Burnett County Family Resource Center Inc

Vision: We imagine a community in which child abuse and neglect is eliminated, our families are strong, and our community is safe for future generations.

Mission:  To serve all families by providing opportunities and activities that promote healthy families and safe communities.

Family Camping Trip 2023

Think back to when you were raising your family. You worked hard, loved the kids in your life, provided for them the best that you could. If you parented a child, you did your best with what you knew at the time. You probably felt overwhelmed once or twice and occasionally, you might have been just trying to get through your day. Maybe you had help, and maybe even with that help you were STILL flying by the seat of your pants. If that sounds familiar, think of the families you know in Burnett County. Think of the families you see at the park, in the grocery store, at the restaurant. What are they going through in their own parenting journey?

None of us know another person's story, possible struggles, or what a win may look like. When I was a parent, some days it was a win just to have matching socks on my toddlers feet. We know that when parents are more stressed, they have less capacity to be present and patient with their child, which increases the risk for abuse and neglect. We also know that financial stress can spill over into our ability to be our best selves for our kids.

What if there was a local place that existed to try and make your life easier? You’re out of diapers? We’ve got you. You need baby clothes? We’re on it. Feel alone and want to meet other parents? We’ve got all of the ways to connect with other families and have fun things to do. You have parenting questions? We can help you find solutions that will work for YOUR family. This is what strengthening families looks like.

With your help, we can meet our goals to serve others and strengthen families. 

By offering home visiting, parenting programs and development screeners, hosting monthly parent cafes, offering supports such as gently used baby clothes, and diapers from our pantry, we help our local families strengthen their skills and ease some of their worries. Our programs which include free family fun activities, 150 weekly activity kits distributed throughout our county, our car seat program with a certified tech on staff, a summer community vegetable garden, breastfeeding support, and just so much more. These are all in effort  to help families connect with others and to support them when they need it. Now, for the first time, we have taken our FRC and hit the road as another way to promote child development and to meet families where they are in the form of a Mobile FRC. 

But wait, there’s more… Over the last three years we have been working with Supporting Families Together Association and the WI Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to become a Family Resource Center of Quality. This distinction means that we ensure that Standards of Quality are met, parent leadership, protective factors, and the Wisconsin Core Competencies for Family Support Professionals are embedded into all core areas of service. We are just one of nine currently in the State of WI to have that distinction. This is something the community needs to celebrate!

What this has meant for the FRC is that we have been able to increase the supportive services we provide families in our community in the form of additional parenting programs. In partnership with Five for Families https://fiveforfamilies.org/ we are promoting the Five Strengths that EVERY family needs to be healthy and strong. This of course leads to the prevention of abuse and neglect and in turn safer communities. These Five Strengths, or Protective Factors, are embedded in all of our programming and messaging. 

Our small but mighty staff have been able to become trained facilitators and technicians; organize a multitude of weekly and monthly activities and groups; coordinate volunteers to help with meals and childcare for our programs; we even offer a weekend family camping event. Our team is the absolute best.   

Join us to help keep our family programming free for all.  

Thank you!