Family SOUP serves the local community in Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa Counties through programs and services, with funding providing through various grants and the generosity of community benefactors.

Our Current Services Include:

Information

• Resource lending library of books, DVDs, magazines, and articles
• Quarterly informational newsletter
• Informational website with calendar of events and links to valuable resources
• English, Spanish, and Punjabi parent liaison services

Activities for Kids

• Able Riders, therapeutic horseback riding program
• Occasional field trips and outings
• Sibling Support Group
• Mornings in the Garden
• Play Groups

Support

• Assistance with referrals and service coordination with other agencies
• Assistance getting answers to your education and Regional Center questions
• Assistance and support for Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings
• Gas cards and assistance with transportation for out-of-town medical appointments and therapeutic assessments

Training

• Facilitated support groups for parents and caregivers targeting different special needs, with intervention from professionals in the specific area of interest.
• Facilitated and informal activities, such as scrapbooking evenings organized by staff, to bring parents together in an informal setting to chat and get to know each other
• Specialized parenting classes in English and Spanish available to address the unique concerns of our families, provided either by Family SOUP staff or organized with specialists in various fields.
• Educational workshops for parents
• Informational trainings that provide an opportunity for parents and professionals to learn together
• Trainings and partnerships in collaboration with community agencies

Parent to Parent

• Opportunities to meet other parents
• Parent to Parent support
• Volunteer training to provide parent to parent support
• Family centered activities to promote networking, reduce isolation and have fun, including BBQs, picnics, holiday parties and park play days
• MIND the Gap Peer Navigation Program

Community Involvement

• Access and Functional Needs
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Cadre
• BEAS (Bi-County Early Access Support) Collaborative
• Bright Futures/Help me Grow Development Screenings
• Disability Advisory Committee for Disabled Students Programs and Services at Yuba College
• E Center Head Start Programs Health Advisory Committee
• Interagency Coordinating Council
• Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to help orient special needs resources in the community
• NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outreach Advisory Committee
• Presentations to local groups and service clubs on our work and the needs in our local community
• Sutter County Children and Families Commission
• Sutter County SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area)

Our Current Projects and Programs:

Early Start Family Resource Center funded by the Department of Developmental Services to serve young children 0 to 3 years in Sutter County.

Able Riders Therapeutic Horseback Riding is a 4-H Community Club that specializes in hippotherapy. Hippotherapy engages the entire body and mind, stretching and strengthening core muscles. This leads to increased ability to sit or stand, and develops hand strength and coordination leading to increased ability to eat and write.

Special Needs Project funded by an allocation from the Sutter County Children and Families Commission, which administers local grant money from the State of California Proposition 10 legislations, allowing the usage of cigarette taxes to fund programs for children.  This project is responsible for programs and services for Sutter and Yuba Counties for children aged 0 through 5 who have special needs, and their families.

Family Empowerment Center funded by a grant from the California Department of Education to provide support, training and outreach to families of infants and toddlers with special needs in order to empower these families to help their children reach their full potential.

Family SOUP hosts an annual fund raising event, Bistro in the Buttes garden party dinner and auction, which is a highlight in the local community each year.