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St. Joseph's Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
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Parent Education Program

The Parenting Challenge in the Deaf Community

All Parents are faced with challenges in the child rearing process. When a child's primary language is different from the parent's language, it can lead to additional challenges, frustrations, and obstacles. Parents who lack understanding of their children’s developmental stages, who hold unreasonable expectations for their children’s abilities, or who are unaware of effective communication and positive discipline strategies, may be abusive or neglectful.

The need for parent education in the Deaf Community is profound since these parents are unlikely to access existing parenting programs in the mainstream hearing society that allow them to participate equally or develop support systems in a meaningful way.

Where do Parents in the Deaf Community turn for help?

SJCD Answers the Call

SJCD is dedicated to bridging the cultural and linguistic gap by providing a comprehensive Parent Education Program to parents or caregivers who are:

  • Deaf
  • Hard of Hearing
  • Late-Deafened
  • Deaf-Blind
  • Hearing parents in the Deaf Community

SJCD's Parent Education Program supports optimal parenting skills by promoting the developmental, social, emotional, physical health and safety of children and their families in the Deaf Community.

Who Can Join

  • Parents in the Deaf Community
  • Couples or Individuals expecting or planning on having children
  • Adoptive Parents
  • Teen Parents
  • Foster Parents
  • Residential Dorm Parents
  • Grandparents, Adult Relatives, or other Caregivers raising children

Valuable Referral Resource

SJCD's Parenting Education is a program that serves the public good. SJCD positions itself in direct collaboration with court and county advocates in an effort to help deaf parents and their children seek reunification and build strong, educated and healthy families. Our Program provides a valuable referral resource for those who refer parents in the Deaf Community, such as:

  • Educators & School Personnel
  • Children & Family Service Providers
  • Public Health and Medical Professionals
  • Counseling & Mental Health Professionals
  • Parole or Law Enforcment Officers
  • Court and County Advocates

SJCD Parent Education Program

SJCD offers ongoing weekly Parenting Skills Classes that are specifically designed to meet the cultural and linguistic learning needs of families in the Deaf Community. Parents are introduced to a collection of research-based parenting approaches using Nationally Recognized Parent Education Curricula such as:

  • Practical Parent Education
  • BabyTalk
  • Touch Points
  • Zero To Three
  • Basic Parenting
  • Terrific Parenting
  • Positive Discipline
  • Responsive Discipline
  • Fireworks: Anger Management in Adult-Child Relationships
  • Every Child Counts/First Five California - Kit For New Parents

Key Focus Areas include:

  • Child Development
  • Family Nutrition, Health and Wellness
  • Parent/Child Self-Esteem
  • Child Abuse and Family Violence Prevention
  • Parental Anger and Stress Management
  • Effective Communication Skills
  • Positive Discipline Strategies
  • Strengthening Family Relationships
  • Family Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution Skills
  • Successful Single Parenting, Step-Parenting and Co-Parenting
  • Identifying Community Resources
  • Building Support Networks
    • and more...

For sample videos of parenting classes go here.

Qualified Parent Educators:


Our Parent Educators have appropriate educational background, experience, professional certification and credentials in fields such as Deaf Studies, Counseling, Parent Education, Child Development and Family Life. All staff are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and they have historical knowledge and current understanding of the many areas that affect families in the Deaf Community today. They adhere to professional development standards that enable them to remain effective in their efforts to educate and work with individuals and families in the Deaf Community. Our Parent Educators regularly provide parents with evaluation and feedback forms so that they may continue to improve the quality of their instructional techniques and program content.

Certification

Certificates of Participation will be awarded upon the successful completion of each Parenting Skills Class Module. Successful completion includes:
  • meeting the attendance requirements
  • participating in discussion and class activities
  • completing class assignments
  • taking pre- and post-tests
  • passing skill based evaluations
  • or participating a personal parenting interview with the Parent Educator at the end of each Module.

SJCD's Parent Education Program often meets with the approval of court mandates.

Parenting Skills Class Schedule


DATE: Wednesdays

TIME: 6:00pm-8:00pm

LOCATION: SJCD, 25580 Campus Drive, Hayward CA 94542

Easy BART/Bus Access: Take the #92 Bus from the Hayward BART Station to SJCD. We are on the corner of Campus Drive and Highland. We are located on the hill near Cal. State Univ., East Bay (CSUEB)

PARENT EDUCATOR: LaRonda Zupp, M.S.

COST:

Single Parent:

  • $100.00/per 10 week session (Fall, Winter, Spring)
  • $60.00/per 6 week session (summer only)

Couple:

  • $150.00/per 10 week session (Fall, Winter, Spring)
  • $90.00/per 6 week session (summer only)

(Payment Plans and Sliding Scale Fee available based on need.)

CHILD CARE:

  • SJCD uses college and high school ASL students or deaf student volunteers who have completed our required Diocesan training in child safety, supervision and abuse prevention, for child care while parents attend classes.
  • Childcare volunteers are supervised by SJCD staff.
  • Space is limited and some restrictions apply.
  • Please contact the Parent Educator for important information, and to make sure there will be child care, before you bring children.

How to Register

ALL participants are required to meet with the Parent Educator for intake before joining the class. (No "drop in" parents or friends please.)

Contact:
Lorraine Peters-Wilson - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
LWilson@sjcd.org
VP: 866-574-4476

Confidentiality:

St. Joseph's Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Psychological Services and Educational Programs for Children, Adolescents, Adults and Families are bound by strict codes of confidentiality. All counseling sessions are private between the client and the counselor. At SJCD, we take the utmost care in assuring and maintaining confidential services.