This year marks the 25th year for Every Child Succeeds, a comprehensive home visitation program for families from prenatal to age two. Brighton Center is one of seven partner agencies to provide this service in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region.
Every Child Succeeds was founded by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati/Hamilton County Community Action Agency, and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati in response to brain research showing that the first three years of life are more important than all that follow, as 80% of the brain is developed by the time a child turns three years old.
The home visiting program is based on strong scientific evidence that a nurturing and stimulating environment is essential to support cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral development. This unique approach of blending home visiting with scientific research is state and nationally recognized.
Home visits focus on positive parenting, self-sufficiency, child safety, preventive health care, and early intervention as a means to affect a positive trajectory for the child, promote child and family well-being, and work toward school readiness. Home Visitors help parents access prenatal care and other community-based resources.
Jessica Schierling celebrated 15 years of service with Every Child Succeeds. Jessica serves as Brighton Center’s Parenting Services Director and has been a champion for children on their path to life-long education for over 20 years.
In 1998, she began her journey with Brighton Center as an intern and has since worked to ensure that children are kindergarten-ready as she expanded her expertise through positions as a Family Support Worker, Supervisor, and Coordinator before taking on her current position as Director. She leads Brighton Center’s Parenting Services department, overseeing two home visitation programs, Every Child Succeeds and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters. Jessica is a licensed social worker in Ohio and Kentucky and serves on the Every Child Succeeds Board of Directors.
Throughout her 15 years with Every Child Succeeds, Jessica has participated in the lives of hundreds of families.
“One of our Home Visitors had a family with multiple children enrolled with Every Child Succeeds, so the Home Visitor had worked with this family for almost six years total,” said Jessica. “This mom told the Home Visitor, ‘You’re the only person in my life who’s never given up on me, and who has showed up and I could count on. If you said you were going to be here on Monday at 1:00, you were going to be here on Monday at 1:00. Even when I didn’t believe in myself, you believed in me, and you kept coming back. When I canceled on you a million times, that didn’t matter to you. You kept coming back.’
“This is a story I come back to when I want to remember how meaningful this work is – we are not just showing up in someone’s house, we are showing up to be a part of their families when they need it most.”
Families can enroll prenatally or until the baby is 12 weeks old and visits will continue until the child is 2 years old. To refer, call Every Child Succeeds central number at 513-636-2830.