Supporting Families with Young Children Successful Partnerships in New Mexico

1
Supporting Families with Young Children
-Successful Partnerships in New Mexico
Andy Gomm Part C Coordinator Family Infant
Toddler FIT) Program
Larry Fuller Associate Director Parents Reaching
Out
2
Dream
Dare
to
The future belongs to those who believe in the
beauty of their DREAMS Eleanor Roosevelt
3
Todays Presentation

• Importance of a collaborative
• partnership
• Overview of the current
• agreement between PRO and the
• FIT Program
• Collaboration challenges
• Making it work for families

4
The importance of Family Support Early
Intervention

• Support for parents at a time when they are
  learning about their childs special needs
• Training and information for parents as they deal
  with a world of government agencies and local
  service systems
• Opportunity to enhance the advocacy skills of
  parents
• Facilitate parent input into local and statewide
  EI systems and
• Develop parent leaders

5
Definition \Collabora"tion The act of
working together
Collaboration
Cooperation
Communication
6
Collaboration forcing unconsenting adults to
perform unnatural acts. (Knapp in Kirst ,
1991, p. 617)

• Kirst, M. W. (1991). Improving childrens
  services Overcoming barriers, creating new
  opportunities. Phi Delta Kappan, April, 1991,
  pp. 615-618.

7
Partnership

• A working relationship in which everyones
  role is important and where-in that which is done
  together is greater than what any one
  individual/group can do separately.

8
Partnership Challenges

• A recognition that there often exists an
  imbalance of power between partners
• Money/Resource
• Ability to Influence Policy
• Culture
• Language
• Knowledge Level
• 
  

9
What does it take to partner?

• TIME!
• Recognizing that not having enough time is just
  an excuse for getting nothing done!
• Damn hard work!

10
What does it take to partner? Cont

• Knowing your partners
• A recognition of what each partner can and cannot
  do
• An acknowledgement of our respective roles and
  abilities
• Knowing one anothers strengths and weaknesses

11
What does it take to partner? Cont

• Recognizing the inherent tension in the position
  that parent organizations are in

Parent Organization
Partnership / Collaboration
Advocacy / Complaints
12
What does it take for those critical
relationships?

• An affirmative attempt on the part of the Family
  Infant Toddler Program, to reach out to Parents
  Reaching Out. (positive gatekeepers)
• Sharing knowledge
• Listening to each other
• Remembering that we both care deeply about
  families
• Understanding that we dont always have to agree
• Giving one another permission to make mistakes
  

13
History of Collaboration between Part and PRO in
NM

• 1988 PRO involvement in initial ICC
• 1993 PRO involvement in NM Legislation
• Ongoing contract to enhance parent-to-parent
  support and training
• 2005 Family support plans with local providers

14
Current Agreement with PRO

• Project 1 Parent-to-Parent Support
• Project 2 Parent Training
• Project 3 Family Leadership
• Project 4 Families as Faculty
• Project 5 Parent co-trainers for FIT
• training modules
• Project 6 Family Support at
• Neonatal Intensive Care Units

15
Family-to-Family Network
Our program is based on the philosophy that
parents of children with newly diagnosed
disabilities or chronic illness can be helped by
other parents. We understand the emotions,
myths and realities of parenting a child with
special needs. We have no magic answers, but we
are willing to listen and share our own
experiences.

• Support
• Information
• Parent Matches
• Training
• Leadership

16
Families making a difference with future
professionals

• Families team teach with UNMs School of
  Medicine
• Opportunity for med. Students to go on an
  extended homevisit

17
Family Support at the NICU

• Being there with families in the hospital
• Providing emotional support
• Offering information, resources, guidance
• Learning Opportunities

18
Parent to Parent is our foundation

• Why?
• We must keep our eye on the prize! Make NO
  mistake about it, it is about
• Developing Leadership

19
Starter Workshops

• PROspective
• Listening Skills
• KIAT
• NCLB
• Telling Your Story
• Welcome to Holland
• Medical Workshops
• Mission Transition
• Others

Feeds the Foundation FAF, P2P and Adobe Corp
20
Foundation Workshops

• Advocacy and the IEP
• Parent to Parent
• Hispanic Outreach
• Families as Faculty

Feeds Master Workshops Volunteers
Co-Presenters
21
Master Workshops

• Service Coordination Co-Trainers
• Advocacy with Honor
• Leadership Workshops
• Host Family 201

Feeds Leadership Master Advocates Future Staff
22
Leadership

• On going Workshops

On going capacity building
23
PRO Leadership Journey
Past President/Advisory
Fund Raising
System Leaders
Board President
System Advocates
PRO Board
Future Staff
Co-Presenters
PRO Committees/Advisory
Leadership
Volunteers
System Committees/Taskforces
Master workshops
Master Advocates
FAF, P2P, ADOBE CORP
Foundation Workshops
Everything we do must head in this direction!
Starter Workshops
24
Parent Leadership opportunities (Making sure
parents are at the table)

• Focused Monitoring
• Training TA Team
• Transition Team
• Early Childhood Outcomes
• Family Outcomes
• Co-Trainers
• Other ad hoc workgroups

Tokenism
25
Leadership Development

• PRO Committees
• Future Staff
• Task Forces/System Committees
• System Advocates
• System Leaders
• Fundraising
• PRO Board
• Build our Constituency

26
How PRO is promoted through the FIT Program

• PRO is at the table at planning meetings
• Co-trainers in core modules
• Promoted in Service Coordination Training
• Listed on Referral materials (calendars,
  brochures, posters etc.)
• Referral card in FIT Family Handbook (like a
  subscription card in a magazine)

27
Family Support Plans

• Challenges
• The shift to provide early intervention within
  natural environments has created less opportunity
  for families to connect
• Difficulty for PRO Family Liaisons to to meet the
  needs of families
• Strategy
• A strengths based approach to developing local
  family support plans

28
Family Support Plans (cont.)

• PRO Family Liaisons sit down with FIT provider
  agencies and ask
• What is your agency doing now to connect families
  to other families? How can PRO help?
• What is your agency doing now to train parents?
  How can PRO help?
• What are you doing now to create parent
  leadership opportunities? How can PRO help?
• Etc.

29
Dreamcatcher Advisory Committee

• Ambassador for PRO and FIT program
• Assist in development of strategies to meet
  families and their needs
• Assist in guidance to work with EI providers
• Guide leadership path development
• Review materials

30
We are CRITICAL PARTNERS and our Goal is to
IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR ALL FAMILIES and their
CHILDREN.
Leadership
DreamWeavers
HIPS
Families as Faculty
PRO
PALS
Adobe Corp
Hispanic Outreach
31
Expected Results

• Families are connected to each other and their
  community
• Families make Informed Decisions
• Families have ownership of their Communities
• Life long advocates
• Families are involved in/with the system
• Smooth Transitions
• System change (Family Friendly)
• Our Children have Improved Results

32
We have to become the change we want to see in
other people
Gandhi
33
Is it worth it?
Is it worth it?
34
Let Your Dreams Take Flight
Follow your dreams for as you dream so shall you
become. James Allen