In keeping with our committment to family-centered services, the Library partners with the Middle Country Public Library to bring the Family Place Project to Port Washington. The Family Place Project is a national initiative aimed at strengthening library services for children and families. Financial support for Family Place comes from the Port Washington Library Foundation. The library currently offers the following Family Place services:

New Parent’s Group

In cooperation with the National Association of Mothers’ Center, new parents with infants up to 2½ years old meet at the library to share their parenting concerns. Members address their needs and issues as parents, offering information and support to each other, and breaking the isolation new parents often experience.

Funded for Family Place Long Island by: Rauch Foundation, Horace and Amy Hagedorn-LI Fund, John D. Miller, Long Island Community Foundation-Greentree Fund, Middle Country Library Foundation, Sandy River Charitable Foundation, United Way of Long Island/Success By Six.

The Parenting Information Center

The Library’s Parenting Information Center (P.I.C.) has been providing accurate and up-to-date information to parents since 1992. Established with a $50,000 grant from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, the P.I.C. contains resources that address topics such as discipline, behavior modification, educational advocacy, disability awareness, coping skills and socialization. Located in the Children’s Room, the P.I.C. consists of three key components: the book collection, the video collection and parenting programs.

The Parent-Child Home Program

The Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) is an innovative, home-based literacy and parenting program serving families challenged by poverty, low levels of education, and language barriers. The library has participated in this program since 1998, which currently serves fifteen families in the Port Washington community. The PCHP prepares children for academic success and is a proven tool to prevent high school dropouts. 84% of students who complete the Parent-Child Home Program graduate from high school.

Funded by the Port Washington Library Foundation and the Judith C. White Foundation.

The Parent-Child Workshop

The Parent-Child Workshop is designed to provide a setting in which the child and parent can work and play together. Community resource professionals and librarians are on hand during the workshops to discuss speech and language, physical fitness, literacy, nutrition and behavior. The Parent-Child Workshop has been in place at the library since 1997, and is offered free of cost about three times a year, serving 25 families per session.