Bonding Through Books is a new partnership with Department of Children and Families (DCF) Milford Area Office and New Haven Reads! Together, we are creating a library of children’s books in the DCF office for their clients. The office already had a small underutilized book collection that was in need of an update and lots of new books.
Before the makeover! DCF Milford AO Library
Today – the Bonding Through Books Book Bank
Randy, a social worker in the Milford office, contacted NHR about creating a book bank that would allow children and families to take books to help create home libraries, be given to children who were awaiting placement, and to be used to help parents and children bond during visits. Once he contacted our Book Bank Director Victoria, the idea took form. Victoria even suggested using the same bookshelves that we also use at our NHR Book Bank. Once the area was set up, New Haven Reads supplied 600 books to set up the new library!
Randy said of new book bank “One of the goals of visits here in the office is to maintain and grow the child and parent bond. What better way to do that than to look for and read books together?” Randy told us the other reason the book bank is so important is “when a child is removed from their home, they sometimes have to spend time at our office before being placed in foster care. This book bank will be a place to pick something out that is theirs and they can take with them.” Randy has witnessed families reading together, specifically a grandfather and his 6 month old grandson sharing a book on colors. “It proved why this book bank was so important. Watching them read together was amazing!”
Delivering books to a family
New Haven Reads is excited to be partnering with the DCF Milford Area Office for this initiative and will be sending over another book order to top up the shelves soon. We hope to be able to grow this initiative with other offices!
