Parents and caregivers can gain access to speech development, special education and intervention resources for children ages 0 to 5 through Long Beach’s Parent Informational Workshop series.
The second round of this series will be hosted by the Long Beach Public Library and the Department of Health and Human Services. These workshops aim to “ensure Long Beach families experiencing developmental concerns about their child are connected to services in a timely manner.”
“These workshops have become a safe space for parents and caregivers to learn about their child’s early development, ask questions from trusted local experts, navigate available resources, and connect with other families about shared experiences,” said Health and Human Services Director Alison King in a statement from the City.
Families will also be connected to a myriad of services and experts at the workshops.
The schedule is as follows:
- Supporting Healthy Speech Development — July 18 at noon, Billie Jean King Main Library (200 W. Broadway.)
- Connecting to Early Intervention Resources — Aug. 7 at 12:30 p.m., Burnett Library (560 E. Hill St.)
- Supporting Emotional Development and Regulation — Sept. 11 at 11 a.m., Brewitt Library (4036 E. Anaheim St.)
- Supporting Healthy Speech Development — Oct. 5 at 2:30 p.m., Mark Twain Library (1401 E. Anaheim St.)
- Special Education — Nov. 16 at 10:30 a.m., Michelle Obama Library (5870 Atlantic Ave.)
- Supporting Healthy Speech Development — Dec. 7 at 11 a.m., Bay Shore Library (195 Bay Shore Ave.)
The Parent Information Workshop series also supports the Library’s Dive into Learning program, an early learning initiative that supports early education for children ages 0 to 5 by incentivizing reading and providing school readiness and parent education workshops.
People can sign up for the Library reading programs by visiting longbeach.beanstack.org or by downloading the Beanstack Tracker app from the App Store or Google Play.
The workshop series is supported by Help Me Grow LA, which is a collaboration between First 5 LA and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In 2022, the City of Long Beach was awarded as one of seven community collaboratives to receive $500,000 over the course of three years by First 5 LA. This investment from the LA County agency is intended to strengthen and expand referral pathways to better connect families with services and supports to address their child’s developmental concerns.
The investment is part of Help Me Grow LA’s effort to improve connections between providers so that every child receives support for developmental concerns.
