Parent & Caregiver Education

Project Family provides parents and caregivers of children ages 0–⁠5 with hands-on experiences, practical strategies, and a support network that strengthen parent-child relationships.

Families will learn in a playgroup setting that emphasizes the importance of creating stimulating and developmentally appropriate parenting techniques. Each class incorporates music, circle time, and reading sessions so families can learn new skills while having fun and feeling safe to express themselves. Through these activities, parents and caregivers learn how to foster their children's cognitive, emotional, and social development to ensure children receive the best possible start in life.

Learn more about Project Family

Parent Coaching supports parents of children ages 4–⁠17 years old who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, psychological, intellectual, and/or developmental challenges. Parent coaching is a powerful tool that equips caregivers with skills to create a nurturing environment where children can thrive. You'll work one-on-one with a trained professional who listens, understands, and partners with you to address the challenges your family is experiencing.

This program consists of six one-hour sessions with the parent, offering practical strategies and personalized guidance to help you:

• Understand your child’s needs and respond effectively to challenging behaviors.
• Build stronger communication skills to foster trust and connection.
• Reduce stress and improve family dynamics through proven techniques.
• Gain confidence in managing difficult situations with empathy and consistency.

For more information or questions about enrollment, contact Leonardo Espiña at lespina@arlingtonva.us.

Learn constructive skills designed by family and social scientists to equip parents like you with the tools necessary to engage your children in difficult family situations. Your children will benefit from your learning redirection, active listening, setting limits and consequences, and how to foster good social skills.

Parenting Wisely is a self-paced, virtual course that is available in both English and Spanish. Families can access their online coursework 24/7.

Learn more about Parenting Wisely

Strengthening Families is a 7-week program for students ages ⁠10–⁠14 and their parents/guardians. This Program is a fun, interactive workshop for students and parents/caregivers to enhance their skills in:

• Communication
• Goal-setting
• Peer pressure resistance
• Stress management and emotional regulation
• Joint-family problem solving
• Positive discipline
• Having FUN!

All Strengthening Families classes are FREE. We provide dinner and childcare for children under the age of 10.

Learn more about Strengthening Families

Learn constructive skills designed by family and social scientists to equip parents like you with the tools necessary to engage your children in difficult family situations. Your children will benefit from your learning redirection, active listening, setting limits and consequences, and how to foster good social skills.

Parenting Wisely is a self-paced, virtual course that is available in both English and Spanish. Families can access their online coursework 24/7.

Learn more about Parenting Wisely

FLIP IT!® is a FREE weekly 1.5 hour virtual course that meets online for 5 weeks, to provide tools for parents to increase communication with their children and help manage challenging behaviors. FLIP IT offers practical strategies for addressing challenging behaviors in children.

This program is perfect for parents, caregivers, and educators looking to enhance their skills in a positive and constructive way. Sessions will be conducted in both English and Spanish to accommodate our diverse community.

Learn more about Flip It!

The Fatherhood Engagement Program's goal is to strengthen family units by improving the parental capacity of fathers and promoting co-parenting activities. The program aims to interrupt and eliminate unhealthy generational family beliefs regarding a father’s role in the family by introducing new role options.

Learn more about the Fatherhood Engagement Program

Fathers in Tech is a comprehensive 12-week program designed to strengthen a father's relationship with his children and family while also promoting economic growth and family empowerment. Fathers in Tech focuses on assisting participants explore high-growth career paths, understand the qualifications, access educational resources, build workforce skills, and secure meaningful employment in thriving industries.

InsideOut Dad is a proven, research-based program designed specifically for incarcerated fathers. It supports personal growth by fostering positive fatherhood attitudes, building essential parenting knowledge and skills, and preparing dads with effective strategies for reconnecting with their families after release.

Memory of childhood experience is stored in the body, not just the mind. From that first spark of life, experience has a profound impact on who we are and who we will become.

In recent decades, there has been an explosion of new understanding – beginning with the Adverse Childhood Experiences, or “ACE” study – about how and why adversity and trauma can reliably predict risks for mental, physical, behavioral health and productivity in the population.

The “Building Resilient Communities and Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences” presentation includes in-depth information about: 

Request an ACE Interface workshop for your community today!

Learn more about ACEs

Learn more about Mental Health 101

Most of us know how to assist in a physical emergency, whether through CPR or calling 9-1-1. However, many do not know how to respond to a mental health emergency. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) can teach you how to understand, identify and respond to mental health and substance use emergencies or crises.

Learn more about Mental Health First Aid

The Child Advocacy Center of Arlington County, VA is proud to partner with Darkness to Light (www.D2L.org). We share their mission and join them in their work which is guided by the vision of a world free from child sexual abuse, where children can grow up happy, healthy and safe. We know that prevention is possible, and we believe that it is an adult responsibility to protect children. 

Interested in attending or hosting a training? Contact Jennifer Gross, LCSW, CSOTP: jmgross@arlingtonva.us or call 703-228-1561.