Ten years ago, when Maryville Academy’s executive director School Sister of St. Francis Catherine Ryan saw the trend toward moving vulnerable children from group homes to foster care, she called on staff to identify gaps in the system they could fill.

That resulted in the creation of Maryville’s Crisis Nursery, located at 4015 N. Oak Park Ave. It is the only crisis nursery in the city of Chicago and serves families from all over Cook and Lake counties.

“We’re called a crisis nursery, but really we’re trying to prevent a crisis,” said Amy Kendal-Lynch, the nursery’s director.

The goal is to keep kids safe 24/7, to increase parenting skills and to reduce parental stress. The nursery takes children from birth to age 6 for a minimum of 24 hours up to three days. Parents can use the nursery up to 30 times in a year.

“Yes we’re here for the crisis 24/7, but families are going to use us many times to prevent the crisis,” Kendal-Lynch said.

Maybe the parent has a job interview, a medical appointment for a mammogram. Maybe mom has to go to her prenatal appointment or visit her psychiatrist.

“Is that an immediate crisis? No, but I can tell you it can quickly turn into one,” she said.

On the crisis side it could be because the parent is a victim of domestic violence and has to get out of the house, or maybe the mom is about to have another baby and doesn’t have anyone to care for her other children. Perhaps another child had a medical emergency and the parent must stay at the hospital with her or him.

Most families who use the nursery will call first and have staff assess their situation. The helpline is staffed 24 hours a day.

“We don’t want people to be fearful of calling upon us. We really come from a very non-judgmental, non-shaming approach of ‘We’re going to meet you where you’re at,’” she said.

Satff members are mandated reporters for child abuse. The goal is to work with parents in times of stress to prevent them taking things out on their children.

While the service is free, “this is not a free babysitting service,” she said.

Grants and donations fund the nursery. While the nursery can take up to 15 children a day, it is averaging six.

“We had over 400 declines last year because of the budget,” she said. Those funds go to pay for staff. “We know we could have three to five more crisis nurseries just in the city alone.”

Kids get a bath right away and their clothes are washed for their return home. They are given fresh, donated clothes to wear. The nursery promotes early literacy and staff read to children before nap time. There is a water table where children can play before bed. There’s a small gym with bikes .

Staff sit with children until they fall asleep and check on them every 15 minutes throughout the night. Cameras monitor each room (except for bathrooms). Parents and caregivers can call to check on their kids at any time.

There are lots of toys around but some children don’t know how to play because they have no toys at home. The children have music and art time in the morning. There’s no TV watching except for a movie at bedtime. Everything is kid-sized — beds, chairs, bathrooms. Everything is donated.

The nursery works, Kendal-Lynch said.

“Those families who use us more tend to be more stable. It’s the families that don’t show I that I start to get worried about,” she said. “Parenting young children, whoever you are, it’s nuts. It’s complicated, even under the best of circumstances.”