HCD Outreach
Our faculty are not content to just find out more about children and families, they want to improve their lives.
We have a long tradition of creating unique educational resources and programs for helping families and working with children including our Child Development Laboratory and Child Care Reource and Referral Service. One of our latest developments is a resource center that provides services to families dealing with autism.
For the past 15 years our faculty have been especially interested in creating web-based educational resources. Dr. Aaron Ebata has been at the forefront of educating parents online with the latest version being, Parenting 24/7.
Parents who are interested in managing work and life issues more effectively can gain information from Intentional Harmony.
Our Department was one of the pioneers in providing information and resources to parents about child care. From the humble beginnings of a telephone and desk in the hallway staffed by a part-time person, the Child Care Resource Service today is one of the national leaders in innovative methods of providing resource and referral services to families.
Another long-time feature of the Department is working with Family Life Extension Educators across Illinois who are adept at providing community-based educational programs to fit the specialized needs of family members. These educators have developed unique skills for reaching underserved rural and urban families who often would not have the opportunity to learn about children and families.