Local Resources

Baby Steps

Baby Steps through Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health is a program funded through the Teen Pregnancy Targeted Case Management grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The program provides pregnant and parenting adolescents with intensive case management services to assist in identification and utilization of personal, social and community resources.

Baldwin City Library

The Baldwin City Library in Baldwin City, Kansas, has a large selection of books, movies, digital materials, and programs for all ages. They also have Chromebooks, hotspots, games and toys and more available for checkout. Programming of particular interest for families with young children include story times, a summer library program and 1000 Books Before Kindergarten.

Ballard Center

In addition to an early childhood education program, the Ballard Center offers a variety of programs to stabilize families in crisis in Douglas County including a food/clothing pantry and rent/utility assistance. The Ballard Pantry does not charge for any services.

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center

The mission of the Bert Nash Center is to advance the health of the Douglas County community through comprehensive behavioral health services responsive to evolving needs and changing environments. The Center offers a wide range of services for youth and their families including individual, group and family therapy, parent support groups, support and skill groups, psychological evaluations and medications.

Box of Balloons Douglas County, Kansas

Box of Balloons is a 501(c)3 non-profit that works with community social workers and advocates to identify children in need, children who otherwise will not have a birthday celebration. Volunteers help put everything needed for a themed birthday party into a box for the parents/caregivers so they can celebrate their child. Community Children's Center is a referring partner.

Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence

The mission of the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. They provide after-school care for children beginning in kindergarten.

Centro Hispano Resource Center

Centro Hispano helps to bridge the gap between people's needs and the available community resources by providing translation and interpreting services, and empowering people by making them aware of what is available in their community and how they can best utilize their resources. Centro Hispano has a special focus is on the needs of young children and mothers.

Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas

Child Care Aware® of Eastern Kansas is a child care resource and referral agency working to ensure that all children have access to quality, affordable child care by supporting both families in their child care search and technical assistance to providers.

Children's Advocacy Center of Douglas County

The mission of the Children's Advocacy Center's is to ensure that children and families affected by children abuse receive a compassionate community-based intervention through a multidisciplinary team approach to prevent identify, investigate, prosecute and treat child abuse.

Community Children's Center

Community Children's Center helps bridge the gap in affordable, available, and accessible high-quality early childhood care in Douglas County.

DCCCA

DCCCA provides social and community services that improve the safety, health, and well-being of those they serve. Their broad array of services includes: behavioral health; drug and alcohol treatment ; fostering, adopting and family preservation; and prevention programming.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program providing free books to children from birth to age five in Douglas County. Children receive one book per month until their fifth birthday. If families have more than one child, each will receive their own age-appropriate book.

Douglas County Casa

Douglas County CASA recruits, trains, and supports volunteers who advocate for the best interest of children who have experienced abuse and neglect and are under the protection of the court system in Douglas Co., KS.

Doulas of Douglas County

Doulas of Douglas County is a collective of community-based Doulas providing prenatal, postpartum, and parenting support to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. believe that anyone who wants a doula should have access to one without cost as a barrier. Doulas of Douglas County also offers childbirth education, peer support, and playgroups.

East Center Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation (ECKAN)

ECKAN is a doorway to services that change lives for the better by connecting families with housing, food and childcare. Specific programs focus on weatherization, housing vouchers, rental housing food pantries and emergency assistance. ECKAN also administrates the area's Head Start programs which offer early education for low-income families with children from birth to age five.

Eudora Parents as Teachers

Parents as Teachers is a free program for families with children prenatal to age 3 and provides monthly home visits, playgroups, and developmental screenings.

Eudora Public Library

The Eudora Public Library providers services and programming for all ages including story times for all ages, a summer reading program, activities and the support of a Children's Librarian.

Family Promise of Lawrence

Family Promise of Lawrence empowers families during a housing crisis to achieve stabilization through community connections. Service focus areas include homelessness prevention, diversion from shelter, shelter provision, temporary housing and housing stabilization.

Head Start

ECKAN offers free Head Start programs for low-income families with young children, from birth to age five. The research-backed programs promote self-sufficiency, healthy growth and development, and success for future experiences. Additional services include health screenings, parent education, nutrition, and social services support.

Healthy Families Douglas County

Healthy Families Douglas County offers free and voluntary home visitation services for new and expecting parents including connecting families to community resources, transportation assistance for WIC/medical appointments and fun family activities.

Heartland Community Health Center

Heartland Community Health Center provides quality and compassionate health care to all people in Lawrence and surrounding areas – focusing on integrated, patient-centered care for all regardless of income or insurance status. Services include primary care, pediatrics, mental and behavioral health, dental and pharmacy. HCHC serves as the Federally Qualified Health Center for Douglas County.

Housing Stabilization Collaborative

The Housing Stabilization Collaborative (HSC) started as a grant-funded program and transformed into a collaborative approach to preventing homelessness The program draws from lessons learned and best practices around the country and is supported by the HSC Program Manager. Services include rental assistance and supporting families through a housing crisis.

Just Food

Just Food is the food bank of Douglas County and has several focused initiatives of interest to families with young children including being a part of the National Diaper Bank Network. In addition to access to food, Just Food provides cooking classes, community gardening, kitchen supplies, and nutrition support.

Lawrence Arts Center

The Lawrence Arts Center provides many opportunities for young children including an arts-based preschool and kindergarten and a variety of classes to introduce children and their families to the arts.

Lawrence Community Shelter

The Lawrence Community Shelter offers a low-barrier shelter program that provides temporary emergency shelter, care coordination, and housing stabilization services for up to 50 individuals and two families at any given time. We recognize the inherent worth of all people and their right to be treated with dignity and respect in the homeless service system as the experts of their own lives.

Lawrence Douglas County Public Health

LDCPH's mission is to advance policies, practices and programs that promote health for all, prevent disease and protect the environment. Services of particular interest to families with young children include a medical clinic, breast feeding support, family planning, immunizations, parent education, WIC, and child care licensing.

Lawrence Kids Calendar

Since 2011, the Lawrence Kids Calendar has helped local families and caregivers plan high-quality activities for youngsters in and around the Lawrence and Northeast Kansas area.

Lawrence Public Library

The Lawrence Public Library is a community space to learn, connect, create and grow. The Library has many resources and programs of interest to families with young children including information on early literacy, online resources for parents and children, early childhood book recommendations, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and storytimes for for all ages.

Lawrence Transit System

The City of Lawrence and KU on Wheels coordinate to provide safe, convenient, affordable, reliable and responsive public transportation services to enhance the social, economic and environmental well-being of the community.

LMH Health

LMH Health is a community-owned, not-for-profit hospital that serves the health care needs of Douglas County and the surrounding area regardless of an individual's ability to pay. In addition to prenatal care and a birthing center, LMH Health has many additional services and programs of interest to families with young children including new parent and breast feeding support groups, newborn safety and Infant CPR, car seat inspections and more. LMH Health is designated as Baby-Friendly and a High 5 for Mom & Baby Premier facility.

LMH Health Family Birthing Center

The Cindy Murray Family Birthing Center at LMH Health is a 21-bed maternity care unit featuring eight Labor/Delivery/Recovery rooms, 11 postpartum rooms, a two-bed triage/observation room, and two surgical suites for C-sections on the unit. The center includes certified lactation consultants on staff, and a Special Care nursery with Level II capabilities and neonatalogists.

myStrength

Douglas County offers an online tool called myStrength that is available 24/7. It's free and confidential! MyStrength offers a variety of programs, including: mindfulness and meditation, improving sleep, reducing stress, controlling anxiety, managing depression, balancing intense emotions, facing racism and discrimination, and coping with COVID-19. To sign up for myStrength, visit the website and use access code: Douglas County.

O'Connell Children's Shelter

The Children's Shelter and O'Connell Youth Ranch merged on Nov. 1, 2021, becoming O'Connell Children's Shelter. We offer residential services to youth in care, prevention services to at-risk children and families, and foster home support.

PEAS (Parental Education, Advocacy and Support for IEPs/504s

PEAS is a Facebook group of parents/guardians of children with various special needs and disabilities who require additional supports and services in order to have equitable access to general education. This group helps navigate the system of special education together and welcomes members with children in Douglas County, Ks schools districts and those who homeschool in these districts (Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City, Perry-Lecompton).

Perry-Lecompton Community Library

The Perry-Lecompton Community Library is a volunteer library serving the Perry and Lecompton communities. The Library offers summer reading programs with corresponding songs and projects for preschool, kindergarten and grades 1-3.

Perry-Lecompton Parents as Teachers

Parents as Teachers is a free program for families with children prenatal to age 3 and provides monthly home visits, playgroups, and developmental screenings.

Positive Bright Start

​Positive Bright Start provides proactive, integrated, trauma sensitive practices to foster life-long success. PBS provides early childhood education, therapy services for children six and under and their families, ​early childhood education tuition assistance, and Federal Child & Adult Care Food Program, nutritious meal cost reimbursement for licensed in-home care providers.

STAR for Families

STAR for Families (formerly Parents as Teachers) is a free program personalized to meet the needs of individual families of babies, toddlers, and children younger than six living within the USD 348 district. Personal visits by certified parent educators trained in childhood development helps parents understand each stage of a child’s growth and offers practical tips. Additional opportunities include playgroups for parents and children, developmental screenings and connection to community resources.

Success By 6

Success By 6 is a non-profit organization that assists families with young children 6 and under with ways to connect with community resources for developmental needs, parenting assistance and daily needs.

The Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center

The Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center promotes a culture of consent while providing 24/7 support to people of all ages and genders affected by sexual trauma & abuse in Douglas, Franklin, and Jefferson Counties. Services include therapy and support groups, community prevention and education, and consent education as early as kindergarten through the evidence-based Talking about Touching curriculum.

The Willow Domestic Violence Center

The Willow Domestic Violence Center provides safe and confidential supportive shelter services for all survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking and their children. The 24-hour crisis hotline (785-843-3333) provides information, safety planning, and intake into shelter. The Willow also offers transitional support to identify housing, support groups, and educational/prevention programs.

tiny-k

Tiny-k is a local non-profit organization providing free developmental support and services to children 0-35 months old. Whether a child has a disability or simply needs a little help in a developmental area (language, motor, social), the licensed team of tiny-k educators and therapists work with families to build a unique success plan for every child. Tiny-k Early Intervention of Douglas County, provides physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, special Instruction, feeding and nutrition, and social work.

United Way of Douglas County

United Way of Douglas County is a non-profit committed to fighting poverty and improving lives in Douglas County, Kansas. Key efforts include housing stabilization, resource navigation, volunteer engagement and coordination of the AmeriCorps Program.

USD 343 - Perry-Lecompton Unified School District

Perry–Lecompton USD 343 is a unified school district serving portions of southern Jefferson County and northwestern Douglas County. It serves the communities of Perry, Lecompton, Grantville, and Williamstown. The district has four school buildings and five schools

USD 348 - Baldwin City Public Schools Early Childhood Program

The USD 348 Early Childhood program is designed to coordinate services for preschool children who may develop or have difficulties in any of the areas of speech, motor, communication, social or other learning skills; provide an early childhood education program for 3 and 4 year old at-risk children; as well as, typically developing 3 and 4 year olds. The goals for all these children is to acquire the skills, knowledge and behaviors that they need to transition successfully to kindergarten and increase the level of parent participation in the education of their children.

USD 348 - Baldwin City Unified School District

The Baldwin City Unified School District has programs for all ages, from preschool to adult. Four schools are located in the Baldwin City community: the Primary Center, grades EC-2; the Intermediate Center, grades 3-5; the Junior High, grades 6-8; and the High School, grades 9-12.

USD 491 - Eudora Schools

The Eudora Schools district consists of six schools including one early childhood center, one elementary school, one middle school, one high school, one technical education center, and one virtual learning school.

USD 491 - Eudora Schools Early Childhood Programs

The Eudora Schools Early Childhood Programs are located at West Resource Center and include developmental screenings, a preschool and extended care. The preschool is designed to meet the needs of a variety of children, including special education and at-risk students. The program also has typically developing peers who serve as models demonstrating age-appropriate skills and behaviors.

USD 497 Lawrence Public Schools

Lawrence Public Schools offers an early childhood program with Parents as Teachers, tiny-k Early Intervention Services and an Early Childhood Educational Readiness Pre-K Program. It also operates 14 elementary schools (Grades K-5), four middle schools (Grades 6-8), and two comprehensive high schools (Grades 9-12).

USD 497 Lawrence Public Schools Adult Education Center

Lawrence Public Schools Adult Learning Center provides adult education and literacy services, English literacy program (ESL), and GED Test preparation.

USD 497 Lawrence Public Schools Early Childhood

Lawrence Public Schools Early Childhood offers a variety of opportunities for children ages birth to 5 years and their families. Programs include tiny-k services, Parents as Teachers, PreK readiness classrooms and Early Childhood Special Education services.

WIC

WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) is for pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5 who are determined to be at nutritional risk and meet income guidelines. WIC provides personalized nutrition information, electronic benefit transfer cards to purchase food, and breastfeeding support.