Baby TALK Opens Child Education Center on Community Care Campus
Decatur, IL – (February 23, 2021)
Baby TALK, a non-profit agency which promotes child and family well-being for parents and caregivers with children under the age of 3 years, welcomed a limited number of families into their new facility on the Community Care Campus. Baby TALK local programs, previously scattered in 4 separate facilities throughout Decatur, recently joined under one roof and will expand its early education capacity to serve 128 children in birth to three-year old classrooms. Two of the sixteen classrooms in the child education center were opened to enrolled families as Baby TALK gradually begins to open programming to in-person engagement. The remaining families enrolled to receive center-based services receive a book, child development information, food boxes and formula/baby food, as appropriate each week until more children can safely return to the facility.
Baby TALK offers home visiting and center-based education as well as programming for teens who are pregnant or parenting. Families enrolled in center-based programs receive high quality, Early Head Start care and education for children in collaboration with family engagement supports. Wraparound services include family goal setting, medical care and home-visiting.
“We believe relationships in the earliest years matter and it is Baby TALK’s purpose to provide opportunities for all children and families in our communities to reach their full potential.” said Cindy Bardeleben, Executive Director. “It was our great pleasure to open the doors to this beautiful new facility and begin sharing it with the families for which it was designed and built.”
In addition to programs accessible to Decatur-area families, Baby TALK is a research based, evidence-based model implemented by more than 100 Baby TALK programs nationwide. For more information about Baby TALK please call 217-475-2234.
Baby TALK’s mission is to positively impact child development by nurturing healthy parent-child relationships during the critical early years. All the services and support provided by Baby TALK are free and made possible by donations and grant funding.