The news is good!
In 2010, TKI initiated a study that was funded by the Still Water Foundation of Austin. Dr. Benedict served as the principle investigator along with doctoral students from Baylor University’s Clinical Psychology Department. One of the major findings of the study is that “the school aged Talitha Koum children showed better aggression and anger control than the control group as well as overall better scores on the Behavioral Symptoms Index.” This goes directly to TKI’s intense repetitive work in teaching conflict resolution and securing each child in the ability to self-regulate, a brain development initiative. As compared to the control group, the school-aged children from TKI’s launch also had:

• higher TAKS scores

• better grades

• fewer absences

• fewer behavior referrals

For the love of parents.
TKI began holding weekly parenting classes, taught by Dr. Carole Hanks, (DRPh, RN, FNP-C), then, associate professor of nursing at Baylor University. Dr. Hanks was principle researcher in the David Olds Nurse Family Partner study. Her knowledge was invaluable. Dr. Hanks continued in the role of TKI parent educator until the summer of 2004. Weekly parenting classes continued to meet each Tuesday evening at Talitha Koum until the Covid shutdown of 2020.

Courage and call meet capability.
Having acquired remodeling funds through Waco Foundation, TKI opened its Nurture Center in January 2003 as a mental health therapeutic nursery for extreme-risk infants and children living in deep, multi-generational urban poverty. "What is that?" we'd said upon hearing the term. "Where can we visit one?" Replied Dr. Keith Warren, "They're in the Northeast. Look them up online." When God calls, there isn't always a manual in place!

The program began by serving 12 infants and toddlers, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and until 5:30 p.m. for children whose parents were in school or working. The intensive care program combined play therapy, all-day nurture, and the evidence-based HighScope™ cognitive curriculum for infants from eight-weeks-old through Kindergarten (when needed), alongside weekly parenting classes.

Mrs. Donna Losak, the former Director of the LaVega ISD Family Resource Center and the former Childcare Resource Specialist for the Waco Smart Start Association, was secured as the Nurture Center’s Director. Dr. Keith Warren who was the Executive Director of the Klaras Center for Families agreed to serve as the Clinical Director for the Nurture Center. Dr. Helen Benedict (Ph.D., Yale), then Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, supervised play therapy for Talitha Koum children age three and older.

Teachers from many disciplines.
Always, we have been gifted with caring and dedicated teachers who hail from a number of universities, all with Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees or an Associate’s degree. We are quick to explain that Talitha Koum is not childcare in the traditional sense. The level of intense intervention requires each teacher to undergo extensive training both in the classroom and as we meet together in Supervision each Friday afternoon with our clinical team. Yet a teacher may arrive with a degree in Theater or International Studies and become just as equipped as those who have graduated from programs in Child & Family Studies or Psychology or Social Work. “God looks on the heart.” And the heart is where we find loving, patient, and devoted teachers who commit to the children in their care with continuous hope.

Therapeutic ratios.
As the years have progressed, our Nurture Center has increased enrollment to 30 children in five classrooms, each having a teacher to child ratio of 1 to 3 for infants through Preschool/Pre-K. These small ratios are the only way to ensure the therapeutic nature of our program. We hold in mind that each child who establishes neural pathways for a lifetime will alter the trajectory of multiple families in future generations.

Mentoring keeps the learning lively.
Early in 2009, Talitha Koum inaugurated its Mentoring Program by which individuals mentor TKI school-aged children until they go to college or secure productive employment. With parental consent, mentoring begins when a child enters public school or a mentor selects a child even earlier during the child’s Pre-K year at the Nurture Center.

Neurologically-sensitive, developmentally-appropriate methods.
In June of 2009, Dr. Benedict and Ms. Losak traveled to Kansas to meet with Dr. Richard L. Gaskill (Ed.D.), a Fellow of Child Trauma Academy. Observing Dr. Gaskill’s therapeutic program, Benedict and Losak learned about NMT (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics) developed by Dr. Bruce Perry (M.D., Ph.D.), founder of Child Trauma Academy. In May of 2010, TKI partnered with Baylor University to bring Dr. Gaskill to Waco. Dr. Gaskill toured the Nurture Center, met with our governing body, and delivered a full day’s training at Baylor University to an audience of psychology students, local psychologists, social workers, early childhood teachers, and occupational therapists.

Armed with information and counsel from Dr. Gaskill, Talitha Koum’s leadership began creating a method for use in a group care setting with young children. TKI’s director and clinical director collaborated with Ms. Carol Salvesen, an Occupational Therapist and one of Talitha Koum’s founders, to develop what Dr. Gaskill referred to as a “neurologically- sensitive, developmentally-appropriate approach” to working with young children. Today, Talitha Koum offers a strong brain development program based in sensorimotor interventions that set the foundation for higher cognitive brain development.

This groundbreaking work eventually led to TKI hosting a day-long symposium titled, “The Biggest Bang: Guiding Explosive Early Brain Growth,” which was attended by nearly 300 people from local school districts, with the majority coming from Waco Independent School District. The symposium was made possible through a grant from Waco Foundation.

Since that time, three of our staff have become certified by Child Trauma Academy in the Neurosequential Model. Ms. Salvesen, O.T., has become certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. Donna Losak and Beth Hicks are certified in the Neurosequential Model in Education. They have formed a strong Clinical Team that works with Talitha Koum’s teachers to ensure that each child’s brain development progresses as it should.