Iowa State University Extension

Problem:
African Americans comprise approximately 12% of the population in Black Hawk County giving it the most African Americans per capita of any city in the state of Iowa . Because of the higher concentration of African American services, special efforts are needed to address the issues facing African American families. For several years initiatives have been started that attempted to address the needs of African American families through collaborative efforts but each of these efforts has eventually lost momentum.

Response:
Black Hawk County Families Field Specialist, Madelyn Ridgeway, Family Life Field Specialist, Donna Andrusyk, and Black Hawk County Extension Education Director, Al Ricks worked to bring together a group of representatives from various community organizations who were interested offering parenting education to African American families in Waterloo .

Representatives from the school system, the local community action agency, the drug abuse prevention agency and the local child abuse prevention agency have all come to the table to collaborate and make a difference in African American families. The efforts have been largely funded through the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) provided by the National Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), a five year federal grant given to state cooperative extension services to help improve the lives of families at risk in local communities. The group decided to offer parenting education and parental involvement in a targeted area of Waterloo using the Strengthening Families 10-14 program. Bi-monthly meetings are held to plan classes, develop marketing strategies and discuss gaps in services and decide how the group can address the issues. To date, hundreds of dollars have been donated to the efforts in the form of staff training time, incentive funding, meal donation and advertising.

Impact:
The CYFAR efforts have been met with great acceptance and excitement in Waterloo . One principal commented "We really need this in our community". Group members play an active role in promoting the program at schools, churches, social events and community events. Since its inception, the group has met 6 times and one Strengthening Families (SFP) class has been conducted with good success. Plans are underway to implement at least two other SFP classes in this school year and add additional class offerings in the next school year. The group has developed a goal of expanding the services to the entire community once the system has been perfected. It sees many possibilities to help African American families in Black Hawk County !

Other Staff Involved:
Donna Andrusyk, Family Life Field Specialist, 319-882-4275, andrusyk@iastate.edu Al Ricks, Black Hawk County CEED Marion Boggs, Local CYFAR Arranger, Black Hawk County

Community Partners:
Michelle Temeyer, Community liaison, Waterloo Schools Katrina Hemman, Waterloo Schools Phillip Anderson, Principal, Logan Middle School Brad Schweppe, Principal, Longfellow Elementary School Felicia Carter, Pathways Behavioral Center Alice Baruth, Pathways Behavioral Center LeKeisha Veasley, Operation Threshold

Contact:
Madelyn Ridgeway
Black Hawk County Extension
3420 University Dr, Ste B
Waterloo, IA 50701
319-234-6811
ridgeway@iastate.edu