Project/program: multiple Program Report Form Host agency: Clay County Collaborative Work group: Parent Involvement Committee Today s Date: 26 June 2012 Persons preparing this report: Dawn Tommerdahl Dates of Report: July 1, 2011 June 30, 2012 Factor(s) Being Addressed Improve attendance/behavior in school x Improve functioning of children with x Child & family health ED or SED diagnosis Participation in illegal activities x Improve permanency or family Child development stability/family functioning x Organization, community, systems change Decrease need/demand for later Other prevention and early intervention intervention x Experiences of abuse or neglect (improve child safety) Other (please list): better communication between parents of children with special needs & professionals PART I: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF CHILDREN SERVED This work group does not provide any services to children but rather provides learning opportunities for parents and professionals so that they will be more familiar with challenges children with special needs may face, thereby enabling them to better communicate about specific children. Better communication could ultimately lead to increased family stability and improved child well-being. Demographic data is incomplete. See Outcomes section below for further details. 1
PART II: OUTCOMES Definitions: Goal: A specific statement about direction; what we want clients to attain; the change we re working toward making Input: Resources the organization puts in: people, money, facilities, time, technologies (knowledge, information technology, medical/therapeutic technologies) Output: Output is about us. It measures the activities we engage in, for example: number of clients served, number of sessions, number of service units, etc. Outcome: Outcome is about them -- the change experienced by the client. Program / project goal Input Output Outcome 1) Devise strategies for increasing parent involvement in the Collaborative in a variety of ways. All workshops sponsored by the Collaborative are offered free or at low cost for parents of children with special needs. Parent stipends are made available to parents to defray any costs associated with their attending Collaborative events. 2) Provide opportunities for parents and professionals to learn to work more effectively together, such as trainings, book groups, etc. Book discussion of Thicker Than Water Collaborative coordinator time Meeting space: Family Service Center, meeting room 7 (in-kind donation) Income: $105.00 $171.52 for 10 books $59.76 for 2 lunches $140.00 for parent stipends 2 sessions, 1 hour each 11/16/11 (10) 12/06/11 (8) Attended by 11 people (unduplicated). 8 people lived/worked in Clay County; 3 lived/worked in Cass County When asked what useful information they learned, respondents reported: - siblings need to understand the disability of their sibling and the supports they need. - Useful: the love, although sometimes delayed, that each author eventually felt for their sibling and the guilt that sometimes went along with the resentment felt during their childhood. - That I am not alone When asked what changes they had made in working with children and families, they reported: - I ask about the siblings and how they 2
Book discussion of Being the Other One Book discussion of Crazy Collaborative coordinator time Meeting space: Family Service Center, meeting room 7 (in-kind donation) Income: $135.00 $200.45 for books $60.76 for lunches $140.00 for parent stipends Meeting space: FSC, meeting room 7 (in-kind donation) Income: $140.00 $163.20 for books $86.81 for lunches $140.00 for parent stipends 2 sessions, 1 hour each: 1/24/12 (10) 2/7/12 (6) Attended by 11 people (unduplicated) 7 people lived/worked in Clay County; 4 lived/worked in Cass County 2 1-hour sessions 13 people attended the 5/1 session; 8 people attended the 5/22 session Participants included staff from 6 Clay County agencies and parent representatives. All those who registered lived/worked in Clay County are dealing with the challenges that thebrother/sister with a disability has. - Changes: more empathy towards those whose 'blood is thicker than water'. One respondent offered the following surprising insight: - So much of the research talks about the positive impacts of having a sibling with a disability...this book brought to light the challenges and the emotional impact which always isn't so positive! When asked what useful information they learned, respondents reported: - The recognition of the extreme emotional implications that may occur, especially in adulthood! - I appreciated the strategies and additional resources. When asked what changes they had made in working with children and families, they reported: - Has made me more aware and have brought it up in session - Just to really think about how important it is to validate feelings and emotions! Respondents offered the following surprising insights: - The number of individuals with mental illness in the court system. The frustration of those working in the system that know that it is not working but seem powerless to do anything about changing it. - How little has really changed for the mentally ill. The state hospitals were closed down and were replaced by 3
Showing of What the BLEEP Do We Know? Location: FSC, meeting room 7 (in-kind donation) $32.06 for lunch $35.00 for parent stipend 2.25 hour session on 2/16/12 13 people attended. All lived/worked in Clay County the criminal justice system. When asked what useful information they learned, respondents reported: - Much more education needs to be provided on homelessness and mental illness to reduce the stereotypes and negative attitudes towards those populations. - Mental illness needs to be looked at as a contributing factor to why individuals end up in jail. - I really liked the history of how the system got the way it currently is. Helped me understand how a person can refuse treatemnt even thought they clearly are not able to make decisions that are in their best interest. I was sadden by our society's lack of caring and providing for the most vulnerable. When asked what changes they had made in working with children and families, they reported: - New knowledge will be used in both teaching and client work. - Just an increased awareness of how mental health issues affect families. - Yes. I am more open as to why some individuals act the way they do. - I have more sympathy and empathy. Respondents offered the following surprising insights: - Really tested your thinking and what possibilities are out there. - The concept of "lifeless" matter being altered by things around it (water). When asked what useful information 4
Support of April 26-27 workshop with Ada Alden (arranged by Clay County Social Services) $275 co-sponsorship fee $10.82 - cookies for 4/26 evening session 2-hour evening presentation Reinforcing Essential Skills for Optimum Child Growth and Development Challenges Beyond Colors, Shapes and Numbers on 4/26 attended by 48 childcare providers, parents and foster parents they learned, respondents reported: - Confirming that thoughts can and do alter perception and more our environment. Knowing we can change some things with sheer will. Now to harness that and find a way to increase my focus and to help others do the same. - That you need to understand not everyone sees or gets the same things you do. When asked what changes they had made in working with children and families, they reported: - I think in some ways I will make changes, especially when considering the "observer idea" that things change how they behave when being observed. It gives me more insight to how clients behave differently when services are in place. - I will keep a more open mind. Outcome data not available for evening 6-hour all day session Tool Kit for professionals who work with families to assure competence, accountability and celebration on 4/27 Sample of satisfaction survey data from 4/27 on relevance to job (not specific to Collaborative program staff) - I think people forget how 5
Support of Fatherhood Leadership Circle events Working to Create a Safe Presenter time (provided by & Healthier Community MFFN) Takes All of Us!, 9/16/11 MFFN Facilitator time Moorhead Community Ed. staff time (registration) Location: Probstfield Center for Education (in-kind donations) attended by 85 service providers including 6 Collaborative program staff 9 a.m. noon, workshop by Joanne Mooney, DHS/Children s Trust Fund 15 people attended 1-3:30 p.m., planning session 6 people attended important family is and how today the sense of family is almost non-existent. Finally someone to bring it to everyone s attention. - The information was relevant to my job. I work with children and families on a daily basis. Communications with parents can go negatively quickly, so the information was good food for thought. - I found the workshop very relevant in that when working with young people in our schools the family gets overlooked sometimes. And is good information to get back to. No outcome data collected Early Childhood and Fatherhood, 11/29/11 $39.36 for food Presenter time (provided by MFFN) MFFN Facilitator time 9 a.m. noon, workshop by Ellie McCann (U of MN Extension, Moorhead Regional No outcome data collected 6
Booth at The Chamber s Business After Hours 12/1/11 Moorhead Community Ed. staff time (registration) Location: Family Service Center, meeting room 4 (inkind donations) $31.79 for food Booth attendant time: Clay County Child Support Office (2), Rainbow Bridge (1) Rape & Abuse Crisis Center (1) $235 booth + 3 attendees $148 handouts (copies) $79.36 business cards $31.79 food for booth Door prize donations from: The Fargo Force (10 tickets) Moorhead Community Education ($25 gift certificate) YWCA (A Touch of Taste Cookbook) Dawn Tommerdahl ($35 Office) 21 people attended 1-3:30 p.m., planning session Presentation by Ann Hoefgen (Northwest MN Legal Aid) 11 people attended Set up: 3:30 4:30 Booth open: 4:30 7:30 120 booths; 1150 attendees We collected 51 business cards from 33 businesses at our booth. Polished gift card) 3) Empower parent leadership and increased involvement in the dialog between parents and professionals by supporting attendance at trainings and conferences. No parents requested assistance to attend conferences this year. Other conferences $250 Registration for MFFN summit (January January 28-29 2012 1 ½ days plus ½ day pre- No outcome data collected 7
2012) for Robin Christianson (Rainbow Bridget) and Juan Martinez (Clay County Child Support) $161.82 - Juan s hotel for the MFFN Summit; In-kind donations from employers for Robin s hotel and mileage Juan s mileage and other expenses Paid work days for both conference PART III: COLLABORATION Explain how the service/program has been collaborating with community partners. For the third year, the work group supported Clay County Social Services annual April workshops for childcare providers, foster parents and other professionals. The book discussions and film drew in a varied audience from all over Clay County as well as Fargo. The work group provided $1500 to the Prevention & Early Intervention work group to continue the work of the MN Fathers and Family Network (MFFN) Fatherhood Leadership Circle. They also sponsored two Fatherhood Leadership Circle members to attend the annual MFFN Summit in January 2012. The idea for the Speed Date Your County resource fair held in May came from this work group. It was carried out by the Family Support Models programming supervisor AJ Schuler, Tiffany McKinnon (Clay-Wilkin Head Start) and Dawn Tommerdahl (Collaborative coordinator). The work group split the cost of lunch with Head Start. See Family Support Models work group report for more details about the event. PART IV: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 8
PART V: FINANCIAL REPORT Category Budgeted - FY12 Carryover - FY11 Total Gross expenses Income Net expenses Remaining Advertising 200.00-200.00 - - 200.00 Photocopying 100.00-100.00 - - 100.00 Education/Training 1,200.00 1,500.00 2,700.00 3,295.83 424.94 2,870.89 (170.89) Misc. 200.00 2,303.00 2,503.00 - - 2,503.00 Total 1,700.00 3,803.00 5,503.00 3,295.83 424.94 2,870.89 2,632.11 9