A program is truly accessible when people of different ethnic, religious, racial and income groups feel the program understands, accepts, and values them. While the parents who contributed to this factsheet identified many concerns, they also expressed gratitude for the existence of crisis nursery programs. Crisis nursery programs do offer parents and their children a community safety net during times of need. Crisis nursery programs send a message to parents that they are not alone. Parents see the crisis nursery programs as the beginning of a time to learn different ways of coping.
Many parents leave the program feeling better about their own parenting skills.
Using a crisis nursery program for the first time is often a difficult decision for parents to make. Parents need to be treated with dignity and respect. Parents need to be offered support and praise for being strong and wise enough to seek the services they need for themselves and their children. It is through being a supportive partner with the parents during a time of crisis that trust is built and the parents will come to view the program as positive. See ARCH Factsheet Number 1 for additional information on crisis nursery care.