Mission & Agency Overview

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Newton Community Service Center (NCSC) is a multi-service agency that strengthens children, youth, families and communities through educational programs and a network of support services. We promote social and emotional wellness and continuity of care. The agency serves a racially, ethnically, economically, and culturally diverse population from Newton, Waltham and surrounding communities.

For individuals and families from childhood to mature years, NCSC fulfills our mission through education enrichment programs and support services. We have developed a unique ability to nurture parent/child and teacher/student relationships and use them to enhance growth and development at every stage of life. The organization serves the community through four distinct and well-integrated program areas:

• Early education and child care
• Family counseling, education and support
• Teen enrichment
• Volunteer service opportunities for adults 55+

OVERVIEW OF SERVICES

NCSC is committed to providing child and family services that enable children and teens to become thriving adults. Characteristics of our services include:

• Professional staffing, consisting of trained experts who focus on the emotional, social and intellectual growth of children and teens. NCSC staff includes a wide range of skilled professionals in child-development and family supports: teachers, youth workers, abuse prevention specialists, therapists, counselors, home-visitors, early literacy specialists, and special education professionals.
• Socio-economic and racial diversity, appealing to families who want their children to experience a broad spectrum of society.
• Innovation in strength-based child development. NCSC is a Brazelton Touchpoints Special Project site. The Brazelton Touchpoints Center (at Boston’s Children’s Hospital) offers a state-of-the-art strengths-based approach that addresses both early child development and family supports.
• A commitment to serve children and families regardless of financial means.
• A reputation for listening closely to community needs and responding to where they are most needed: at home, at school, at our facilities, and in the community.
• Collaborative relationships with other community agencies, schools and city governments to ensure that comprehensive services are available to those we serve.

Early Education and Child Care

Early education and child care programs provide family-based and center-based care as well as out-of-school time (after-school, summer camps and vacation-week) programs to children and their families.

• Full-day/full-year early education program serves children 3 months to 5 years. Our center-based Infant, Toddler and Preschool program is licensed through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for quality.
• After-school and vacation week programs serve elementary school children; summer day camp programs serve elementary and middle schoolers. Our summer day camp at Hale Reservation is accredited by the American Camping Association.

Family Counseling, Education & Support

Our family counseling, education and support programs prevent or remedy some of the most serious problems faced by children, teens, and families and are not available elsewhere in the community. These include:

• Family therapy, addressing a wide variety of counseling issues focused around the needs of children and their families.
• Parenting education and support through workshops and individual counseling.
• A home-based early literacy program that provides supports and modeling to help parents strengthen their children’s reading and communication skills. Our staff is highly effective at serving families with teen or immigrant parents.
• Child assault prevention education offers training to help children avoid possibly abusive situations. We also offer parent and community group training on how to recognize abuse and seek help.

Teen Enrichment

Teen enrichment services guide adolescents who may be struggling in school or in life to discover healthy and productive ways of resolving their issues and successfully transition into adulthood. Services include the following:

• Teen drop-in centers, located at 429 Cherry Street and 1254 Chestnut Street.
• Out-reach sites at Newton North and Newton South High Schools.
• Mentoring, based on a national best-practices mentoring program, which pairs capable adults with teens, providing a fresh perspective to their world.
• Experiential leadership and adventure at Higher Ground residential summer camp.
• A Young Parents program, which provides support to pregnant and/or parenting teens and young adults.

Volunteer Service Opportunities for Adults 55+

NCSC’s volunteer program, SOAR 55 is part of a national network of federally sponsored programs that connect Americans over the age of 55 with volunteer service opportunities in their own communities. SOAR 55 offers a variety of volunteer opportunities that address significant community needs in human services, education, the environment and public safety.

In operation since 1972, SOAR 55 is the largest, most productive volunteering service for older adults in the region. More than 300 volunteers, working independently or in management teams, contribute nearly 30,000 hours of valuable service each year for more than 50 nonprofits, schools and public agencies. SOAR 55 serves communities throughout the MetroWest.