Our mission…
“Centro Familia's mission is to empower Latino and other immigrant families through early childhood education, advocacy, workforce training, small business development, women's leadership and community building. ”
We believe …
- that early childcare and education must attend to the overall well being of the child.
- this can be accomplished best by means of a culturally authentic and linguistically relevant approach.
- that a whole family approach to early childcare and education empowers parents to take charge of their lives and to advocate for their families.
- this can be accomplished best by an integrative, transparent, collaborative and community-based approach that focuses on women, children and families.
- that feedback and the constant exchange of ideas with a Board of Directors, outside experts,those we serve, and the community at large, will promote best practices.(1)
- that our experience and training in the field of early childhood and counseling, and as mothers and immigrants, give us a unique perspective from which to promote our mission at Centro Familia.
Our objectives…
- To advocate for greater awareness and investment in early childcare and education of low-income immigrant children at the local, regional and national level.
- To respect the values and cultural heritage of families and communities with whom we work, thereby creating an environment of cultural validation and celebration.
- To strengthen the educational and economic development of immigrant and low-income families in Montgomery County, Maryland.
- To leverage community resources, coordinate with other community groups, and create linkages among non-profit, for-profit and governmental agencies, professionals, and members of disenfranchised communities in delivering services at the grassroots level.
- To work through a community development strategy that combines culturally based concepts, applied research and program models responsive to community needs and in line with best practices.
- To develop trainers and leaders among immigrant and disenfranchised communities who are responsive to multi-cultural and multi-lingual populations and who can work to expand early child care and education, promote civic involvement and organize communities.
Our vision for the near future:
- To continue the development and strengthening of family child care networks that are located in low-income communities and serve high-risk communities, by offering links to professional development, ESOL, community and economic development programs.
- To create a network of mini child care spaces located in the heart of low-income immigrant housing developments, that offer a quality pre-school experience for high-risk children, and a continuum of family support services that promote healthy community development.
- To open a state-of-the-art child development center available to an economically diverse community: achange-catalyst for children of different backgrounds to grow together and build on each other’s strengths. Recent studies show that these programs are more successful not only from a psycho-educational perspective, but also from a financial sustainability perspective.
