services
We conduct home visits to observe the family and offer on-site parenting education and coaching. During these visits, parents can ask questions about child development and ways to help prepare their children for kindergarten. We can provide referrals to other services based on the family’s unique needs. These visits also offer parents an opportunity to talk to someone they trust.
Meeting Basic Needs to Help Families Thrive
Children sometimes have growth spurts that don’t coincide with pay days. We assist families with new and gently used clothing as well as diapers. We also collect non-perishable food items to give to clients experiencing food insecurity. Gas vouchers and trolley tokens are available to parents participating in our programs based on need and availability.
Supporting Parents and Kids with Respite Care
We provide respite care services for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years as situations arise. Parents may feel especially overwhelmed and need a break, or they may have an appointment or an emergency situation and need childcare.
Our History
A Story of Hope
The first Relief Nursery opened its doors in 1976 in Eugene, OR. A group of community leaders with backgrounds in social work decided that one more incidence of child abuse and neglect would be too much. They decided the conventional approach to child maltreatment was all wrong: people waited for it to happen, removed children from the only home they knew, and incarcerated the parents. Looking at the data, 50% of the violence was endured by the youngest children – ages birth to 6 years. The parents of these children were often enduring multiple, significant stressors, which then became risk factors. The new approach was to find these fragile or struggling families and offer them RELIEF.
The aim was to serve children before they are victimized and enter the foster care system, which puts children at greater risk of chronic physical and mental illness in adolescence and adulthood, promiscuity, drug or alcohol dependency, and homelessness.
The Relief Nursery model grew from a small respite program to a comprehensive child abuse prevention program, recognized for its innovation in 2003 by the United States Office of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Today, there are 40 Relief Nurseries throughout Oregon. Baker Relief Nursery is so proud be among these organizations committed to supporting vulnerable families with young children.
How You Can Help
Help Us Keep Families Safe & Together By Donating Today
Some economists estimate that the value of a quality early childhood education pays a return on investment of up to $18 to $1. If the idea of investing in the future students and workforce of Baker County and North Powder resonates with you, donate today or ask about serving on our Board of Directors.
Volunteer With Us and Positively Impact a Child’s Life
If you can find 1-3 hours to consistently come in to the Nursery each week to listen to toddlers and help reinforce both academic and behavioral lessons, please call us today to learn more about our therapeutic classrooms and how you can help.
Our Partners
We Provide Hope to Vulnerable Families with the Help of These Generous Funders
Edna Harrell Community Children’s Fund
Ford Family Foundation
Focus Child Care Network
Joseph Weston Foundation
Lamb Foundation
Leo Adler Community Fund
Oregon Community Foundation
Roundhouse Foundation
Samuel S. Johnson Foundation
Together with Our Community Partners We Are Helping Children Reach Their Full Potential:
Baker County Library
Baker County Education Service Dist.
Baker County Health Dept.
Baker School District 5J
Community Connections
Dept. of Human Services
Early Learning Hub
Eastern Oregon Child Care Resources
Eastern Oregon University
Kindred Support Services
Malheur County Education Service Dist.
NEO Compassion Center
New Directions Northwest
Safe Families
Saint Alphonsus Birth Center
Saint Luke’s EOMA
YMCA