Our Programs
The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery is a national leader in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Our programs build safer, more stable families, strengthen resilience, and reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect.
What began as a respite care program for families facing unexpected crises has, over the past 39 years, grown into a comprehensive support system for the entire family. Today, the Crisis Nursery provides parent empowerment training, operates community outreach centers in underserved neighborhoods, addresses food insecurity, offers a dedicated Latinx Outreach Program, and conducts home and field visits to reach families where they are.
Crisis Care
Free and voluntary 24-hour emergency care for children in a nurturing, trauma-responsive environment.
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We know that the weight and responsibility of parenting can be overwhelming, especially when families are faced with a crisis and don’t have the support or resources they need. We believe that every family should have access to a safe haven for their children when life gets turned upside down.
Parents faced with emergencies such as a health crisis, unsafe housing or homelessness, domestic violence, community violence, lack of utilities, legal crisis, or overwhelming parental stress can reach out to the Crisis Nursery to access Crisis Care services for their children, birth through 12 years old, at any of our five 24-hour Nursery locations. Services are short term, typically 1-3 days, and completely voluntary.
Annually 96% of families who access Crisis Care services meet safety and stability goals set at intake by the time they discharge their children from care, ensuring their presenting crisis has been adequately addressed. Additionally, 99% of children who stay at the Crisis Nursery return home with their families, avoiding foster care placement and the trauma of family separation.
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Individualized Therapeutic Interventions: Crisis Care staff are trained to incorporate these specialized interventions into the structure of each day, in order to help each child learn new coping and resiliency skills, as well as addressing any worries or fears that come up while the child is away from their parent.
Medical Screening and Intervention: Children staying at the Crisis Nursery for more than 24 hours receive a medical exam, provided on-site by our partnering physicians at the Institute of Family Medicine. Identified concerns are shared with parents and any necessary medication is provided free of charge.
Nutritious Meals and Snacks to ensure proper nutrition for children in our care, with specialized meal plans for children who have food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Developmentally Appropriate Play Activities:
Our highly trained professional staff engage children in a variety of structured and free play activities throughout the day, tailored to meet the individual developmental needs of each child in our care.
Art and Play Therapy
Developmental Assessment: Children under age 6 are screened for developmental concerns. Results are shared with parents and referrals for additional supportive services are provided as needed.
Nurturing Therapeutic Care in a homelike environment with caring and compassionate staff engaged around the clock in providing the best care possible.
Take Home Supplies are available for families as needed, including diapers, wipes, infant supplies, clothing, toys, and books.
Community Outreach
Community engagement events and activities are designed to connect families with the Crisis Nursery while helping meet immediate needs. Recognizing that asking for help can be difficult, we aim to make that first step easier and more welcoming.
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Our Family Empowerment Program professionals keep local businesses and agencies stocked with Crisis Nursery information and go door to door in neighborhoods across the region to ensure families know we are here to help.
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Every family needs time to celebrate. Throughout the year, often around special holidays, our team offers family celebration events with games, food, family activities, and give-aways to offer families the chance to spend quality time together in a safe, family-friendly environment. These events also offer the chance for families to learn more about all the services the Crisis Nursery can offer.
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When we have an abundance of supplies for families, we host Giveaway Days for families in need at our Outreach Centers, or on-site throughout neighborhoods around the region. Families can pick up needed items for free including diapers, wipes, food bags, clothing, toys, books, hygiene supplies, and more.
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When tragedies occur, the Crisis Nursery is here to help. We pull together our team to respond to tragedies involving children directly in our families' neighborhoods. Our trained staff offers support on-site in communities impacted by violence or the tragic loss of a child to abuse or neglect.
Art, Play, and Occupational Therapy
Art, Play, and Occupational Therapies empower children to process trauma and build healthy coping skills through their natural form of expression.
During their stay at the Crisis Nursery, children also have access to comprehensive occupational therapy, including evaluation, personalized treatment planning, and targeted interventions to support their development and well-being.
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The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery's Healing Hearts program provides Art, Play, and Occupational Therapy interventions for children at our five Nursery locations.
Every child is an individual and comes to the Nursery with different life experiences. We know what works for one child may not work for another.
In these sessions, we provide a safe place, a safe person (a registered Art, Play, or Occupational Therapist), and an opportunity for children to express themselves in an engaging, creative way.
For some children, the idea of seeing a traditional counselor may seem boring because their perception is that they are to sit and talk. Because art and play are the languages most natural to children, using toys, games, movement, and various art supplies help engage and comfort a child to share their feelings and narratives in a way they can most relate. Occupational Therapy meaningfully addresses fine and gross motor skills.
Through these therapies, children build positive coping skills, self-esteem and relaxation techniques, and learn to identify, express, and regulate feelings.
The Crisis Nursery’s Art, Play, and Occupational Therapists travel between all five nursery locations and also see children whose families are enrolled in the Family Empowerment Program.
Latinx Outreach Program
The Latinx Outreach Program provides culturally responsive case management, crisis intervention, counseling, and parenting support—tailored to meet the unique needs of Spanish-speaking families.
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The Latinx Outreach Program was created to assist Latino families here in Saint Louis. The program operates as a department within the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery organization.
Crisis Nursery has over 30 years of experience working with families and is here to help you! The organization's mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect by providing parents with the resources they need to raise their children safely. To be eligible for this program, you must have at least one child between the ages of 0-12.
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The Parenting Techniques program is designed to assist parents and caregivers with the upbringing and development of their children.
Sessions can take place at our office, a family’s home, or another safe location.
Together, the parents and counselor will create goals for the individualized program: Parents identify their goals and needs.
During each appointment, the counselor will cover topics related to these goals. Topics typically focus on child development. The counselor can also assist with basic resources.
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We all deserve support for our mental or emotional health.
We offer individual therapy.
We offer group therapy.
When we do not have availability, we provide referrals to other agencies that can help.
Therapy services are completely confidential, offered in Spanish, and free of charge. Sessions can take place at our office, a family’s home, or another safe location.
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We offer individual case management to clients in need:
o Assisting clients with food stamps, Medicaid, child care and child support applications, and legal aid, among others.
o We provide basic goods such as diapers, wipes, formula, food, cleaning supplies, etc.
o We also provide referrals into the community for needed services
o Bilingual therapeutic services: Individual sessions, psychoeducational and therapeutic groups.
o We offer an in-home, evidence-based Nurturing Parenting curriculum: Clients are able to receive information on topics such as child development, positive discipline, stress management, communication, and family relationship building.
All services are free and confidential.
24-Hour Helpline
The 24-Hour Helpline is often the first point of contact for families facing a crisis situation. The Helpline is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by highly trained professionals.
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Our compassionate team is available to provide immediate crisis intervention, resources, and community referrals as needed to support families in the midst of crisis.
The Crisis Nursery works closely with referral partners across the region to provide comprehensive support for families and ensure that those whose needs do not align with the services we offer are connected quickly with another resource that can help.
Family Empowerment
Strength-based counseling, coordinated case management and parenting support available to families in their home or community.
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The Crisis Nursery’s unique Family Empowerment Program [FEP] provides individualized support to help families move beyond crisis into stability. Family Empowerment services are available to families in their homes or at 11 Community Family Empowerment Centers, located in communities across St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, East St. Louis, and St. Charles County.
Highly trained FEP Counselors and Social Workers offer crisis intervention, case management, strength-based counseling, and parenting support for families who have used Crisis Care services for their children. These services are also available free of charge for any families in the community with children under age 13.
Services are highly individualized, designed to meet the specific needs of each family with an emphasis on family safety and stability.
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Immediate Crisis Intervention: Addresses the immediate needs of families in crisis through safety planning, basic needs support, and community referral.
Family Stabilization Case Management: Intensive support that connects families to resources and addresses barriers families may be facing in meeting their long-term safety and stability needs.
Strength-Based Counseling: Helps families address underlying issues that are causing distress or hindering progress toward goals. Family Empowerment professionals provide education and coaching to support families as they learn new coping skills and increase resiliency.
Parenting Support: Offers education and coaching around developmental milestones, positive behavior management strategies, and effective stress management to help families thrive.
Parent Education Groups: Parenting groups are available for families working individually with a Family Empowerment professional, or for those who just wish to connect with other parents and learn new skills in a group setting. Groups are offered across all of the counties served by FEP at varied locations and times.
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In order to best address the needs of families in the communities we serve, the Family Empowerment Program also includes several specialized programs:
Latino Outreach Program: Offers FEP services entirely in Spanish, with an emphasis on meeting the unique needs of Latino families. All services are provided by a team of bi-lingual and bi-cultural professionals.
Homeless Outreach Program: Offers specific outreach and support for families living in shelters or facing homelessness, with a focus on goals around safe housing. The Homeless Outreach Program partners closely with a number of community partners focused on housing security.
Interested families who successfully graduate from the Family Empowerment Program are invited to join our Parent Advisory Board to offer ongoing feedback on program services and community needs.
Guiding Approaches
Trauma-Informed Framework
The Crisis Nursery recognizes the significant impact traumatic experiences and chronic stress can have on young children. The key concepts of trauma-informed care are infused into each aspect of our programming, ensuring families and children receive individualized services that lessen the impact of past trauma and increase resiliency.
Nurtured Heart Approach
We use the Nurtured Heart Approach® as a comprehensive behavior management strategy designed to set children up for success in the Nursery environment. A proactive approach, this set of methodologies focuses on using small successes to build connections and relationships while simultaneously setting clear and appropriate limits.
Strengths Based Approach
We believe in the inherent strengths and potential of each child and parent we serve. By partnering with families to identify and build upon existing strengths, we effectively support families to address their presenting crisis and lay the critical foundation for future success.
Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework
Our services are structured around the Strengthening Families Approach and Protective Factors Framework to identify and build upon existing family protective factors, effectively strengthening the family unit and reducing family risk factors.
Culturally Responsive Care
The Crisis Nursery takes a multifaceted approach to recognizing, embracing, and empowering the diverse perspectives and experiences of the families we partner with. We employ a number of continuous quality improvement strategies to ensure our program is accessible and responsive to the specific needs of the families we serve, emphasizing key concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Nurturing Parenting Program
We are honored to partner with parents as they navigate the ups and downs of raising children. The evidence-based Nurturing Parenting Program curriculum offers information on parenting strategies for all stages of development that we use to inform our individual and group-based parenting support interventions
The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery (SLCN) is committed to promoting diverse, inclusive, and equitable beliefs that recognize and support the full humanity of each child, family, staff, student, and volunteer. We are an organization shaped by our differences and driven by the multitude of stories, abilities, and experiences that unite us in serving the common mission of keeping children safe.
Our approach to advancing diversity and inclusion is manifold and includes the following:
engaging diverse communities by identifying and closing gaps in services
following a strengths-based approach with children, parents, staff, students, and volunteer
empowering our children and families, assuring their voices are core to our services
providing a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment
As an agency, SLCN supports equitable practices that address deeply rooted social disparities. Our efforts have resulted in the establishment of multiple outreach centers throughout the area to provide a stable source of support for the region’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized communities, the creation of a Latinx Outreach Program that works to dismantle barriers for Spanish-speaking families, and the formation of the Parent Advisory Board, which consists of former clients who provide guidance and oversight over our services and delivery models.
“I have been at Crisis Nursery since 2011 and love working with some of the best people. Our staff and donors have the biggest hearts. My clients are really good parents who love their kiddos so much.
I know I am making a difference when I see the relief on my client’s faces and hear their gratitude. But the best rewards are hugs from little ones.”
-Delores, Sr. Family Empowerment Counselor since 2011
