Prince George’s Child Resource Center is a nonprofit organization that offers child and family support services in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In 2015, Prince George’s Child Resource Center completed their third renewal of their Standards for Excellence accreditation. I recently had the opportunity to speak with founder and Executive Director Marti Worshtil about the organization’s history, programs and experiences as a Standards for Excellence sealholder. What follows is a condensed transcript of that conversation. Tell me a little about the history of Prince George’s Child Resource Center. We are a 24 year old nonprofit and operate two centers that provide services to Prince George’s County. In Largo we offer childcare training and early childhood education training, and in Adelphi we have a family support center where we operate the Healthy Families Prince George’s (HFPG) program. [caption id="attachment_1082" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Family Support Center at Adelphi, MD Can you describe some of the services you provide to your community? Both our in-home and Center-based family support services use the strength-based model. We believe that every family has its strengths and we are here to build on those strengths by offering parenting education and supportive services that include literacy, job training, nutrition and health education. We also link families to community based services. In early childhood education, everything we do is to improve the quality of early childhood education, so we offer training, mentoring, and on site consultation. We also help people get credentialed as early childhood educators and caregivers in the state of Maryland. Your organization has been accredited since 2001, and you just renewed your accreditation this year. Can you describe how the Standards has helped your organization over the last 15 years? Prince George’s Child Resource Center has a long history with Maryland Nonprofits, the sponsor of the Standards for Excellence program. I served on the board for 6 years, and I remember being featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy talking about how wonderful the Standards were. Fifteen years ago Prince George’s nonprofit organizations weren’t on anyone’s radar, but being the first charity to earn accreditation in the county put us on everyone’s radar. Foundations were especially impressed when we attained this status. It benefitted us greatly! [caption id="attachment_1081" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Healthy Families Prince George's (HFPG) program Can you describe a recent situation your organization turned to the Standards for guidance? When we received the observations from our recent renewal they were right on target. We are presently starting a formal volunteer program. One of our board members who is an attorney asked about being properly insured, and that was addressed in the observations! So basically, I feel very confident that participating in the accreditation program keeps us right on target. In addition to your recent renewal, are there any other accomplishments you’d like to highlight? We’ve started a diaper bank! In Adelphi where we provide direct services to parents, we identified that the high cost of diapers represented a significant challenge to the region’s families and there was a fundamental need for support. We’ve partnered with Walmart, got free storage, and kicked off the program a few months ago and have far exceeded our goals. Some of the area’s companies and associations have even organized diaper drives! This service is really fulfilling a need for the families and the response has been great. Prince George’s Child Resource Center’s mission is to help create healthy and nurturing environments for children by supporting their families and educating their caregivers. If you’d like to donate to their diaper bank, volunteer, or learn more about their organization you can visit their website at childresource.org. Prince George’s Child Resource Center Locations: Largo 9475 Lottsford Road, Suite 202 Largo, MD 20774 301.772.8420 Adelphi 8908 Riggs Road Adelphi, MD 20783 301.431.6210