Building Families Empowerment Budget was cut by 15% and may see additional cuts in this fiscal year. As a result the board’s priority is to fund staff, HOPES, Parent Coordinator, Home Evaluator, Child Care Nurse Consultant and Education Consultant. Other board decisions include:
Preschool Scholarships 2010: Building Families will provide limited preschool scholarships this year. Children enrolled in a four year old program will be approved first. All applications will be approved first come first serve basis. After September 18, 2009 if all the funding is not expended, then we will begin to approve scholarships for three year old programs. Children must be three or four by September 15th, reside at 200% FPL and be enrolled in a program participating in quality development activities as identified by the Building Families Board. There is a $90 cap for tuition and programs that are funded by other resources are not eligible to receive scholarships (Dept. of Ed., DHS funding, Shared Visions, etc.) The board will not fund transportation this year.
HOPES in each county will continue to serve parents and provide socializations.
Healthy Families Mental Health will provide counseling to parents (0-5) with a family experiencing mental health issues and not eligible for services under any other funding.
Parent Coordinator will provide group parenting sessions in each county and individualized parenting session in the home. Funding does not allow her to work with families with a founded child abuse report as DHS will have funding to support those families.
Home Evaluator will provide consultation to Child Care Development Homes and be working on best practices.
Education Consultant will work with preschools, centers, and home providers on CDA, identifying and locating teacher training, best practices, environments, IQPPS, Child Profiles and Positive Behavior Supports. She plans to provide a PBS for preschool (3-5) training in October and if you are interested in this training, please call Ann to be put on a waiting list.
Child Care Nurse Consultant will provide health and safety assessments in any child care setting. She will focus on partnering with the preschools this year in an effort to move them up on the QRS rating scale.
Executive Director/Program Manager provides technical assistance to the board keeps up with state policy and builds collaborative relationships with programs in our area and if approved as a trainer by CCR&R or AEA, will provide PBS 0-3 in September. Interested persons in the training can call Ann to be put on a waiting list.
The board did not fund this year: dental screenings, training, QRS stipends, incentives, training stipends, and transportation for preschool children.
Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator is a DHS grant funded project. Our CAPP Coordinator is to provide comprehensive science based sex education materials to parents, youth and school districts. The goal of the state is for school districts to provide the approved curriculum in the classroom. The CAPP Coordinator is also charged with community and youth coalition building in each county. So far, Power Up Youth is very active in Webster City and several community meetings on youth issues have been held in Wright County.
One last thing on our budgets: The Newsletter will now be printed every other month. This is due more to the element of time along with the budget constraints. This year, the Newsletter will be published and distributed in July, September, November, January, March, and May.
Please remember to link into the Building Families web site for information on programs, contact numbers, board members, meeting times, agendas, and notes. The address is www.buildingfamilies.net
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