Invest in Coös County, Invest in Kids!
The Coös Family Support Project
Program Initiatives
Triple P: Positive Parenting Program
This curriculum is being used throughout the US and all over the world. Triple P is a comprehensive, multi level system of parenting intervention. The overarching goal is to enhance the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents and reduce the rate of behavioral and emotional problems in children. Research has demonstrated that Triple P would pay for itself if it averted only 1.5% of cases of conduct disorder in a given population.
Triple P parenting support is currently available through The Family Resource Center at Gorham, Northern Human Services, Weeks Medical Center-"Bright Beginnings Program", Child and Family Services Home Visiting Program in Colebrook
Summary of Triple P Clinical and Implementation Support Day on 11-04-10(pdf file)
Triple P Training Report for March - May, 2010(pdf file)
Watch Me Grow
A statewide project to create consistent and universal developmental screening for all children 0-6. The Coos Family Support project was selected by the State of NH to be one of six pilot projects to create a coordinated system for early developmental screening for children 0-6. Research has demonstrated that when developmental delays are identified early and children can receive treatment, there is a significant improvement in the long term outlook for the future of that child and a reduction in the amount of costly services needed.
Developmental screening for children 0-6 using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) is available through the Family Resource Center at Gorham, Northern Human Services, Weeks Medical Center-"Bright Beginnings Program", Child and Family Services Home Visiting Program in Colebrook, Coos County Family Health Services, Indian Stream Health Center, SAU 36, Headstart and many of the childcare programs throughout Coos County
Watch Me Grow (WMG) Related Information/Reports: (links below are pdf files)
WMG Data Analysis July - Sept, 2010
ASQ Training Powerpoint Slides
Reach out and Read
Reach Out and Read prepares America's youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together.
Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals incorporate Reach Out and Read's evidence-based model into regular pediatric checkups, by advising parents about the importance of reading aloud and giving developmentally-appropriate books to children. The program begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age 5, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities. Families served by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills, better prepared to achieve their potential.
Reach out and Read books are available at well child visits for children 0-6 at Coos County Family Health Programs, Weeks Medical Center and Indian Stream Health Center.
Reach out and Read Program Website
The Regional Challenge
The Old Approach:
- Similar programs delivered in separate regions do not communicate
- Outcomes, if measured at all, are measured in isolation
- Programs meet some of the needs of some of the families/children, some of the time
- Staff in each area implement the program in their own way
Next Steps for 2011
Expand Training & access to Triple P
Expand training & access to developmental screening for children ages 0-6
Increase numbers of free books provided at well child visits
Sponsor a top level conference on the importance of Early Childhood Development in May 2011
The New Approach:
- Coordinate and connect programs delivered in each region
- Identify shared indicators to track goals for families across the county
- Create shared responsibility for achieving common objectives
- Create common measures and report progress and outcomes throughout the county
- Develop shared training and regional communication to develop "best practice" cross the county
The targeted investments we are recommending will lead to the following results. Over the next five years the region will have:
- Highly trained, qualified professionals and strong organizations working cross sector in coordinated systems to support all children aged 0-5
- An increased number of children who are thriving emotionally, physically, cognitively, socially and are "ready to learn" upon entering public school systems
- An increased number of children who are receiving professional, timely, comprehensive primary health and mental health care
- Strong public policy and advocacy in place which supports and promotes early childhood learning and development
- Shared indicators and a shared data collection system for tracking and understanding child development in Coos County
