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Parent Training Accreditation
Nineteen Coos County family support workers were accredited on May 17th and 18th in the nationally and internationally recognized parent training program Triple P - www.triplep-america.com.
Practitioners from Child and Family Services, SAU 36, Northern Human Services, Weeks Medical Center and the Family Resource Center participated in 4 days of training with instructors from Triple P in March and April. Last week the practitioners submitted written tests and then had to participate in a role play exercise which was observed and graded by Mary Echols, the head of training at Triple P. These practitioners are now approved to use the Triple P parenting workbooks and system of behavior management in their work with families in Coos County.
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. Triple P is an internationally acclaimed system of easy to implement proven parenting solutions that helps solve current parenting problems and helps prevent future problems from occurring. Coos is the first county in NH to train staff in this cutting edge program for parents. Practitioners trained in Triple P will work with families to determine if Triple P is the right program for them. If Triple P is selected for the family, the practitioner will then go through an assessment process to help the parents look at the parenting challenges and the family strengths. The family will be given a workbook to help track their progress and identify solutions that work with their child. The program is designed to take 12 weeks on two hour sessions but it can often take more time . For more information on Triple P, visit: www.triplep-america.com
Training for Caregivers
The "Coos Watch Me Grow" Steering Committee, which includes representatives from; Child and Family Services, Childcare Resource and Referral, The Family Resource Center, Northern Human Services, SAU #36, SAU#3, White Mountains Community College, Berlin Headstart, Weeks Medical Center and Family Centered Early Supports and Services, is pleased to announce that 57 people in Coos County have received initial training in the use of the Ages and Stages Developmental Screening Questionnaire and the Ages and Stages Social Emotional Developmental Screening Questionnaire. Twenty eight people were trained in Gorham, 17 in Lancaster and 12 in Colebrook. These individuals, who came from childcare centers, medical centers, family support programs and White Mountains Community College, now have the knowledge base and the materials to help parents assess how their child is progressing developmentally for their age.
The Coos Watch Me Grow Project has developed this community training program so that Coos families will have access to developmental information and developmental screening through their local preschool/childcare , family support, mental health and healthcare providers. All of these providers will be using the same screening tool (Ages and Stages) and all will be working together to provide families with consistent and accurate information about their child's development. Children who are identified by this process as having a possible delay will be referred to their primary care physician, Early Supports and Services and or the appropriate school system for further assessment. The Ages and Stages is only a screening tool and trained professionals are needed to perform an assessment in order to accurately diagnose what kind of delay a child may have or what services they may need, if any.
The Coos Watch Me Grow Project is part of a larger statewide effort to create a coordinated system for developmental screening and referral for children 0-6. This system would help parents understand normal childhood development stages and also help identify, at an early age, children who may have possible developmental delays in motor skills, speech, vision, hearing and social/behavioral interactions. 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.
Other Stories in the News
Reach out and Read program announced in an article printed in the Colebrook Chronicle, January 8, 2010. (pdf file format)
Children's Mental Health Services in New Hampshire This report is a compilation of research that examines children's mental health services for early childhood, school-age children, adolescents and young adults, and vulnerable populations.