Promotoras, state-certified community health workers, offer in-home parent education courses focusing on parenting strengths, growth and development of children, establishing nurturing routines, and guiding children’s behavior.
- Ensure children are kindergarten ready
- Ensure children have a safe, nurturing home
Your child smiling, speaking for the first time, responding to their name, and taking direction from you is them reaching developmental milestones. There are different parenting skills you can learn to help urge your child onto their next steps and continue developing socially, emotionally and mentally.
Activities and every day movements help develop fine gross motor skills – like pinching your fingers together – and gross motor skills – like moving your arm above your head.These skills strengthen your child’s independence and carry them through every day.
As parents, you sometimes need a reminder you are doing a great job raising your child. These positive parenting tips help reinforce your skills and learn new skillsets to grow as your child grows.
Overview
Like your child is learning something new every day, so are you as a parent.
Parents always have the opportunity to continue to learn about their child’s development. No matter the age of your child, whether you have a newborn, a toddler, or a child ready to immerge into their teenage years, there is always something to learn.
The Promotoras lend a hand to help parent’s learn about their child’s physical, mental, and emotional development goals to ensure they are happy, healthy, and successful.
The Promotoras receive additional training in strength-based learning, family support, and the Nurturing Parenting Curriculum. The goal is to increase parental and child nurturing skills to ensure healthy and safe children.
All of the Promotoras live in the zip codes they serve. Ultimately, it’s about neighbors helping neighbors. They become a friend to help with the additional resources the family may need such as financial counseling, help with a job search, behavioral support for their children, and focusing on parental strengths. Family Service’s Promotoras provide additional support and connect these families with Family Service resources and community partners to help strengthen their entire family structure.
How the Promotoras Started
Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales from District 5 received support from City Council members to develop a unique pilot program.
Since 2017, the pilot peer-to-peer mentor model program has trained community members – the Promotoras – to provide in-home health care education to at-risk families. In 2019, Family Service was thrilled to continue the Promotoras program with a new cohort; the 10 out of 11 of the women completed their certification through Alamo Colleges and went on to went on to impact the health of our community.
The Promotoras are made possible with the support of United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, City of San Antonio, and the Nancy Smith Hurd Foundation, Alamo Colleges, and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
If you would like to learn more, or are interested in becoming a Promotora, please use the “Contact Us” button below in the Duel Gen section.
Dual Generation
Helping all generations of our families through child & youth development services and workforce development
In partnership with United Way’s Dual Generation Program, families on the East and West side enrolled in our parenting classes also enroll in our Financial Empowerment Center and Workforce Development courses to help reduce household stress and create foundational stability.
Eligibility: families with children under the age of 10
Locations: A focus on families living with zip codes 78218, 78219, 78215, 78208, 78220, 78222, 78202, 78203, 78205, 78210, 78207, 78227 and 78237
FAQS
Find the answers to your questions here
What is a Promotora?
Promotoras is Spanish term that describes a community health worker. Promotoras can work in different community service; in health-related areas like hospitals and clinics working with families with young children, diabetes institute, and as community health workers. At Family Service, we expand the meaning of health and focus on the holistic wellbeing of the entire family.
How has COVID-19 changed the work of the Promotora?
The Promotoras work to provide families basic needs and help parents ensure their children are safe and healthy. Typically, their services are offered in home. During COVID-19, the Promotoras started offering video sessions or for families to come to one of our office locations (in small numbers). Our Promotoras are based in Family Service Neighborhood Place.
How is a Promotora different from a community health worker?
Promotoras are state-certified community health workers. What sets them apart is they have the full force of Family Service’s resources behind them, and they have additional specialized training including Family Support Worker Certification, Nurturing Parenting Curriculum Training, and trauma-informed care training. They also are community members themselves. The program focuses on neighbors helping neighbors.
Who do the Promotoras assist?
Families with children zero to eight years of age who live in the identified area are eligible to receive the 12 weeks of parenting education. Families with an open CPS case can also receive this service. Home visits are tailored to the parent’s needs focusing on lessons that assess the parenting strengths, empathy, understanding behavior/discipline, growth and development of children, establishing nurturing routines, and more. All to help ensure your child reaches their developmental goals.
What is a typical visit from a Promotora like?
The Promotoras tailor their visits to the specific family and child. All visits focus on the physical, emotional, social, and mental development and wellbeing of the child and family. The Promotoras conduct different activities, observing the parents and children, as well as go through developmental topics, tools, and tips.
How do I become a Promotora?
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Promotora! Please call us at 210-431-7582 to learn more.
What else is Family Service doing to strengthen families?
Family Service’s programs focus on the entire family and creating intergenerational bridges. Our afterschool programming invites the entire family, counseling can be conducted individually or as a group, and early childhood wellbeing counselors partner with the Promotoras to promote positive behaviors in children. Supervised visitations through KidShare and Helping Children Cope with Divorce are two programs to help children and families cope with the transition of separated families. Learn more about Family Service’s various programs. Family Service is also a member of the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence in Bexar County and the South Texas Trauma-Informed Care Consortium (STTICC).