July
2014
Family Support
News Brief
News
Brief
Family
Support
2014
Family Support Webinars
First Wednesday of the month
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
August 6 TBA
September 3 TBA
Strengthening Families Protective
Factors framework resource spotlight
T
he Strengthening Families
Leadership Team, working
cooperatively with the Office
of Child Development and Early
Learning and the Center for Schools
and Communities, hosted the National
Alliance of Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds: “Strengthening
Families Protective Factors: Bringing
the Factors to Life” training in May. This
training allows trainers to present the
online courses in a face to face setting.
The content in the National Alliance’s
training contains seven courses – a
detailed introductory course that
provides an overview of the protective
factors framework, separate more
in-depth courses on each of the five
protective factors and a final course that
helps the learner synthesize and plan
for implementing the protective factors
in his or her work and life.
Nearly 30 people from around the
state participated in the training and
are available to offer the courses to
your organization or a community of
organizations. The series offers the
opportunity to increase the capacity of
helping professionals and volunteers
to describe the SFPF framework and
effectively work with families to build
protective factors that make families
strong. Standardized courses will have
adaptations appropriate to the audience
and will include reference materials for
participants.
If you would like to offer the seven
courses in your organization or within your
community, contact us via the Children’s
Trust Fund.
Parents
as Teachers
PAT Foundational and Model
Implementation
For new parent educators of affiliate
programs
August 18-22 Pittsburgh, Pa.
September 15-19 Camp Hill, Pa.
November 17-21 Homestead, Pa.
PAT Foundational
For new approved users and
re-certifying parent educators
August 18-20 Pittsburgh, Pa.
September 15-17 Camp Hill, Pa.
November 17-19 Homestead, Pa.
PAT Model Implementation
For new supervisors
August 21-22 Pittsburgh, Pa.
September 18-19 Camp Hill, Pa.
November 20-21 Homestead, Pa.
www.pa-strengthening-families.org
Center for Schools and Communities • 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200 • Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 763-1661
Family Feedback
H
ow do you gather feedback
from your families? Have you
used any of the PAT forms
or have you created your own? If
you are looking for a way to gather
feedback from your families about
their satisfaction with your program,
then the PAT Parent Satisfaction
Survey is for you. If you want to know
how your program’s services have
impacted your families parenting,
then check out the PAT Parenting
Reflection. If you want to know if
your Group Connections are meeting
your families’ needs, then try using
the Group Connections Feedback
form. All of these items can be
found as fillable forms on the portal.
Remember, families are the greatest
influence in helping us determine in
what direction our programs should
go.
Telling your organization’s story in reports
C
ompleting reports can seem like a
tedious part of the grant process,
but they can also play an important
role in letting funders know about
program successes and challenges. This is
the opportunity to share the great things
you are doing along with what you have
learned. Below are some ideas to make
your reports both effective and readable.
Length – When writing reports, always
follow word and page limits set forth
by the funder. Information should be
reported in a clear and succinct manner.
In other words mak every sentence and
word count. Be wary of writing too little,
as you want to give a full picture of what is
happening in your program.
Successes – Be sure to adequately
describe what is going well in your
program. Add anecdotes describing
individual family successes and
improvements. Describe progress toward
goals and new benchmarks if you have
achieved previously stated objectives.
Challenges – You may be reluctant to
discuss challenges with funders, but
sharing stumbling blocks and your plans
to overcome them shows that you are
flexible and creative. If you foresee
a challenge continuing beyond the
reporting period, note how you will
address it in the future.
Read the directions – This may seem like
common sense, but truly taking the time
to read the directions on the reporting
form and the questions asked will ensure
that you do not miss anything. Taking
this extra time now will save you time in
the future by avoiding questions from
funders.
•Do not forget to discuss how your
significant activities align with the
Strengthening Families Protective
Factors framework.
•Include flyers, pictures, news articles
and other items as attachments to
your quarterly report.
Be sure to submit your quarterly report
by the last working day of the month
following the end of the quarter.
Some notes on CTF quarterly reports –
Follow these tips to ensure accurate and
comprehensive quarterly reports:
•In the data table, add only new
families, parents and children each
month. Keep a running total at the
bottom.
•Only families, parents and children
served by the evidence-based
program listed in your work statement
should be included in the chart.
However, if other people are served
like extended family members or
other children, feel free to discuss this
in the “Significant Activities” section.
Center for Schools and Communities • 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200 • Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 763-1661
Safe Kids Corner
Be safe during holiday celebrations
The U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission indicates that
approximately 12,000 people are
treated each year in emergency
departments because of fireworksrelated injuries. Of these, an estimated
20 percent are eye injuries.
Safety tips on fireworks
•Parents should never allow young
children to handle or use fireworks
• Leave fireworks to professionals
•Children should be a safe distance
(at least 50 y/150 f) from where the
fireworks are being set-off
•Always purchase fireworks from a
reliable source
Family Support at the Center for Schools
and Communities provides training and
technical assistance to Parents as Teachers
providers, Children’s Trust Funds grantees
and the Strengthening Families Leadership
Team.
Partnerships Project Manager
Karen Shanoski
(717) 763-1661 x139
[email protected]
•Use fireworks as directed on
consumer product safety label; never
alter products
•Observe local laws and use good
common sense
•Have a designated individual to
conduct your family show
•A responsible adult should supervise
all firework activities
•Use fireworks outdoors in a clear area
away from buildings and vehicles
• Never carry fireworks in your pocket
•Wear safety glasses whenever using
fireworks
•Always have water ready when using
fireworks
•Do not experiment with homemade
fireworks
•Never relight a “dud” firework; wait
20 minutes and then soak it in a
bucket of water
•Soak spent fireworks with water
before placing them in an outdoor
trash can
Family Support Technical Assistant
Coordinators
• Children’s Trust Fund and Strengthening
Families
Rijelle Kraft
(717) 763-1661 x221
[email protected]
Family Support Specialist
Wenda Deardorff
(717) 763-1661 x116
[email protected]
• Parents as Teachers
Allyson Fulton
(717) 763-1661 x146
[email protected]
Learn more at the following sites:
Children’s Trust Fund
Strengthening Families
Pennsylvania Parents as Teachers is based
at the Center for Schools and Communities.