Child, Adolescent, and Parent Support (CAPS) will host its 20th annual Healthy Family Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 8 at the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse. Free and open to the public, the event connects people with resources for prenatal to preschool stages of life, plus games and activities for youth.

Community Choice Credit Union is sponsoring Elsa and Moana characters to come and mingle and hang out for photo ops. Early Childhood Iowa is sponsoring a slime making station.

“We will have volunteers from local high schools to make slime. Every child will be able to take some home,” said Director of Community Engagement Emma Michels. “Those same volunteers will also do the free face painting.”

Theisen’s is providing free popcorn for attendees.

“We do try to offer activities that are exciting for older kids as well, just understanding that a preschooler might have an older sibling that wants to attend too so there’s definitely something for everybody,” she added.

Around 25 to 30 local agencies and organizations will have tables set up with information on resources and services, including Primary Healthcare, YSS and McFarland Clinic, among others. The first 100 people will get a free thermometer, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Marshalltown.

The Marshalltown Police Department will provide car seat safety checks and information.

“We have a lot of returning agencies that will be there, but new ones as well. We are still taking registrations until the end of February,” she said. “Our only stipulation is we don’t allow anyone to offer a product for sale. So if they have something that they will be making a profit of, we don’t allow anyone to provide information on those things at the fair.”

This year’s sponsors include: Community Choice Credit Union, McFarland Clinic, Rotary Club of Marshalltown, Marshall County Community Partnership for Protecting Children, Assistance League of Marshalltown, Farmers Savings Bank, Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area and Theisen’s.

CAPS, 306 S. 17th Ave., offers support for families and youth.

“We do that through home visiting that focuses on child development and education,” Michels said. “Our Crisis Intervention Program focuses on assisting families through specific crisis. We see a lot of domestic violence and homelessness right now through that program. We also offer in school programs.”

Those include SAP (Sexual Abuse Prevention) and ASH (Adolescent Sexual Health).

“We offer those in schools in Marshall County. For ASH, we serve Tama and Hardin counties as well,” she added.

Building Healthy Families is a home visitation program that provides parent education, family support, early intervention services and serves as a link to health care services. It is available to Marshall County expectant parents and those with children birth to age 5 years who voluntarily enroll. The program is funded by Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Marshalltown Area United Way and private donations.

“It is our longest home visiting program, and we’ve gotten so many others that kind of weave in and out, that we just umbrella them all under home visiting and encourage people to call and then we’ll find the program that fits best for that individual,” Michels said. “We just encourage people to call and we’ll help connect them with the one that fits them the best or that they qualify for.”

The Nest is a store setting in the CAPS office that provides eligible Marshall County families access to necessary baby items by redeeming points.

For more information about CAPS and its programs, it may be reached at: 641-752-1730 and caps@capsonline.us