PACT’s Therapeutic Nursery offers specialized child care services for children under the age of three and their families who are experiencing homelessness or housing uncertainty.

PACT’s Therapeutic Nursery Early Head Start program offers specialized child care services for children under the age of three and their families, who are experiencing homelessness or housing uncertainty.

The Therapeutic Nursery offers an attachment-based, trauma-informed child care program based on teaching methods and mental health intervention approaches that support strong parent-child attachments and enhance stability in the family.

The Therapeutic Nursery Early Head Start Program is a delegate agency of the Maryland Family Network, and is licensed by the Maryland State Department of Education’s Office of Child Care.

“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 children and families:

  • Comprehensive Early Head Start program
  • Quality child care
  • Activities to promote parent-child attachment, such as parent-child play therapy, parent training and family engagement opportunities
  • Family support and assistance in accessing medical and other community resources
  • Access to speech, language, and occupational and physical therapies, as needed

Eligibility

The Therapeutic Nursery provides services to children 6 weeks to 36 months old, and their families, who are currently residing in homeless shelters or were homeless and now reside in the community.

Training

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

  • State and national training sessions in Infant infant mental health and parent -child attachment trainings for professionals of all disciplines by nationally-certified recognized experts
  • Certification in research research-based parent and -child interaction assessment tools
  • Training sessions on helping children and families cope with trauma
  • Family engagement and reflective practice training sessions

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