2Gen Thrive is a program being developed at Children’s Mercy and Operation Breakthrough as a priority initiative of The Partnership for Resilient Families. The goal of 2Gen Thrive is to enhance caregivers’ capacity to prevent toxic stress among children—“the prolonged activation of stress response systems due to repeated trauma in the absence of protective relationships.”
The targets, components, and structure of our multi-level intervention program are informed by our Community Action Board (CAB), an active, diverse group comprised of parents from Operation Breakthrough, educators, mental and social service providers, health care providers and community leaders.
The program has three parts:
Classroom Theraplay®: Therapists engage infants and toddlers in their classrooms with activities that enhance self-esteem and trust in others. Modeling warmth and responsiveness for early education teachers to promote teacher-child attachment. 
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC): Psychologists work collaboratively with parents, behavioral interventionists and teachers to promote the social and emotional development of preschool and prekindergarten children who would benefit from additional support in their classrooms.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Skills Training for Parents, a group led by psychologists that provides training in skills to manage emotions, handle stress and help group members be the parents they want to be.
