Our impact:
Joslyn* was a 21 year old single mother of three children, ages 4, 2, and 1. Joslyn grew up in and out of foster homes, was a victim of street violence, and was physically and emotionally abused by her mother. Because of Joslyn’s drug and alcohol use that lead to neglect, the Administration of Children Services (ACS) removed Joslyn’s oldest child Alex*, then only 6 months old, from her custody. ACS placed her in various foster homes before returning her to Joslyn from whom she was taken once more. The foster care agency referred Joslyn to the Parent Infant Center (PIC) with the goal of reunification. When therapy started, Alex avoided eye contact with her mother, displayed speech delays, and did not have a relationship with her two younger siblings. Over the course of nine months, Joslyn and Alex visited the PIC for weekly dyadic therapy sessions and Joslyn regained custody of Alex. They continued in therapy to ensure the heathiest relationship possible. Alex’s speech returned to developmentally appropriate levels, her mood became more positive, she showed interest in playing with other children, and her relationship with her mother flourished.
This is only one example of nearly 50 families to whom PIC provides therapy yearly. The importance of having healthy early childhood relationships and meeting key developmental tasks is essential in ensuring individuals learn healthy coping skills and create positive relationships throughout their life. Children raised in secure, healthy attachment relationships in the first three years of life have the freedom to develop higher level thinking skills, a more secure sense of self, and pass a foundation of love and care for people from one generation to the next. When security in the early attachment relationship with a primary caregiver is not met, either due to mental illness, abuse, or neglect, children themselves are more likely to experience mental illness or trauma. We believe our work to support the most important and earliest relationship in a child’s life, the relationship between the primary caregiver and child, extends beyond the parent-child relationship and into the greater community at large.
What is the Parent-Infant Center?
Founded in 2004, the Parent Infant Center (PIC) at Mt. Sinai Hospital was created to address the emotional well-being of at-risk pregnant women, infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their primary caregivers by decreasing the risk of child abuse and neglect through early intervention and treatment. PIC works with families who have been exposed to chronic trauma including a history of physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, community violence, loss, poverty, and homelessness. Many of the families have experienced mental and physical health problems, single and teen parenthood, and a lack of social and familial support. We also see pregnant women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, which places them at risk for poor maternal outcomes and impaired mother-infant attachments.
Alarming Statistics:
Infants and toddlers between the ages of birth to three are the most at-risk for child abuse and neglect. Of all children, infants under one year of age have the highest rate of victimization, with 25 of every 1,000 infants experiencing maltreatment. Sixty-six percent of all child fatalities due to maltreatment involve children under three years old, and over 1/3 of maltreated infants are harmed in their first week of life. Forty-five percent of children who die of child abuse are under one year old. Black child fatalities are almost three times greater than white children and almost four times greater than Hispanic children. Additionally, Black women die of pregnancy related complications at two to three times the rate of white women. Non-Hispanic Black/African Americans have 2.4 times infant mortality rate than non-Hispanic Whites. Being located in Harlem allows us to serve a community in need, a community predominantly of people of color who are at greater risk of experiencing maternal death, trauma, and racial oppression.
Our goal is to expand the program in order to reach as many families as possible as the need for these services continues to grow. That is why we hope you will consider making a contribution to the Parent Infant Center. Your generosity can make a very real, significant and lasting impact on the lives of pregnant women and young children who deserve to live in a healthy and safe environment and be protected against a life of potentially needless suffering.
To learn more about the Mt. Sinai Parent Infant Center please contact Wendie Klapper, Ph.D., Director of the Parent-Infant Center, at (332) 243-0312 or wendie.klapper@mountsinai.org
Ways to contribute:
To give online please click the pink “Donate Now” button on this page.
If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to the Mount Sinai Health System with the “Parent Infant Center” in the memo line.
Mail checks to:
Mount Sinai Health System
Office of Development
Attn: Patricia Carchi
One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1049
New York, NY 10029-6574
Note: In support of the Parent-Infant Center TR page