Victoria Anderson and her colleagues on the board of Family Connections could use a few fresh ideas on how to keep the struggling nonprofit alive so it can continue to provide parent education and support services in the Pikes Peak area.

‘We have brainstormed. There is nothing more we can think of ourselves, ‘ Anderson said Monday at a meeting of Not One More Child, a group made up of organizations like Family Connections that work to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Last week, Family Connections suspended its operations, including a free respite childcare center, because of funding problems that have plagued it for about five years. The organization has a budget of about $160,000 that pays for, among other expenses, two family advocates and a full-time caregiver. But community and individual donations have fallen off, and grants that kept it going are no longer available, said executive director Traci Hearne.

‘We’ve been operating on a bare-bones budget for a while, ‘ Hearne said. ‘We’ve just been watching those numbers go down. ‘

The board met Friday evening and decided to restart the organization’s crisis line (634-5439) and have its family advocates provide referrals to those in need.

But other key services – including an intensive, four-month Nurturing Family Program and the KPC Respite Center – are closed until funding can be found.

Hearne said Family Connections serves 15 to 25 families a month, which includes 30 to 40 kids. About 90 percent of the clients use the respite center, a home where parents can leave their children while they look for work, go to medical or legal appointments or attend to other pressing engagements. It’s also a place where stressed-out parents on the verge of losing their cool can drop off their kids for a break.

One child advocate at Monday’s meeting said it will be a huge loss to the community if the Nurturing Family Program isn’t revived. Kathy Orr, co-chair of the Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, said the curriculum is more comprehensive than similar parent education efforts, and it’s proven to be a success.

‘There are bits and pieces of other programs in town, but Family Nurturing is evidence-based, ‘ said Orr, who also is president of Injury & Violence Prevention Specialists. ‘I find it really frightening that we don’t have parent nurturing right now. ‘

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