Healthy Families 2Preschool Outreach 3Kids on the Block 4CASA 5Cooperative Parenting 6

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

On October 7th Lilia Jimenez, FSC Preschool Outreach Parent Educator,

received the Georgia Parents As Teachers Educator of the Year award. Sara

Jane Blackman, Georgia Parents As Teachers Project Coordinator presented

the award on behalf of the statewide network. Lilia was recognized for

excellence and commitment to the families she serves.

In the words of Ginger Robinson, Preschool Outreach Program Director,

“Lilia has been a true inspiration to me both professionally and personally

and I can think of no one more deserving of this honor.”

Congratulations Lilia!

Comer TurleyLynn Whitworth

Curtis KleemKim Epps

Marybeth MeadowsDee Anne Adams

Dr. Joe BaxterDottie Boring

Sue BoydSusan Bramblett

Bobbi ButlerBennieta ChappellElizabeth Cobos

Rob CowanLibby HaiglerCraig Harper

Sandee HooperJudy Jolly

Lou KirkmanNicki Osborn

Rev. Scott ParsonsOctavio PerezJudy Schwenn

Karen TownsendRep. Roger Williams

FSC Board of Directors

Family Support Council

Page 1October 2010Family Support Council

October 2010 Monthly news from Family Support Council

Mission Statement:The Family Support Council exists to create a model community in which all

children are safe, nurtured, and empowered to reach their full potential.

Belief Statement:We believe that all children have the inherent right to be valued and live in a safe

and healthy environment.

IS Quarterly - Volume 20 - July, 2010 Page 2Family Support Council October 2010 Page 2

Healthy Families / First Steps

Many changes are underway regarding the future of Healthy Families, along with other early home visitation programs, in Georgia. Recently, the Healthy

Families Georgia network became an integral part of the newly established Georgia Home Visitation Program administered by the University of Georgia. This combines home visitation services, offered through programs like Healthy Families, with programs offering universal contact with all new parents, offered through programs like First Steps, to create a continuum of services to meet the needs of parents of newborns in Georgia. As a result of these changes, the University of Georgia will now provide the training, technical assistance, quality assurance, and evaluation required for all Healthy Families Georgia sites.

Program staff members were recently given opportunities to participate in on-going professional development. Program Manager, Caroline Pence, recently attended the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Symposium. This annual event provides all PSSF grant recipients an opportunity to participate in multiple workshops focused on issues related to working with children and families. These workshops provided very useful information on topics ranging from supporting early social and emotional development in children to Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and its impact on children to supporting families impacted by domestic violence.

The information gained from these workshops will be used to further educate the program’s Family Support Workers who deal with many of these issues on a regular basis. Family Support Workers, Shelia Bingham and Aida Diaz, recently attended “Working Together: The Key to Ending Domestic Violence”, the 2010 Domestic Violence Conference held at Dalton State College. Their attendance was made possible through the Murray/Whitfi eld System of Care and should prove very benefi cial in the work they do with families each day.

Christmas sponsors are needed for Healthy Families children. The program currently serves 85 families. Christmas sponsors are asked to provide a minimum of one outfi t, a pair of shoes, and a toy. An information sheet provided for each child includes information specifi c

to the child’s age, gender, sizes, and particular needs. Gifts are returned unwrapped to the Family Support Council and are then delivered by a program staff member to the child’s home.

Sponsoring a Healthy Families child for Christmas is a simple process perfect for individuals, businesses, school clubs, churches, and civic organizations. Be part of touching the lives of local families in a special way this holiday season! Anyone interested in sponsoring a child for Christmas should contact Program Manager, Caroline Pence, at (706) 272-7919.

Parent Education

We were happy to partner with the Senior Center in providing our annual Resource Fair. The Senior Expo was held on October 21 and our grandparents met with representatives from a large number of local programs and agencies. A nice lunch was served and several of our grandparents won door prizes. This collaboration saved us money and involved many

community members.

Again this year The Daily Citizen, Kroger, Shaw Industries, North Georgia Home Health and Oxygen, and Windstream will be sponsoring their Thanksgiving grocery boxes for families served by the Family Support Council. Parent Education staff will assist families in registering.

Elaine Butler, Parent Education Director, in conjunction with several other program managers and Holly provided sessions for junior and senior level Education Majors from Dalton College. Several of these students participated in “Make a Difference Day.”

A short story of working together

A grandmother raised a grandson. He still lives with her and now they are joined by the young girl who will soon have his baby. Grandmother expressed concern at a Support Group meeting about their ability to care for

the child and the role she saw for herself. After hearing about Healthy Families she persuaded the young couple to call about services. Luckily, there was a vacant spot in the program and the soon-to-be parents qualified. Maybe a

cycle will be broken and this child will be raised, not by great-grandma, but by mom and dad with help from a caring, experienced Home Visitor.

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Page 3Page 3Family Support Council October 2010

Preschool Outreach (Parents As Teachers)

Roberta Malavenda, Georgia Parents as Teachers Network Director, recently visited FSC for two days to learn about our Preschool Outreach Parents as Teachers

Program. Preschool Outreach recently completed an online self-assessment provided by the national Parents as Teachers organization and was awarded an excellent rating, the highest rating given on the self- assessment. Roberta noted that Family Support Council’s program was the fi rst Parents As Teachers program in the state to complete the self-assessment.

During the site visit, Roberta met with Holly Rice, FSC Executive Director, Ginger Robinson, Preschool Outreach Program Director, and the parent educators to discuss service delivery and fund development.

Roberta, Ginger, and Holly met with Dr. Jim Hawkins, Dalton Public Schools Superintendent, Danny Hayes, Whitfi eld County Superintendent, and Dr. Vicky Reed, Murray County Superintendent. Also in attendance were Rhonda Hayes, Craig Harper, and Laura Orr. The goal of the meeting was to explore ways that Preschool Outreach could facilitate school transition. Research shows that transitioning into school and between

schools can be very diffi cult for young children. Preparing the student for the transition helps create positive outcomes. Many of the children served by Preschool Outreach have never visited a school or interacted with a large group of children. Everyone agreed that increasing family visits to the school will help familiarize the family about what to expect. The Parent Educators will provide packets which include samples of the child’s work to the new teacher before school starts. We hope this information will serve to enlighten the teacher about the child’s specifi c strengths and weaknesses.

Preschool Outreach will soon begin an extensive and expensive credentialing process required for national recognition of the local program. Administered by the national Parents as Teachers offi ce in Missouri, this process will culminate in a site visit to FSC to examine the processes and procedures for the delivery of services to families. As Preschool Outreach will be the fi rst Parents as Teachers site in Georgia to pursue this distinction, the state network has offered to cover these expenses.

For more information on Preschool Outreach, please contact Ginger Robinson at 706-272-7919 ext.227.

Laura Orr, Dr. Vickie Reed, Roberta Malavenda, Ginger Robinson, Dr. Jim Hawkins, Craig Harper, Danny Hayes, and Rhonda Hayes.

IS Quarterly - Volume 20 - July, 2010 Page 4Page 4Page 4Family Support Council October 2010

Kids on the Block

During the month of October KOB shows took place at Antioch, Coker and Blue Ridge Elementary Schools. The following schools will see performances during November:

November 2: Eton November 3: Brookwood November 10: Cedar Ridge November 17: Northwest Elementary

More volunteers are needed! If you are interested in learning more about being a volunteer puppeteer, contact Mary Smith at 706-272-7919 ext. 238.

Success By 6

Tom Bartley, Success By 6 Program Director, provided a presentation about Meth to 300

Dalton High School 9th grade students. During the month of October he will provide the presentation to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Dalton Middle School.

Tom is continuing the “Active Parenting” class at Dalton First United Methodist Church.

The column this month was about Red Ribbon Week.

“Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. This year Red Ribbon Week (actually 8 days) will be celebrated October 23-31, 2010. Red Ribbon Week was begun to commemorate the ultimate sacrifi ce made by DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who died at the hands of drug traffi ckers in Mexico while fi ghting the battle against illegal drugs to keep our country and children safe. The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Guadalajara, Mexico investigating a major drug cartel.

On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his offi ce to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car and kidnapped him. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been brutally tortured to death.

Within weeks of his death in March of 1985, Camarena's Congressman, Duncan Hunter, and high school friend Henry Lozano, launched Camarena Clubs in Imperial Valley, California, Camarena's home. Hundreds of club members pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifi ces made by Camarena and others on behalf of all Americans. These pledges were delivered to First Lady Nancy Reagan at a national conference of parents combating youth drug use.

The fi rst Red Ribbon Week celebrations were held in La Mirada and Norwalk, California. In 1988, the National Family Partnership (NFP) coordinated the fi rst National Red Ribbon Week with President and Mrs. Reagan serving as honorary chairpersons.

Today, Red Ribbon Week is nationally recognized and celebrated, helping to preserve Special Agent Camarena's memory and further the cause for which he gave his life. The Red Ribbon Campaign also became a symbol of support for the DEA's efforts to reduce demand for drugs through prevention and education programs. By wearing a red ribbon during Red Ribbon Week, Americans demonstrate their ardent opposition to drugs. They pay homage not only to Special Agent Camarena, but to all men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifi ce in support of our nation's struggle against drug traffi cking and abuse”

IS Quarterly - Volume 20 - July, 2010 Page 5Page 5Page 5Family Support Council October 2010

CASA (Court - Appointed Special Advocates

Murray/Whitfi eld CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) would like to thank the Daily

Citizen news for their publication of the National CASA certifi cation awarded to our program on Sunday, Oct 10. The certifi cation recognizes that Murray/Whitfi eld CASA is in compliance with National CASA’s high standards for quality child advocacy. CEO of National CASA Association, Michael Piraino, was quoted as saying, “The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous and refl ects our commitment to insure every child we serve has the most powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf. This certifi cation says Murray/Whitfi eld CASA has demonstrated to us a strong capacity to provide excellent

services to the abused and neglected children within their community.”

M/W CASA would also like to thank Joyce Parton, FSC Nurturing Coordinator for promoting CASA training on Facebook. CASA training is currently underway with fi ve new future advocates.

A special thank you goes to Kellie Payne, VISTA Project Manager, who is conducting the current training while John McMillian is on vacation. We look forward to having John back for a January training.

For additional information, please about CASA, please call Sandy Martin-Ales or John McMillian at 706-272-7919.

Oak Haven

Page 6Page 6Page 6Family Support Council October 2010

Cooperative Parenting

During the month of October Mary Smith and Tom Bartley completed another round of Cooperative Parenting and Divorce classes. They have been teaching this eight week, 16 hour class for about 9 years and have seen some encouraging results among the parents who have taken the class seriously. When divorce or separation occurs, the damage to children can be great

if the parents do not realize that it is so important to make decisions in the best interest of their children. Seven parents completed this class. Another class will begin in January, if there are enough participants. Most of the parents are mandated by Judge Cindy Morris, but others attend because of attorneys, mediators or guardian ad litems.

Another Just Between Friends Sale has taken place, and once again the Family Support Council has received the donated items left after the sale. The sale ended on Wednesday, October 27th, and staff and volunteers picked up items from the Northwest Georgia Trade Center. During the August sale many of the families served by FSC were assisted with children’s clothing of all sizes. We are grateful to Missy Headrick and the JBF volunteers for the generosity that has been shown to our families.

For more information about these and other programs of the Family Support Council, please contact Holly Rice at 706-272-7919 or visit our website at www.familysupportcouncil.org.

The Family Support Council is a United Way agency and a charter member of Prevent Child Abuse Georgia.

Make a Difference Day 2010

Under the direction of Kellie Payne, VISTA Project Manager, on October 23rd more than 40 people, ages 5 to 70, volunteered at FSC for United Way’s Make

A Difference Day. Volunteers began working at 7:30 AM and continued throughout the day. They pulled weeds, trimmed trees, trimmed bushes, raked leaves, dug holes, planted shrubs, spread mulch, cleaned play equipment, built a picnic table, and assembled a “Clubhouse Climber”. A team of volunteers from Shaw Plant 80 installed carpet tiles in an offi ce. We extend many thanks to Hayden Wagers, Ronald Payne, and Rebekah Staats for being the core of our team. We owe a special thanks to United Way of Northwest Georgia and Mohawk Industries for making this event possible.