Together for Children threatened by fee change

Together For Children has served families in the Sisters area since its creation by state legislators in 1989. This year, according to local program director Edie Jones, families from Sisters will join with those from Redmond and will enroll by paying a standard fee instead of the traditional sliding fee based on income.

These measures are being taken by the Board of Directors of the not-for-profit organization as a way to keep the program for families with young children going.

The hope of the board is that individuals or businesses may step forward to sponsor families, making the program accessible and available to all families instead of just those who can afford it, Jones reported.

“One of the values of the program has been the connecting of families who would otherwise never meet, providing opportunities for children who will later go to school together to socialize and develop skills of school readiness at an early age and to connect the community as a whole instead of as segments of population,” Jones stated. “It is feared that this is going to be lost.”

Together For Children, a parent/child program for families with children from birth through three years old, is patterned after the nationally-recognized program of Parents As Teachers. It is based on the premise that parents are their child’s first and most important teacher and that all families have strengths, which can be made stronger with support and education.

Starting in September, parent/child groups will meet at The Little Cloverdale Preschool, located on the corner of George Cyrus Road and the Redmond Highway. The program operates 27 weeks of the school year and is led by certified parent educators. The program consists of parent/child playtime, a children’s program, and age-appropriate parent education. Contact Jones at 389-9317 for more information.