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Montana State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Montana Interagency Coordinating Council for Prevention A nine-member council of agency heads, including human services, health, juvenile justice, public instruction, and drug abuse prevention, as well as the attorney general and the director of the Children's Trust Fund. The mission of the Council is to foster planning, collaboration, and cooperation, particularly around prevention as well as to create prevention benchmarks. To date, the Council has created prevention benchmarks and a Prevention Resource Center; prepared a unified prevention budget; developed a "master plan" for community involvement in prevention activities; and proposed a "super agency," combining health and human services. Contact: Keith Colbo, Colbo Consulting Group, Power Block Building, Suite 5A, 7 West 6th Avenue, Helena, MT 59601, (406) 444-5902 - voice, (406) 444-5956 fax. Partnerships to Strengthen Families Regardless of their specific configuration, Family Resource Centers build on the strengths found in families and in the community. All Family Resource Centers provide a relaxed, welcoming setting--and each Center maintains an informal, comfortable and home-like environment. Each Center works to help parents learn new and additional positive parenting skills. The specific services each Center offers may be located at the Center, in homes, or at other locations.
MCF is a unique state-wide, non-profit charitable organization that raises and administers private and public funds and provides leadership by making grants and encouraging endowed philanthropy throughout Montana.
The PRC assists Montana's communities to identify, develop, implement, sustain, document and evaluate comprehensive prevention programs in the areas which affect the domains of the individual, family, peer group, school, and community wellness.  Return to Top
Family Basics With an emphasis on parental involvement in children's education both at home and school, Family Basics strives to strengthen families by offering skill-building opportunities and family and community supports, reducing the risks of developmental and educational handicaps in their young children. A project of Women's Opportunity and Resource Development Inc (WORD), Family Basics, is a partnership with Missoula County Public Schools Title I Program. It includes nine unique family resource centers (FRC) in neighborhood schools and community buildings to promote parental involvement in education, family literacy and the development of informal support networks for isolated families. In a school system with one part-time social worker for 7,000 students, the introduction of a social services network into neighborhood schools has allowed educators to return to teaching and families to learn to support one another. The centers provide three core services to families: group programs including parent education workshops and support groups; drop-in programs and child care while the parents use the center or participate in activities with their school-age child; and home visitation and telephone outreach programs. The Family Resource Centers are located in six neighborhood elementary schools, (Emma Dickinson, Franklin, Lowell, Roosevelt and Russell; two middle schools, (C.S. Porter and Rattlesnake); and one high school, (Hawthorne); as well as two community buildings, (Willard Adult Leaning Center and Missoula Housing Authority Resident Management Association). Each Elementary and middle school has a school-based decision-making team of parents, teachers and administrators that provides input into the administration of the school. Each high school has a parent involvement program. A Parent Convention is offered each November to all Missoula parents for a nominal fee. A nationally known, prominent speaker and Missoula counseling professionals provide a wide variety of workshops on issues that concern parents. Parent classes are offered through the Adult Learning Center and at the schools. Volunteers play an important role in many classrooms and libraries. Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are active in the elementary and middle schools, and parent groups support extra-curricular activities in the high schools. Family Resource Centers have become part of school, a presence in the elementary schools. Parents are invited and encouraged to come in for coffee and companionship, visit or work in their children's classrooms and learn about available social services. In a school year, an estimated 350 visits were made by parents and 232 visits by teachers to the FRCs. The Centers are staffed part-time with grant money from Women's Opportunity and Resource Center (WORD) and the Title I program. Every Family center has a Family Advocate, a trained social worker, who works in the schools with families who need one-to-one problem solving and other kinds of support. Family Advocates provide information, guidance, and coordination in a variety of areas empowering families to attain their goals concerning self-esteem, self-reliance and the creation of a positive and nurturing home environment. They develop working relationships with school principals and teachers, providing assistance in meeting the needs of students and their families. They provide parents the opportunity to learn about children's development, outreach to families regarding the services of the FRC, assist in the development of programs to increase family involvement in school activities, and provide housing counseling services to those experiencing any problems. The Family Advocates work closely with each center's Outreach Specialists, who are in charge of the day-to-day operation of the center and its activities. The Outreach Specialists inform parents and teachers about the FRC and help visitors utilize all the FRC's resources. They facilitate parent involvement and volunteerism in the school by advertising and promoting the center's activities through a monthly calendar and newsletter, participating in the school's Welcome Wagon visit to all new families at the school, and recruiting members of a Parent Advisory Board. Family Advocates act as liaisons between school and parents as well as community and school in an effort to maintain an up to date understanding of the FRC's mission. Assisting the Family Advocates are Parents as Mentors/Advocates, volunteers who are paid a stipend, to act as liaisons between the teachers and parents. They use the Family Resource Center as their base of operations and are parent mentors, conduct literacy home visits with Family Advocates, assist in outreach activities, inform parents of the programs available to them, attend planning meetings, and help in the FRC during large activity times. The Family Advocate, Outreach specialist and Parent Mentors are an extension of the school, designed to work either at the school or in the home and with families who would not other wise be "involved". Services provided in each center include Family fun nights; crafts making; parent luncheons; literacy activities; lending library of books, tape, and games; community resource guide; coffee club; support groups; adult literacy instruction; housing counseling; family support information about social services; clothing closet; computer and internet access; parenting classes; and workshops. Family Basics uses a variety of funding sources including: Missoula County Public Schools Title 1 programs funds; grants from the Meyer Memorial Trust, Montana Children's Trust Fund and the Engelhard Foundation; and funds from the Missoula Board of Crime Control. Other partners include Women's Opportunity & Resource Development WORD, Missoula Housing Authority, and the Willard Adult Learning Center, and of course the families and community of Missoula. Barbara Riley - Project Director 127 N. Higgins Missoula, MT 59802 (406) 791-3550 Families Growth Program The Families Growth Program is a series of school-based family centers that are part of a community collaboration and parent involvement partnership with the Cascade County Partnership to Strengthen Families, the REACH program, Title I School Programs and Head Start. The Cascade County Partnership to Strengthen Families' doorway to partnership participation is open to any individual, agency, or group who would like to participate and is dedicated to strengthening families in Cascade County. A Family Center is located next to main office in seven school-based sites. Services offered include a parent visitation component offering learning materials coordinated with Title I programs and classroom teachers to enhance specific skills of Kindergarteners through third graders. Nutrition and cooking classes, craft classes, connections to social and health services, parenting and family activities for discipline and learning skills, and a place for parents and families within the school are also offered through the Family Centers. Parents may find out about the other services offered by the Partnership including a preschool to kindergarten transition program called HOMESTART for 4-5 year olds, a Preschool and Child Care Coalition, a parenting continuum, and a family literacy component in collaboration with the Young Parents Education Program. HOMESTART is a six-week program offered three times a year at 17 sites for parents and their 4-5 year olds. Parents and children work separately, then together, to learn concepts (e.g. letters, numbers, social skills, etc.) that will promote a successful transition for children into kindergarten and their parents. The Parenting Continuum: The goal of the Parenting Continuum is to provide support in parenting for families with children ages birth to 18 years and to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Continuum serves parents who desire to improve parenting skills, including those parents referred by agencies. It includes workshops and classes for families like Family Shared Reading, the Nurturing Program, positive discipline, and language development programs. It also includes workshops just for parents focusing on such topics as helping to minimize the impact of divorce on children, support groups for fathers, behavior management, cultural changes in building inter- and intra- personal skills, and discussing sexuality issues. It also offers supports and groups like the Early Childhood PTA, Parent Talk and Tough Love. Families Growth Program addresses the continuity of education and care of young children and their families through a Head Start/Title I Transition component and the Preschool and Childcare Coalition. The Transition component includes collaborative Family Literacy activities at Head Start, cooperative visits to the schools, and joint Head Start staff and school Kindergarten teacher meetings. The Preschool and Childcare Coalition conducts cooperative training efforts for Head Start and Kindergarten school staff and keeps a cooperative calendar of events. The programs are funded mainly through the Dept. of Health and Human Services; Montana Children's Trust Fund; Great Falls Public Schools and Title I programs; the REACH project; the Gannett Foundation; Benefis Health Care; Target, and the Great Falls clinic. The Families Growth Program has a positive impact on lives of families in schools where they are housed, according to parent reports. More schools are moving toward full service for families. A wealth of partners include: Great Falls Public Schools Title I in Longfellow Elementary, Whitter Elementary, and West Elementary ; City - County Health Department, Alliance for youth, Benefis Women's Health Center, Cascade County Extension Office, Coalition of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Community Helpline-Family Connections, Dept. of Public Health and Human Services, Early Childhood PTA, Easter Seal, Gateway Recovery Center, Great Falls Public Library, HANDS program, Malstrom AFB Family Advocacy Center, Opportunities Inc. - Head Start, Quality Life Concepts, St. Thomas Child and Family Center, Young Parents' Education Center, YWCA. Ms. Ann Bartell - Coordinator/Literacy/Reading Supervisor Great Falls Public Schools Largent Center 915 1st Ave South Great Falls, MT 59401 (406) 791-2270 Bozeman Success for All Children Bozeman Success For All Children collaboration has been engaged in linking services for children in Bozeman to assure that children and families have access to the assistance they need to enter school ready to learn and ready to succeed. Bozeman Success For All Children is one of sixty chosen by the Danforth Foundation to participate in a five-year national early childhood initiative focusing on assuring success for all children, and one of eight in the country to receive a planning grant. Its steering committee is composed of parents, school administrators, school board members, legislators, early childhood specialists and representatives from local health and family service agencies. While the initial focus of the project was placed on children prenatal through age eight, the Bozeman community team has expanded the focus to address the needs of all children, youth and families in the Bozeman Public School District. For the past three years the community team has been engaged in a variety of activities to conduct a community engagement process, develop a resource directory, and engage in on-going dialogue on ways schools and agencies can work together. One on-going challenge is the need for staff to support these efforts. In order to address readiness to learn issues, the collaboration has been successful in a number of efforts including providing support and assistance to families with children involved in welfare reform through a partnership with Prevent Child Abuse. They are increasing the availability of quality early care and education through the Child Care and Provider Network in partnership with Child Care Connections in Bozeman. Efforts have been made to engage the community task force and staff of participating agencies in cross-agency team building and trust building training. The general public has been informed of the efforts of the task force through a media campaign and a Strategies newsletter insert. Other activities include expanding Child Advancement Project (CAP) parent liaisons to seven elementary schools and two middle schools to help children identified by teachers as needing extra assistance to be more successful in school. The Boys and Girls Club offers after school programs and provide programs during teacher release days and summer. Classroom space is provided through the public schools for head Start and two new classrooms have been designed to serve infants and toddlers to address the growing need for childcare. One model of collaboration this group is experimenting with involves designing a coordinated system that combines programs like Healthy Start, Even Start, Early Start and Head Start, to avoid duplication, better serve families and assure strong linkage between programs. To support families staying home with their infants during their first year of life, the collaborative plans to conduct outreach with local businesses to promote family-friendly work places and a forum for employers. An older school building is being considered for the development of a family resource center, co-locating several programs currently providing services to children and families. With an adjacent building housing several of the health services, a "family service campus" is developed, located in the heart of the downtown area. Other accomplishments include:
Billie Warford - Coordinator Early Childhood Project Dept. of Health and Human Development Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717-0354 (406) 994-4746 Polson Partnership Project The Polson Partnership Project (PPP) is a school-based and family support program established in 1993 at Cherry Valley Elementary school on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Polson, Montana. Cherry Valley is a preschool to fourth grade school with 320 students. Approximately 28 percent of students are Native American and 53percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Polson is a town of approximately 3000 residents. The conceptual framework of the PPP is based on best practice research and the shared vision for Cherry Valley Elementary School. This shared vision is a response to the concerns that not all students are successful, as reported by the school and community. The school implemented a child-centered, developmentally appropriate curriculum that reflected best teaching practices, and yet not all students achieved success. A broad base of school personnel and key stakeholders from the community met and conceived the PPP as the means to respond to the needs of the children and families of the school community while being fully integrated as part of the school program. The PPP is child-focused and is based on systems theory, attachment theory, and what are commonly referred to as risk and resiliency factors. The school environment is a system, with the classroom as a subsystem. Attachment and bonding to a consistent caregiver is vitally important to self-esteem and development during a child's early years. Key protective factors that foster resiliency include:
The mission of the project is to define and create resiliency-based collaborations that build on family strengths, cultivate healthy attributes and create a care-gibing environment in the school. The result is a protective shield that helps ensure school success for all students. This is accomplished by the integration of human services and education with an early intervention, preventative focus. Expected outcomes are to improve the overall academic performance, physical health, social and emotional development, attendance, and parental involvement of students. Services include: case management; referral and collaboration with community resources; individual and family counseling; a child and family mentor program; and family a development component. The project views each student as part of a family and in terms of risk and resiliency factors. Individualized interventions are designed based on specific community resources whenever possible. The project is staffed by a licensed clinical social worker (who also serves as the program director), a family enrichment coordinator, two child and family mentors, a Native American language specialist, and a project administrator (who is also the school principal). Administrative leadership has been a crucial component to the success of the project by ensuring that project activities align with the school curriculum. Community building is a consciously held goal of every member of the school staff and is promoted through professional development, shared responsibility and decision making, and an inquiry based evaluation process. The PPP organized professional development opportunities based on needs assessments completed by the staff, and research and best practice methods in education. A team process has been developed at Cherry Valley whereby responsibility is shared for all aspects of the school community. This creates an atmosphere where children and their families feel a sense of trust, attachment, and a sense of belonging not only to the school, but to their community as well. When families feel support and encouragement from the school community, they will most likely feel attached to that community, practice the values it promotes, and their children well succeed academically and socially. School staffs are supported through supervision measures that are based on inquiry. Teachers are asked to think about what they are doing and why; what's working and not. This reflective practice extends to the PPP. The staff implements evaluation tools, interest surveys, parent/child feedback, case notes, and teacher/child observations to determine achievement of goals and objectives. The PPP is directed by a working team which includes the principal, classroom teacher, the project director, family enrichment coordinator, child and family mentors, school psychologist, school counselor, representatives from the Native American parent committee and the PTA, and the district superintendent. An on-going collaborative relationship with local tribal and county social service agencies, juvenile justice system, and the medical and mental health community has been established. The project has documented success in achieving the expected outcomes for students served. The expansion of services of the project has been in response to the emerging needs of our school community. The working team includes the perspectives of a broad base of community members, school personnel, and parents in determining needs. This serves to focus the efforts and monitor alignment with the mission of the project. The success of the program reflects a global vision, an understanding of the integration of education and human services, flexibility, and a strengths-based approach. Elaine Meeks - Principal Cherry Valley Elementary School 111 4th Ave. E. Polson, MT 59860 Return to Top
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Health Info - Montana State University