The Washington County Community Partnership for Children and Families Community and Resource Develop

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The Washington County Community Partnership for
Children and FamiliesCommunity and Resource
Development Project Update Data Driven
Recommendations June 20th, 2008

• Presented by Teresa Shattuck, PhD
• Shattuck Associates, Inc.

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Overview

• Recommendations are presented across 4 domains
• Results/Indicators
• Youth
• Parents/Families
• Collaborative Efforts

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Target Group

• The data consistently indicated that planning and
  prevention efforts should focus on the following
  target audiences
• Primary Low Income Youth 11-15
• Secondary Low Income Parents/Families
• Tertiary Youth 0-5

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Maryland Results for Child Well-Being

• There are 7 Result Areas (RA)
• Babies Born Healthy
• Healthy Children
• Children Enter School Ready to Learn
• Children Successful in School
• Children Completing School
• Children Safe in Their Families and Communities
• Stable and Economically Self-Sufficient Families
• WC focused on RAs 1, 6, 7 prior to the
  current needs assessment study

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Result Areas

• Throughout the course of the study, the data
  pointed to a continued focus on RAs 6 and 7 and a
  new focus on RA 2 - Healthy Children
• Focus Planning and Prevention Efforts on
• RA 2 - Healthy Children
• RA 6 - Children Safe in Their Families and
  Communities
• RA 7 - Stable and Economically Self-Sufficient
  Families

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Indicators Prior to Study

• There are 26 indicators that fall under the
  respective Result Areas. Prior to the study,
  indicators of greatest interest were 
• Birth to Adolescents (RA 2)
• Child Poverty (RA 7)
• Out-of-Home Placements (RA 7)
• Indicated Child Abuse and Neglect (RA 6)

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Indicators Newly Identified

• New Indicators Emerged from the Needs
  Assessment
• Focus Planning and Prevention Efforts on
• Indicated Abuse or Neglect RA 6
• Mental Health - Covers all RAs
• Substance Abuse RA 2
• Child Poverty RA 7

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Youth Key Challenges

• Too many WC Children Are Unsafe
• Lack of Quality Parenting
• Lack of Mental Health Services for Low Income
  Youth Families
• Lack of Community Youth Development Programs/Safe
  Spaces for Youth to Gather
• Lack of Connection to School Not Hopeful about
  Academic Futures

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Youth Issue 1 Too Many WC Children Are Unsafe

• Recommendations Take steps to ensure the safety
  of all WC children while recognizing the
  distinction between modifiable and non- or
  less-modifiable risk factors
• For example, Stable and Economically
  Self-Sufficient Families (RA 7) is a very
  complex social issue requiring a long term
  solution (less modifiable) while its important
  to address, WC needs to continue, in the
  meantime, to keep Children Safe in Their Families
  and Communities (RA 6) this too is a complex
  social issue, but may be more amenable to short
  term solutions

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Youth Issue 2 Lack of High Quality Parenting

• Recommendations Provide youth with life skills
  and supports to overcome the adverse impacts of
  poor parenting
• Accept the fact that most troubled kids are not
  getting what they need from home
• Fill gaps in parenting with community services
  and caring adults/mentors
• Provide parental replacement to empower child
  give child hope for future

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Youth Issue 2 Lack of High Quality Parenting

• Contd.
• Offer youth-driven After School Programs (and/or
  weekend, summer programs) that provide positive
  alternatives with supportive adults homework
  help, confidence building, mentors/positive role
  models, life skills training, refusal skills
• Such programs can empower a child to report,
  resist, or confront areas of abuse/neglect and
  can begin to break the cycle of generational
  violence

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Youth Issue 3 Lack of Mental Health Services for
Low Income Youth Families

• Recommendations Provide long term engagement and
  support to nurture youth and their families over
  an extended period
• Provide a well coordinated program that puts
  social workers directly in contact with families
  in their communities

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Youth Issue 3 Lack of Mental Health Services for
Low Income Youth Families

• Contd.
• Social workers would be out and about, actively
  engaging families with formal and informal
  resources and supports (in this model social
  workers are not office-based)
• Funding would need to be stable for at least two
  generations regulations need to change

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Youth Issue 4 Lack of Youth Development Programs
/ Safe Spaces for Youth to Gather

• Recommendation Offer more Positive Youth
  Development Programs create more safe spaces
• In Hagerstown, conduct resource mapping to
  explore which areas have safe spaces, where they
  are, and what services are offered
• Continue to identify where the programming gaps
  are throughout the county and prioritize needs
• The greatest gap appears to be in Hancock open a
  community center there
• Wherever you are working, be sure to engage the
  local communities in all phases of the planning
  process

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Youth Issue 4 Lack of Youth Development Programs
/ Safe Spaces for Youth to Gather

• Contd.
• Conduct grassroots level needs assessments to
  identify or refine local programming and space
  needs
• Develop youth-driven programs to fill gaps
• In communities that have very little, start
  smallthe key is to start!
• In communities that have services, determine if
  existing services are utilized if they are not,
  find out why if they are, find out what else is
  needed

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Youth Issue 5 Lack of Connection to Schools
Not Hopeful about Academic Futures

• Recommendation Focus on relationship building as
  a way to connect youth to schools and build hope
  for the future
• No significant learning can occur without a
  significant relationship as such, strong
  relationships are necessary between
  administrators, teachers, staff, students and
  parents to create supportive learning
  environments that are safe, healthy,
  intellectually stimulating, and respectful

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Youth Issue 5 Lack of Connection to Schools Not
Hopeful about Academic Futures

• Contd.
• Caring relationships are established when
  students and families feel like they are being
  treated fairly by school staff teachers express
  a personal interests in students outside
  activities and leadership is shared among
  students
• Raise Expectations Parents, students, teachers,
  and school leadership should have high
  expectations and hopes for ALL students to excel
  and to have bright futures
• Successful schools are infused with a culture of
  high expectations and accountability

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Parents Key Challenges

• Parents Lack Adequate Parenting Skills
• Parents place minimal value on education and are
  disconnected from schools
• Parents Lack Adequate Job Training Job
  Stability
• Parents Drug and Alcohol Addicted

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Parent Issue 1 Lack of Adequate Parenting Skills

• Recommendation Provide comprehensive parent
  education programs
• Conduct resource mapping to explore which
  communities have strong parent resources/education
  programs
• Identify where the gaps are prioritize needs
• Conduct local needs assessments to develop
  parent-driven programs to fill gaps
• Integrate parent education strategies into
  school- and community-based youth development
  programs

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Parent Issue 2 Place minimal value on education
disconnected from schools

• Recommendation Educate parents/families about
  the value of education
• Youth place more value on education than their
  parents
• WC youth report that their parents are critical
  to helping them succeed in school
• Educate parents about what their children need
  from them in order to be successful in school
• Ensure that parents understand what it means for
  children to be workforce ready or college
  ready in todays world

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Parent Issue 2 Place minimal value on education
disconnected from schools

• Contd.
• Develop strategies to facilitate parents
  connections to school
• Raise Expectations high expectations promote a
  culture of excellence for students, parents, and
  staff whereby high standards become the norm and
  getting students to meet those standards is the
  responsibility of the whole community
• Conduct a community wide communication campaign
  emphasizing the importance of education and high
  expectations

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Parent Issue 3 Lack of Adequate Job Training
Job Stability

• Recommendations Ensure that parents are aware of
  available job training and employment
  opportunities
• Conduct resource mapping to track job training
  and employment opportunities around the county
• Develop effective systems to communicate
  opportunities to parents

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Parent Issue 4 Drug and Alcohol Addiction

• Recommendations Ensure that parents are aware of
  treatment services
• Conduct resource mapping to track prevention and
  treatment programs around the county
• Develop systems to effectively communicate/refer
  parents to treatment programs

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Collaborations Key Challenges

• Finger Pointing/Turf Issues
• Communication
• Coordination

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Collaborative Issue 1Finger Pointing/Turf Issues

• Recommendation Stop blaming one another and
  figure out how to work together toward the
  greater good
• For example, education folks think community
  folks dont collaborate well, and vice versa
• Collaboration is the new paradigm
• It is not an add on, its an integral part of
  what professionals do

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Collaborative Issue 1Finger Pointing/Turf Issues

• Contd.
• Leadership and staff may need to rethink how they
  do their jobs
• Figure out ways to work together, get past sticky
  issues such as HIPPA with interagency MOUs
• Together youll provide better, more coordinated
  and comprehensive services

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Collaborative Issue 2Communication

• Recommendation Start or continue conversations
• Determine the appropriate level for communication
  (directors talking to directors, staff to staff,
  etc.)
• Get the right people in the room and have
  intentional discussions (prepare thoughtful
  agendas with meeting objectives)
• An impediment to collaboration is not
  understanding what a potential partner can bring
  to the table afford individuals in blossoming
  collaborations ample opportunity to tell the
  group who they are and what their organization
  can bring to the table

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Collaborative Issue 2Communication

• Contd.
• Ensure mutual understanding by talking through
  the tough stuff (e.g., finger pointing, conflict,
  turf issues, value issues)
• Develop systems to sustain meaningful
  communication (e.g., establish communication
  channels, timeframes, and document meetings)
• Tolerate and welcome tension/turmoil, it likely
  means the group is getting somewhere

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Collaboration Issue 3 Coordination

• Recommendation Conduct locally driven strategic
  planning to improve the coordination of
  prevention and treatment services
• Look at collaborative efforts/programs that are
  working and seek ways to model those successes
  (look in WC, the State, nationallyreview
  literature on collaboration)
• Identify gaps in coordination and develop a
  feasible strategic plan to address gaps
• Conduct planning with a broad range of
  stakeholders (Community members are key!!!!)
• Develop plans for coordination both county-wide
  and in specific localities
• Be patient!

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Wrapping Up

• Your Thoughts?
• Geographic issues to consider
• Recommendations
• Final Report coming out next month
• Next Steps