Mission :

Whole Kids Outreach is a not-for-profit service organization committed to the unmet wellness and developmental needs of children within their family structures.

It strives to do so by:

1. Forming healthy, faith-based relationships among:

• WKO and our participants and their support systems

• WKO and other appropriate service providers/organizations, and church groups

• staff members

2. Providing both home and center-based, culturally sensitive, and locally grounded educational and health care programs staffed by lay, professional and volunteer workers. The goal of WKO is to decrease abuse/neglect, violence, and infant mortality/morbidity while promoting local community involvement, growth and leadership. We believe such efforts can have a significant and positive impact on adult outcomes.

Strengthening Families:

By building caring relationships with families, Whole Kids Outreach is making lasting improvements in the health of children and of communities in six rural Missouri counties: Carter, Reynolds, Wayne, Shannon, Iron and Butler. Reaching out to families with respect and compassion, we help them obtain health care and parenting education, and we connect them with other comunity organizations.

Because our families are often isolated and lack transportation, we bring services to their homes. More than 200 pregnant women and families with young children receive these in-home services at any given time. We offer additional programs and activities at the Whole Kids Outreach Center in Ellington, where families and children participate in a wide variety of recreational and educational activities.

Resource Mothers Program

Experienced mothers from the community visit expectant and new mothersand newborns in their homes. These committed women, who have been trained as childbirth educators, ensure that women receive care before and after giving birth and offer help throughout the baby's first year of life.

Maternal-Child Visiting Nurse Program

Registered Nurses visit expectant and new parents to make sure they receive prenatal care and health education so that newborns receive needed health services. The nurses also work with WKO's Outreach Specialists to coordinate care for the families who are also in the Resource Mothers and Family Enhancement programs.

Center-Based Programs

The Whole Kids Outreach Center offers a vast array of programs to promote emotional and physical health. Families, children and other community members participate in support groups and recreational activities such as summer Day Camp and the Circle Kids Riding Club - a wellness oriented Equine program. WKO also offers safety programs such as swimming and hunter safety classes.

Family Enhancement Program

This program focuses on the needs of children who have experienced domestic violence, abuse/neglect, or developmental delays. It teaches parents skills to raise healthy children and helps families learn to successfully navigate their daily lives.

Outreach Specialists also work with families during crisis episodes to help teach problem solving skills that will hopefully reduce the times that the family experiences such disruption.

http://www.wholekidsoutreach.org

• Lynn Clark
• 573-663-3257
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