Evidence-Informed Research and Nursery WayTM
Our practices are rooted in research
Our work is backed by cutting edge, evidence-informed research. We developed the Nursery Way™, a set of trauma informed protocols to support resilience and promote coping skills for both the parent and child. Nursery Way™ is the result of collaboration between the Nursery and leading experts in the community, including leading Ph.D. social workers from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, School of Social Work and Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child.
Many risk factors put children at risk for abuse and neglect. These include families living in poverty, experiencing unemployment, lacking social supports, parents who are single parenting, experienced abuse as a child, gave birth at a relatively young age, or have little knowledge of child development. The presence of these factors does not imply child abuse or neglect, but children who face multiple risk factors such as these are placed at a higher risk of experiencing abuse or neglect.
Because of these risk factors, the Nursery focuses on protective factors to strengthen families and increase the health and well-being of children and families. According to the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, protective factors that are linked to a lower incidence of child abuse and neglect include: nurturing and attachment, knowledge of parenting and child development, parental resilience, social connections, and concrete supports for parents.
The Nursery focuses on increasing protective factors with families because they help families draw on natural support networks within their family and community, increase self-sufficiency, and fortify a family’s perseverance during times of stress or crisis.