Following the closure of Young Tracks Preschool and Day Care Center due to alleged child abuse, a local child advocacy center is partnering with mental health providers to host support groups for parents dealing with the aftermath.

The support groups will meet from 5-6 p.m. Tuesday, and noon-1 p.m. Thursday at 480 Rollingstone Drive and are free for all participants.

Brighter World Child Advocacy Center, a Better Tomorrow organization, encourages every family affected by the Young Tracks shutdown to seek mental health support during turbulent times.

By partnering with Growing Potential, a local counseling and therapy group, parents will find a safe place to process emotions, find support and explore advocacy efforts.

“This is an incredibly stressful thing for a parent to be dealing with, and a lot of emotions come up,” said Julia Luciano-Burns, program director for Brighter World. “We’ve talked to a lot of parents who are feeling really guilty about not seeing signs or not being aware of certain behaviors … I understand the feeling of guilt, but I don’t want them to sit in that.”

Luciano-Burns added that local mental health professional Sophie Berkley will also offer trauma screenings for children who may have been a victim of child abuse.

“The evaluations do not include therapy or determine if trauma happened or not. Instead, they look at how a potentially traumatic incident has impacted a child and gives recommendations for therapy, psychoeducation or other referrals if necessary,” said Luciano-Burns in a statement.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Luciano-Burns at 970-879-6986, or at Julia@BrighterWorldCAC.org.