For the first time, the Rappahannock Area Council for Children and Parents will offer its Circle of Parents program in Spanish.
The first session will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center.
Circle of Parents is a weekly support group for parents that teaches techniques for positive parenting. The Spanish-language program will be the eighth Circle of Parents group in the area.
With the Census Bureau estimating the 2006 Hispanic population for the area to be 22,000 people, the council saw a void that needed to be filled, said Executive Director Julie Rivnak-McAdam.
"There are not a whole lot of services that are offered in Spanish," Rivnak-McAdam said. "Many people have said to us that they think that this will be a worthwhile endeavor."
The council has hired two bilingual staff members and has been translating its materials to prepare for the additional Circle of Parents group.
"We have been preparing for this, really, since July," Rivnak-McAdam said.
The group will be conducted in the same way that the other seven groups are. Each meeting will begin with a pizza dinner for the families and will then separate into different programs for parents and children.
Site coordinator Vicky Fuentes will be in charge of the children during the meeting. She has had experience working with Circle of Parents in Caroline and Spotsylvania counties.
At the first meeting, Fuentes will meet the children, have a discussion about why the group is starting, talk about how the council will help the children and work on activity books.
"I think it is going to be very interesting for the Spanish population," Fuentes said. "Usually Spanish people don't talk too much about how to handle children. This will be a very good opportunity to learn."
Fuentes' sister, Angie Weigert, will act as the adult facilitator at the meeting.
As facilitator, Weigert will keep the meetings focused on the topic of the week. At the Feb. 6 meeting, the topic will be childhood development from birth to 3 years old.
Though Rivnak-McAdam is uncertain about the exact number of families who will participate in the confidential sessions, she hopes for a good turnout.
"A good group is six to eight families. We have quite a bit of interest, so we hope to have four to six families, maybe more," Rivnak-McAdam said.
Elizabeth Phelps: 540/374-5000, ext. 5779