.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:10px; width:300px;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:300px;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; font-size: 16px;} Being a parent isn’t always easy, and since children don’t come with an instruction manual, many moms and dads don’t know where to look for answers when their kids have them stumped. That’s where Family Directions of Iowa Inc. hopes to step in.

“We believe in parents,” said Suzanne Renfrow, executive director of Family Directions. “There are so many programs aimed at helping children, and we support those. But we feel we need to give parents support too, because a child has to come home to a stable and good role model.”

Renfrow said families face more challenges in today’s world than ever before, making this program vitally important.

Family Directions provides programs that includeweekly meetings for parents to discuss communication, discipline, child development, parental roles and other issues that affect parenting behavior.

“We don’t do therapy,” Renfrow said. “This is parent driven. We do have trained facilitators and staff, but parents want to talk with other parents.”

Each year, the organization serves around 1,000 parents and 600 children across the state, including special populations like relative caregivers, parents in prison, teen parents and parents of teens. Renfrow said the organization also has in-home parent education services in which trained staff observe a family and help them get their lives back on track.

Most of the families involved in the program come to Family Directions through the Iowa Department of Human Services or the court system.

But many come because they discover the organization and are seeking assistance.

“Every family needs support, but some have special needs that they want help addressing,” Renfrow said. “We’ve seen people come in with four kids that are well mannered and one that is out of control, and they just can’t figure out what to do.”

The problem now, she said, is that the success of Family Directions has led to increased demand for its services, straining the small staff and budget.

“We can’t keep up with referrals right now,” Renfrow said. “We’re pretty much overwhelmed.”

The organization’s board of directors is currently planning its first-ever fund-raiser next year as a way to help alleviate the problem.

“A strong family is a benefit to the community,” Renfrow said. “That’s why what we do is so important.”