Norwich ― Children in foster care and their parents typically are under stress when they come to the Norwich Department of Children and Families for their weekly visit.

Now, instead of spending an hour or two together in sterile, officious meeting rooms, parents and young children can sit together on plush rugs playing games. Teens and their parents can sit on funky, comfortable chairs playing video games or watching a movie together. Parents can hold their infants with soothing, dim lights or play with colorful toys.

Brightly colored, cheerful murals also decorate the five newly renovated family meeting rooms in the Norwich DCF office at the corner of Main Street and Courthouse Square.

The $12,000 transformation, funded by donations and spearheaded by the nonprofit group, Fostering Family Hope in partnership with artists in the Norwich Street Art Collective, was unveiled during an open house Tuesday.

The Norwich office was the fourth of five projects to renovate the family meeting rooms in DCF regional offices. The Norwich renovations were funded by donations from a group called, The Power of Together, whose members donate $100 per quarter to various community projects.

For Erin Johnston of Hamden and Megan Pearson of Meriden, co-executive directors of the volunteer Fostering Family Hope and foster parents themselves, the project has been “a passion.”

They had seen the stark, uninviting meeting rooms during their six years as foster parents and wanted children and parents to feel more at home during their supervised visits.

“This is just a passion project for us,” Pearson said. “We love these kids, and we love these parents, and we want them to be reunified.”

“We hope these rooms will give families the opportunity to bond, connect,” Johnston added.

Each of the five rooms has a different theme and décor. One room is for families with children of varying ages. Artist Sarah Falman painted “Keep Going. Keep Growing,” in giant letters across two walls, with tall green ferns and red flowers decorating the walls. Families can have meals together there, play multi-player games or “get cozy,” Johnston said.

The teen room, also painted by Falman, features an astronaut playing with a video game controller on one wall and a rocket ship blasting off on another wall. “Dream Big” is written on one wall and a large chalk board allows families to create their own art.

Walls in the infant room depict ocean waves with fish and sea creatures, painted by Bart Jeczmjenny. The lights can be dimmed for naps, and there is a changing table.

Another room that can accommodate children of mixed ages has walls with mountains and large trees, painted by Suki Lagrito. Games are stacked in one area, and there’s a child’s guitar propped in one corner chair.

The fifth room, called the Sensory Room, is designed for children who might need calming surroundings. Two textured squares, called touch-feel squares, are on one wall. Artist and foster parent Jac Lahav painted two large, squares with wavy shades of blue disrupted by lines resembling cracked glass screens.

David Silva, director of the Norwich DCF office, said the office serves about 1,100 families, including 375 children placed in foster care. The visitation rooms are used every day, all day with scheduled supervised visits for families during separation times.

DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes attended Tuesday’s open house and raved about the artwork, room furnishings and games. Dorantes said she has spent her career in DCF and recalled hearing parents singing “Happy Birthday” to their children in stark, barren office settings. She gave a “special thank you” to Johnston and Pearson for their efforts to transform the meeting rooms.

“Not only are they foster parents,” Dorantes said, “but they know how scary it can be for a child, and how unnerving it can be for a parent during separation.”

c.bessette@theday.com