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Home Visiting |
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Home Visiting Meeting @ Bonnie's Bakery 12-1:45pm May 27, 2003 Attending: Florence Bucierka, Pam Arnott, Nita Quan, Ida Carroll *Next meeting is set for "Luna" between First and Front Street on Lincoln Street, used to be "Europa Café". 12-1:30pm on July 1, 2003* Nita attended a workshop in Phoenix for economic development and women's issues that she discovered on the web. This is a continuation of a long term plan for First Steps to ensure long term diversity of funding. We discussed possibilities of speakers/trainers for a home visiting summit. Much discussion about needs of staff and complimenting our education with what has already been made available, while keeping in mind new staff, who haven't yet received some of training we have had in the past through home visiting, prevention works, and in the community. Dr. Bruce Perry and Martin Teicher's were considered as opportunities to offer training about brain development when exposed to child abuse and neglect. First Steps is considering how to implement training for young parents and parents to be that will include more interaction with others and help build relationships and social networks. There are some clients who are not eligible to be group participants due to developmental delay , mental health, or chaos producing stressed clients. First Steps is considering how to design a program that would help and reach these clients to create some real change in their life, which is a little different than the didactic parenting classes (although there is some opportunity for interaction, it isn't sufficient interaction for some who really need it. We know that emotionally strong relationships increase infant's brain development. We know that positive social relationships are the basis for a support network that is crucial to family. Cheryl Ritchie does this kind of work. Nita has some paperwork from Cheryl. First Steps is also involved with DCFS in CARE project which is building of therapeutic relationship with clients who have characteristics of neglect of children, non-compliant for unknown reasons, and cognitive limitations. It may be that non-compliance is related to barriers that we haven't yet discovered. Heidi Kaas and Janet Prebstal are providing the social work for these families. Nita has been thinking that drug and alcohol affected clients have similar kinds of issues. Nita knows that for her new staff particularly they want hands on experience and practice with broaching difficult conversations with clients. Florence suggested we consider Patty Bland, who presented for the county several years ago. Patty has experience with D/A and violence and has worked extensively with the tribes. She may be able to create a workshop for us that is specific to the needs of workers to teach and how to do it. Nita also wants some information available for workers to know how clients can get into treatment locally. We may want Patty, if she's available, to train to motivation issues, violence issues, and drug and alcohol use. We decided November 7th or November 14th would be our first choice of days in that order. We could also consider the two Wednesdays prior to those days, depending on Patty's hoped for availability. Ida will check with Domestic Violence Programs to see if Patty's number can be retrieved soon and give to Florence. Home visiting committee isn't the same as the home visiting summit, which we are already set to recommend to that committee. There was discussion about the possibility of offering a couple hours training every couple of months. This could also help with relationship building across agencies. One training possibility would be to do a mock case study with a diversity of people responding from different community disciplines, for instance, nurse, social workers, drug/alcohol counselor, nutritionist, etc. This would be a good way to get new workers started on collaboration. They would actually be able to see how it can work. We should be thinking about this as people filling a role, not as agencies, therefore viewpoint would be a nurse giving information as a nurse, not from school perspective if person is a school nurse. And so on. The mock case study could be based on training given prior. It could show staff that sometimes there can be completely different goals, which can still be worked out cooperatively in the big picture. We have also talked in the past about the possibility of getting calendars for clients with Prevention Works logo on it. Clients don't have some of the most basic tools to organize and problem solve, such as calendars to record appointments. We also discussed whether we could begin a closer alliance with Head Start and maybe other agencies, who are also required to give frequent training. It would be good for all of us to have closer communication so that we could share costs and achieve a broader perspective on helping young families be successful. Nita will get info on Head Start and see if we can't start something, by sharing in already existing training. Florence thinks that ELF and OPIAC could be approached for seat time stipends to make training more accessible to agencies. To agencies, it often feels like a huge loss to not have workers working, especially with the amount of cut-backs agencies are currently experiencing. Karen Meyers was hired by UW to fill the prevention position, which will include work at PAHS. We would like to have Evergreen Family Village, Healthy Families of Clallam County, and Head Start notified about what we're doing so we can also find out what they're doing. Shaine can call above agencies. Ida can contact Barb Enos to see if she can attend. *Next meeting is set for "Luna" between First and Front Street on Lincoln Street, used to be "Europa Café". 12-1:30pm on July 1, 2003* |
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