Annual Report Success Story 2004-2005
State Plan of Work 310 Strengthening Family Relations
Growing Strong Families Program
Page County
Problem
In February 2005, I received a referral for Growing Strong Families (GSF) from a mother who had great concern for her single daughter. She had the sole parenting responsibility for a five year old and a two year old. The single parent was ineligible for both the Family Investment Program and Medicaid and had no source of income. I also received a phone call from a Kindergarten teacher at the Clarinda Community Schools who asked me to visit the same family and see if the mother would be willing to enroll in GSF. Although the personnel had been working to evaluate this family’s needs since the beginning of the school year, they were not achieving much success. The Kindergarten teacher was familiar with GSF and hoped parent education through home visits would provide something the school services had not been able.
Response
During that first visit, I reviewed information about GSF. Besides the Parents As Teachers handouts, the introductory packet includes information about health care access, nutrition, child development, brain research and its application to child development, and a parent handbook. I listened to her problems, learned more about her situation, and scheduled a return visit for two weeks.
I visited the family two times a month for four months and slowly saw improvement. The information I presented always prompted much discussion. Although she frequently responded with “that will never work” or “that isn’t right,” I could always see some evidence of my last visit.
Impact
During a 24-month-old screening in May, a development delay in language acquisition was detected, and the child was referred to the Area Education Agency for speech and hearing evaluations. Besides the developmental screening, nutrition education, child development information, resource management, and identifying available community services all played a part in moving this family forward. How do I know this family is really moving forward? At the last visit the mother shared that she was now “clean,” passed a drug test, and had been hired to work in a factory that pays good wages and provides health insurance benefits.
Dawn Hough
Growing Strong Families Program Assistant
311 E Washington St, Clarinda, IA 51632
Phone 712-542-5171
E-mail hough@iastate.edu
Annual Report Success Story 2004-2005
State plan of work #310 Strengthening Family Relations
Growing Strong Families Program
Page County
Problem
Teen pregnancy continues to be an issue in Page County. During my four years as a Program Assistant, I have always had teen mothers enrolled in the Growing Strong Families (GSF) program. Besides the challenge of being a new mother, teen mothers are still developing themselves and coping with parents and peers.
Response
I used the Parents as Teachers curriculum and the resources from Iowa State University (ISU) Extension families program. I used active communication when discussing choices the teen mother could make and added much positive feedback.
Impact
One teen parent came into GSF prenatally, and her daughter is now three years old. This young mother initially lived with her grandparents but is now in her own apartment. She graduated in 2005 and is planning on attending college. On a number of occasions this mother has expressed her appreciation for the support GSF has given her. She said that getting support outside of family and friends helped her make parenting decisions.
Another teen mother expressed her appreciation for the research-based information from Parents as Teachers and ISU Extension. During her pregnancy, she has received much advice from friends and families. Many times the advice comes with a lot of emotion attached. She shared that she liked the factual information from GSF without all the emotion.
Brenda Lisle
Growing Strong Families Program Assistant
311 E Washington St, Clarinda, IA 51632
Phone 712-542-5171