LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / April 18, 2000

LULING – Work is under way to open St. Charles Parish’s first parentingcenter.

The center, under the administration of the St. Charles Council for thePrevention of Child Abuse, will be located in the former St. Charles Insurancebuilding at 700-702 Paul Maillard Road, across from Hibernia National Bank.

The organization dates back to 1990 when it first formed as a chapter of the Louisiana Council on Child Abuse.

Vice-President Wayne Gaupp said the parenting center will coordinate with law enforcement, the court system and other social services agencies to teach parenting skills and produce happier, more emotionally-stable children.

The building will be named the Madere Parenting Center after the Luling family which donated it to the organization. Sheriff Greg Champagne, DistrictAttorney Harry Morel and the state Office of Child Services are all partnering on this venture, Gaupp said.

“Also, the St. Charles Rotary Club will help us renovate the building,” Gauppcontinued.

The 80-member group hopes with the opening of the Madere Parenting Center to attain a higher profile within the St. Charles Parish community,offering everything from parenting skill classes for teen-age mothers to stress-management programs for parents of all ages.

“We’re trying to get all the agencies who work with child abuse together under one roof so it’s not fragmented,” Gaupp said. “We’re trying to offerthe best services possible for our families.”As the office opens the group plans to hire an executive director, secretary and, if possible, a board-certified social worker.

The St. Charles Council for Prevention of Child Abuse is also sponsoring ChildAbuse Prevention Month during April with a blue-ribbon campaign to raise public awareness of child abuse and neglect.

Last year, Gaupp said, the River Parishes area alone produced more than 500 investigations of child abuse and neglect.

“We don’t want to duplicate services already available,” Gaupp said. “We canall work together.”As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the April 26 meeting of the organization will host 29th Judicial District Judge Robert Chaisson as featured speaker.

Gaupp said school counselors and law enforcement personnel are especially invited to attend and hear Chaisson discuss relevant laws affecting child abuse and neglect cases.

The meeting is set at the East Regional Library in Destrehan at 7 p.m.Organization president Deborah Zeringue said, “If parents spent more time with their children it would help a lot of social problems. Parents should instillvalues and good self-worth in their children.”

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