Mommies in Need

Mommies in Need

The main purpose of Mommies In Need is to provide care for kids so families can access healthcare. Parents should never have to choose between taking care of their own health and having safe and loving care for their children. 

What was born out of one Mom's personal experience and passion has grown into a powerful source of hope in our community. Since its inception in 2014, Mommies In Need has provided tens of thousands of hours of free childcare. Join us as we continue to serve and grow. 

Our Programs

Welcome to Annie's Place

Annie's Place is a childcare center at Parkland Hospital meant primarily for children of patients. This program opened in the Fall of 2020 and has already helped hundreds of families!
We believe that families should never have to choose between taking care of their own health and having safe, loving, expert care for their children. Annie's Place is a first-of-its-kind facility with specially trained teachers who care for children while their parents or family members are attending medical appointments.
Annie’s Place also provides backup childcare to first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.

Enrollment

We are so happy that we have the opportunity to help you take care of your children during your Parkland clinic appointment. We lessen the stress of finding childcare so you can focus on your healthcare.  
To sign up for free childcare at Annie’s Place, you will need:

• An appointment at a participating Parkland Clinic
• Familiarity with the Parent Handbook: English or Spanish
• Completion of our  Enrollment Application
• Optional: Submission of the online Child Information Form so your child’s teacher can get to know your child a little better.  

You are NOT fully enrolled until you have a time and date confirmed by phone or email.  Once you are confirmed, the items below are required to complete your child’s file.  Immunization records and Health Care Statements are required by your first appointment.  If you need help with these requirements, please reach out to us at 214-266-8064.

• Immunization Records
• Professional Health Care Statement:  English or Spanish
  If you are unable to submit the Professional Health Care Statement before your first appointment, you may submit a Verified Doctor Check in the meantime. It should be filled out by the parent or guardian. If you are unable to print a copy at home, please allow an extra 5 minutes at your first visit to fill out paperwork.  Verified Doctor’s Check: English or Spanish
  Your Doctor’s office can fax records to  Annie’s Place at 214-266-8083 or you may bring hard copies with your child to their first appointment.  

 What To Expect After Enrollment

Once you have completed the enrollment form, we will call to confirm your details and appointment needs, plus complete a health check. We are not able to accept children that are sick. If anyone is ill, we will be happy to reschedule your childcare appointment.  

• When you arrive, please pull up to the front of the building and temporarily park there. We will take everyone’s temperature, confirm appointment time/pick-up time, emergency contact, and ask for any special instructions for the day.
• There is no long-term parking at Annie’s Place, so you will need to drive to the parking facility for your clinic.
• If your child requires a specific formula or prefers a certain type of bottle, please provide enough for the allotted time. We have freezers and refrigerators to store any breast milk if needed. Please LABEL EVERYTHING. Otherwise, if you have no specific needs, we have formula and bottles that we will provide for you.
• A private room is available for mothers who wish to breastfeed their child at Annie’s Place. A foot stool and water are provided upon request.
• Children are asked not to bring toys from home.
• We will provide all food, diapers and supplies needed for the day. We suggest not bringing anything from home to reduce the chance of items getting lost.
• We will provide up to two snacks and one meal, equal to half of their daily food needs. When and how long your child is in attendance will determine what food is offered. We will not serve any food identified on a child’s food allergy emergency plan.
• Children are engaged in various activities during the day, some of which can be messy. Please make sure your child is dressed in comfortable clothing that can get dirty.
• Once you are finished with your clinic appointment, we ask you to call or send us a message so we can prepare your children for pick up.
• If for any reason you are admitted to the hospital or your appointment is running past your scheduled pick-up time, we will call your emergency contact to pick up your children.

If you have any questions, an Annie's Place staff member will be happy to answer them: 
214-266-8064 or anniesplace@mommiesinneed.org

Annie’s Place Back-up Weekend Care for Hospital Employees

Backup weekend childcare for all hospital employees of Parkland, Children’s Health, and UT Southwestern.
Annie’s Place Back-up Weekend Care is open to all hospital employees who have shifts scheduled on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Back-up care is defined as help with short-term care when regular care isn’t available. Examples include:
· Change in work schedules
· School/Daycare closures and holidays
· Primary care provider illness/vacation (i.e., nanny, grandparent, etc.)

Annie’s Place is located at 2131 Butler Street, Dallas, TX 75235.

Annie's Place's Hours of Operation are from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Early Bird hours begin at 6:30 AM and After Care, hours go until 7:30 PM. Early and late hours are reserved for employees whose work is scheduled outside regular operating hours.
· Currently, Annie’s Place does not accept walk-ins, so we strongly encourage you to fill out the enrollment form ahead of time and not wait until you need backup care.
· Enrollments are good for one year of service.
· If you have any questions, please call 469-235-0092 or email at anniesplace@mommiesinneed.org.
Once you fill out the registration form, a member of our staff will be in touch by phone to complete the process. Please allow 1-2 days for the process to be complete. Enroll

Play Therapy

*Children shown in photos are not enrolled in the Play Therapy Program.

Why Play Therapy?

Our mission is to support parents who are experiencing a health crisis.  We know one of the ways we can best support parents is to support their kids because a diagnosis is stressful for everyone in the family. 

What is Play Therapy?

"Play Therapy, a modality of child therapy, is a powerful tool for addressing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges. Licensed professionals use play therapeutically to help clients better process their experiences and develop more effective strategies for managing their worlds" -Association for Play Therapy.
Play therapy is one of the most researched children’s counseling services, with benefits for a variety of concerns.

Meet Our Play Therapist, Kait!

Kait Christian, M.S., LPC-Associate under the supervision of Jennifer Dougherty, Ph.D., LPC-S, RPT-S is a trained mental-health professional who received her training at the University of North Texas and has served children and families in a variety of community and school settings. If interested in Play Therapy services, please contact Kait at kchristian@mommiesinneed.org
Our play therapist can help children:

• Learn to express emotions and modify behaviors, which can help with diagnoses.
  
  Address emotional and behavioral concerns related to a parent's medical condition.

• Process a guardian's medical condition or addiction recovery.
• Work through relational concerns associated with a parent's condition.
• Process trauma due to a parent's medical condition
• Learn about a loved one's diagnosis.
• Become more responsible for behaviors and develop more successful strategies of emotional regulation.
• Increase self-esteem and acceptance of self and others, which can help anxiety, aggression, and relational concerns.
• Cultivate empathy and respect for others’ thoughts and feelings.

Our play therapist can help parents:

• Walk through developmentally appropriate ways to tell their child about a medical condition or addiction.

• Discipline children with anxiety, depression, aggression, ADHD, and other internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

• 
  Navigate the family’s “new normal” with parenting techniques to help support children.
• Talk about development, diagnoses, and other helpful information related to a parent’s concerns.
• Reflect children’s feelings, to increase parent-child relational bonds.
• Discuss a child’s progress, parenting concerns, and changes at home and school.
• Teach parents limit setting to help increase self-efficacy, responsibility, and tantrum reduction.

 Play Therapy FAQs

• What is play therapy?
• Does my child need play therapy?
• How much does play therapy at Mommies in Need cost?
• How old do you have to be to do play therapy?
• How often is play therapy?
• Do I come to play therapy with my child?
• Our family does not have a medical situation, can we still get free play therapy?
• How do I get enrolled?

Source: https://www.mommiesinneed.org/