PACT’s Therapeutic Nursery offers specialized child care services for children under the age of three and their families that either currently live in homeless shelters or have experienced homelessness but now live in the community.

The program focuses on mental health interventions to promote parent and child attachment and enhance stability in the family.

The Therapeutic Nursery is accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education and is licensed by the Maryland Office of Child Care Administration.

“It still hurts for me to think about being homeless. The one good thing was that my children were at the Therapeutic Nursery. The staff members brightened up my children’s day and were there to listen to my problems. I will always look back on our experience at the Nursery with great warmth.” -Therapeutic Nursery parent

Services We Offer

We offer the following services for eligible families:

  • Quality child care
  • Activities to promote parent-child attachment, such as parent counseling, videotaping parent and child interactions as a training tool, and family traditions groups
  • Family support and assistance in accessing medical and other community resources
  • Speech and language, physical, and occupational therapies

Training

The Therapeutic Nursery also provides training for child care professionals, including:

  • Infant mental health and parent child attachment trainings for professionals by nationally recognized experts
  • Certification in research based parent and child interaction assessment tools
  • Statewide trainings for child care professionals

Eligibility

The Therapeutic Nursery provides services to children 8 weeks to 36 months of age and their families who are either currently living in homeless shelters or were homeless and now reside in the community.

Publications

2014 “Let’s spend more time together like this!” Fussy baby infusion in a Baltimore homeless nursery program, by Kim Cosgrove and Carole Norris-Shortle, Zero to Three Journal

2011 “Mindful awareness play" by Amy Bloom Connolly, Kim Cosgrove, Carole Norris-Shortle and Susan Taylor. Play Therapy Magazine

2010 “Supporting positive parenting for young children experiencing homelessness” by Alison Melley, Kim Cosgrove, Carole Norris-Shortle, Laurel Kiser, Eric Levey, Catherine A. Coble and Audrey Leviton. Zero to Three Journal

2006 "Targeted Interventions for Homeless Children at a Therapeutic Nursery" by Carole Norris-Shortle, Alison Melley, Laurel Kiser, Eric Levey, Kim Cosgrove, and Audrey Leviton. Zero to Three Journal