CAP4Kids Has You Covered!
Imagine: You’re exhausted after a long day of work, after-school pick-ups, and getting dinner on the table. You finally get a second alone but your mind immediately starts racing with everything else that still needs done—gas, groceries, budgeting, doctors’ appointments—Phew! Where can you turn to tackle overwhelming to-do lists and get the help you need? Why not try CAP4Kids?
CAP4Kids is a free website that anyone can access on their desktop, tablet, or phone to find high-quality resources in Central Ohio. Use the website to find after-school programs, low-cost healthcare, special needs services, food pantries, housing help, educational opportunities, and so much more!
What’s CAP4Kids?
The Children’s Advocacy Project (CAP4Kids) first came to life in 2004 and has since expanded to 14 cities across the nation. In 2010, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Children’s Practicing Pediatricians (CPP) partnered to bring CAP4Kids to Columbus. Today, CAP4Kids continues to help bridge the gap between quality social services and those who need help most.
Dr. Emily Decker is a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and serves as Medical Director of CAP4Kids Columbus. “When we started this website, our primary goal was to improve the overall wellness of families in the community. By posting local resources and information on a central website, we can educate and empower parents while giving pediatricians, other healthcare professionals, and child advocates an effective reference tool to connect parents with the services they need,” she says.
How to Get the Most from CAP4Kids
When users visit the home page, they are greeted with a Parent Resources menu on the left-hand side of the screen with resources listed by need, including Behavior/Mental Health, Food, Teens, and much more. Each page contains a list of agencies with brief descriptions and contact information for each program, which can be easily printed. Users can also find resources using the Search bar, and the entire website can be translated into 30+ languages in a single click. Parents can find additional resources like Laws & Definitions, Sample Letters to use for IEP plans, and Booklists created with the help of Columbus Metropolitan Library. Parents will also want to check out the “Upcoming Family Activities & Resources” on the Home page to find free and low-cost family-friendly events coming up in Columbus, helpful webinars and classes for parents, and new community resources.
Behind the Scenes
Parents can be confident in quality of the resources they find on CAP4Kids. It’s a tall task to keep the thousands of resources on the website up-to-date, but it’s a task that is of utmost importance to the CAP4Kids team. We have seen many resource websites come and go in the community since the inception of CAP4Kids. CAP4Kids is dedicated to the simple mission of staying relevant and up-to-date. Our team updates the website every day and works directly with a network of social workers, healthcare providers, non-profits, and community organizers to keep things accurate. The team does a running, systematic review of the entire website throughout the year which includes getting on the phone and calling each organization, verifying the information, checking website links, and testing hotlines. We take it very seriously because it’s important for parents to have accurate information that they can use to get help for their kids. The goal at CAP4Kids is to remove barriers to access for families, so they can get the quality information they need as quickly and easily as possible.
What Columbus is Saying About CAP4Kids
“THANK YOU so much for your wonderful, informative, resource-packed electronic newsletter! I have printed just about every resource you have.” – Head Start Case Manager
“You are awesome!! Thank you so much!” – Columbus Grandma and Kinship Caregiver
“I LOVE CAP4Kids and have used it my entire career. It is such a wonderful resource!” – Community Social Worker
Stay In Touch!
Today, parenting can feel more overwhelming than ever. That’s why CAP4Kids offers parents lots of great ways to stay updated on community offerings and parenting resources. Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to get current events and resources delivered straight to your Inbox, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @CAP4KidsColumbus. Stay in touch and spread the word in your community about CAP4Kids to help even more families find the resources they need.
Questions? Comments? Need help finding resources? Email our team at CAP4KidsColumbus@nationwidechildrens.org.
