Social Work/Family Support

Social Work and Family Support Services

St. Vincent de Paul Center works to ensure that every child in our program has the support and services they need as they grow and develop. Because a child’s parents are their first and most important teachers, our two Master’s level Social Workers and Family Support Specialist strive to become partners with all of our families and assist them in accessing the resources that they need to support their child’s academic, emotional and social well-being.

What We Do:

• Support the child care team
• Provide a social work perspective
• Help parents learn about new ways to support their child’s social and emotional development
• Implement the Baby TALK curriculum in our Birth to Three program and provide parents with useful developmental resources tailored to the age of their children.
• Create individualized child and family goal plans
• Create behavior plans and interventions with parents and teachers to help children succeed in their classroom environment
• Provide short-term counseling and play therapy for children
• Facilitate small group experiences for children to work on social skills
• Crisis intervention
• Provide case management services including assistance with employment and connecting families to emergency food and clothing resources
• Assist parents in navigating the Chicago Public School System and access services for their children
• Make referrals for services including counseling, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Early Intervention and others
• Coordinate parent groups based on parents interests such as positive discipline, family stress and budgeting
• Work with families, teachers and child care staff to help students adjust to their classroom environment and thrive at SVDPC

Staff Bios:

Christopher Kuck, LCSW, has been working at St. Vincent de Paul Center since July 2007. He received his Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In October 2009 he received his Clinical License. Chris has seven years prior experience in child welfare, working with youth in a residential treatment center.

Laura DuFour, LSW, has been working at the St. Vincent de Paul Center since July 2008. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Prior to working at St. Vincent de Paul Center, Laura worked as a grant writer for The Children’s Aid Society in New York City, and with parenting teenagers in foster care at Leake & Watts Services Inc., also in New York.

Nicole Kusack, MSW, MS, has been working at St. Vincent de Paul Center since November 2008. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Loyola University of Chicago School of Social Work, and her Master’s in Child Development from Erikson Institute. In September 2010 Nicole started working in Clinical Services as the Family Support Specialist. Prior to this position Nicole was an infant/toddler teacher as St. Vincent’s. Nicole worked in a continuity of care two-year classroom.