Larson, Carey Introduce Bill to Support Family Resource Centers

Washington, D.C. - Today, Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01) and Mike Carey (OH-15) announced the introduction of their Promoting Community-Based Prevention Services Act to increase federal funding available to Family Resource Centers (FRCs).

Rep. Larson discusses the importance of FRCs in the House Ways and Means Committee

"When I served in the Connecticut State Senate, I worked with Dr. Edward Zigler, the father of Head Start, to establish Family Resource Centers in the State of Connecticut so working parents could have access to reliable childcare at their children's school and get connected with the resources they need to thrive," said Larson. "I am proud to introduce the Promoting Community Based Prevention Services Act with Rep. Carey today to create a pathway for FRCs, which serve 13,000 individuals in Connecticut annually, to directly receive federal funding to support the services they provide for families and communities."

"When parents feel supported, families thrive." said Carey. "Family Resource Centers can guide families through a lifetime of challenges and milestones. We are proud to help guarantee these resources can be available in every community across the country, for every family who might need them."

FRCs provide family welfare services and spaces at no cost to the parents and children who use them. FRC offerings range from mental health and substance abuse programs to parenting classes, screening for developmental delays, and early childhood education. There are 58 FRCs across Connecticut, serving 13,000 individuals annually. Larson and Carey's legislation would ensure they are eligible to directly receive federal funding by creating a federal definition for "Family Resource Centers."

During today's House Ways and Means Committee hearing on strengthening child welfare, Larson discussed the importance of FRCs with the committee's witnesses:

"Family Resource Centers are a source for families, and also a physical place, that exists already that could be expanded on and utilized. Do you think Dr. Ed Zigler was on the right track with Family Resource Centers?" Larson asked.

"We need childcare and family resource centers, not just for children who are with caregivers, but we also need it for families, particularly with my clients, during re-entry periods, where they have all these different things upon them, but also need to have access to these resources - providing the resources that they need so we can have healthy families," said Alexis Mansfield, Senior Advisor for Children & Families and Relationship Safety, Women's Justice Institute.

"Family Resource Centers are funded by Title 4b dollars, and also other similar types of mechanisms that are designed specifically for the communities, which gets to, again, the flexibility of this program. Missouri, Indiana, California, can design their own types of interventions in their community. Many of them look like family resource centers," said Rob Geen, Bipartisan Policy Center Fellow and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Full text of the Promoting Community-Based Prevention Services Act is available here.