Family Support Center

The AACF Family Support Center is dedicated to improving early childhood education for immigrants in our community and helping to provide a better quality of life for their families by connecting them to a solid network of lasting peer and professional support. We offer free activities, services, and programs for parents and children, ages 0 to 5 years old, so that families can live happy, healthy lives.

Our center is located on the west side of Frederick, also known as Frederick’s Golden Mile. It is an area that critically lacks resources and services for a rapidly growing population of immigrant families who are working hard to support their families.

Over the next five years, we are preparing to establish partnerships to provide Universal Pre-K, Early Head Start, and child care programs to support the rapid growth in our community.

Service Offerings

    • Early Childhood Education (ECE)
    • Infant and toddler developmental care, education, and assessments
    • Parent education for understanding child development milestones and behaviors
    • Classes on positive parenting techniques, nutrition, Adult Basic Education, Financial Literacy, and English as a Second Language, and more!
    • Mental health services and job training to help adults achieve their goals
    • Tips for healthy living and family wellbeing
    • Community resources navigation and a support network for parents

Funding agencies

Funding for the AACF Family Support Center is provided by the Maryland Family Network, Maryland State Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Contact Us

Amirah Underwood, M. Ed.
Director of Family Support Services
Email: [email protected]

For general inquiries or to participate in our programs, please contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (301) 694-3355 Extension 2000

Address:
5901 Old National Pike, Frederick, MD 21701 (Lower level)

Hours:
Monday – Thursday 8am – 4pm; Select Saturdays


Read about us in the news:

Asian American Center gets $150K for programs to prevent child abuse

Family Support Services has offered early childhood education for children up to 4 years old and their families for about a year. It moved to a new building in the summer.

'It's like love': Moore helps celebrate opening of Asian American Center family services building

In a hallway across from the center’s kitchen, the phrase “My family” is written on the wall in several languages.

Asian American Center set to open early childhood facility on Golden Mile

The nonprofit Asian American Center of Frederick is working to establish a family support center along the Golden Mile that will offer child care, parenting classes and more.

Asian American Center of Frederick receives $1.5 million for a new center

For the fifth year in a row Urbana Regional Library hosted a Lunar New Year event in partnership with the Asian American Center of Frederick.

New plans unveiled for early childhood education for immigrant families

To support early childhood education expansion, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen presented a check for $375,000 to the Asian American Center of Frederick.


Caring About Family Engagement (C.A.F.E.)

We offer help with securing health insurance, health benefits, food assistance, and other wellness support.

Our diverse staff and certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) speak a wide variety of languages and can help you receive the care you need. We can connect you with mental health and psychosocial support, prenatal care, preventive care, and health education.

The C.A.F.E. Project provides assistance with accessing programs such as:

  • Health insurance through the Kaiser Permanente Community Health Access Program (CHAP)
  • Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women
  • Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
  • Head Start
  • Energy assistance
  • Eviction prevention services
  • English as Second Language (ESL) classes
  • Employment and training development
  • Referral to social service benefits
  • Citizenship services, and more

The Caring About Family Engagement Project (C.A.F.E) was created to serve low-income, immigrant, and refugee members of our community.

Read More

C.A.F.E provides access to mental health and psychosocial support, prenatal care, preventive care, and health education for families who have Limited English Proficiency and many of whom also fall below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold.

In addition to these barriers, immigrant and refugee communities can also experience fear of deportation, shame and stigma, and often lack the knowledge needed to navigate the healthcare system.

Funding for the C.A.F.E project allows the AACF to:

    • Expand the “Healthy Babies! Smart Moms!” project, which is led by Community Health Workers. The project serves 20 at-risk women in our community and encourages their families to understand, trust, and access community-based prenatal education and health services.
    • Assist refugee and immigrant families in accessing health and human services.

These two service areas address the Delaplaine Foundation’s strategic interest in supporting and stabilizing families with children with incomes at or below the ALICE threshold.

Contact Us

Elizabeth Chung, Executive Director
[email protected]
301.694.3355

Address:
Hillcrest Community Center, 1150 Orchard Terrace, Frederick, MD 21703
Hours:
10:00am – 5:00pm Mon-Fri

 

Our Team

Get to know the people in our organization helping to make a difference every day.

Board of Directors

Meet our board members who help lead the AACF behind the scenes.

Careers

Join our team and help make a difference in the lives of immigrants in Frederick County.

Locations

Visit us to find programs, services, and resources at our different locations.

In the News

Read about past and present work done by the AACF.

Media

Find photos and videos from events, programs, classes, and the other services we help provide.

Media

Find photos and videos from events, programs, classes, and the other services we help provide.

In the News

Read about past and present work done by the AACF.

Locations

Visit us to find programs, services, and resources at our different locations.