Mercer County CES

Title:

Family Resilience and Skill Building

MAP:

Strengthening Families

Agents Involved:

Luci Hockersmith, Linda McClanahan

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

Nurturing Parenting

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Embracing Life as We Age (general)

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

Mastering Food Choices

MAJOR PROGRAM 4:

Relationship Smart Plus 3.0

Situation:

Healthy couple and parenting relationships and resulting family stability benefit the well-being of adults and children. Children who live absent from their biological fathers are two to three times more likely to be poor, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. In 2013, 25 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty, ranking Kentucky 40th in the nation. Children who live in poverty are more likely to have learning disabilities and developmental delays. Furthermore, children who start kindergarten with delayed development and fewer assets are by far more likely to repeat grades, get tracked into lower-tier classes and drop out of high school than more advantaged children. More than half of Kentucky’s 56 judicial circuits have some form of mandated divorce education; more such education is needed.

Also, people are living longer. Kentucky’s current population of seniors (65+) is 13.3%, a number that is expected to double in the next 40 years due to the aging Baby Boomers (post WWII babies born between 1946-1964). Approximately 25% of Kentucky’s population includes Boomers, who, in 2011, started turning 65. Meanwhile, babies born in Kentucky in 2011 are projected to live to be 75 years old (3 years younger than the national average). Whether it is the graying of America or extended life expectancies, aging is a lifespan process. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the changes that accompany aging, in regard to health, independence and life quality throughout all stages of life. And since Mercer County statistics are well above the state national averages, we aim to help individuals, families and communities manage the challenges and discover the positive aspects of life transitions and growing older.

Long-Term Outcomes:

Families are able to:
* Care for the physical and mental health and well-being of each individual over the long term
* Foster the optimal development of children and youth
* Practice parental leadership skills
* Build personal strengths and self-control, interpersonal communication, life skills including wise decision-making
* Embrace people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds
* Reach out with empathy to people dealing with severe stress
* Access community resources when needed
* Become volunteers to make their community a better place to live for everyone

Aging families are able to:
* Decrease falls
* Decrease obesity
* Decrease # of individuals with chronic disease
* Increase physical activity
* Increase estimated health savings
* Increase caregiving knowledge and quality relationships
* Improve financial education
* Improve healthy homes and communities
* Improve quality of life for Mercer County’s aging families
* Build strong Mercer County families

Intermediate Outcomes:

Families will:
* Set and used family rules, routines and limited screen time
* Eat family meals four or more times a week
* Reduce stress levels, make time for selves, and/or make wise decisions about money, time, etc.
* Play and spend quality time with child(ren) daily
* Report child’s developmental progress over time
* Identify realistic expectations for child’s tasks
* Report using preventive and positive discipline techniques in response to misbehavior, and setting and enforcing logical consequences
* Practice skills to strengthen and sustain relationships
* Access community agencies and resources when needed
* Engage in community outreach activities
* Change behavior to decrease risk of falling
* Increase communication and enhance relationships and social support.
* Enhance brain activity
* Improve mental health
* Create a legacy
* Increase skills to interact/work with older adults
* Make healthy eating choices and follow safe food handling practices
* Work as a family unit to acknowledge and embrace aging issues

Initial Outcomes:

Families will:
* Commit to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
* Intend to manage stress; make time for self; listen, talk, bond with family members; read with child daily; teach responsibility in use of money, time, etc.
* Describe child’s developmental levels relative to averages
* Verbalize realistic behavior expectations
* List developmentally appropriate playthings
* Discuss discipline vs. punishment, and preventive and positive discipline techniques
* Commit to using logical consequences for misbehavior
* Intend to contact community agencies for assistance
* Intend to participate in volunteer activities
* Seek to reduce risk of falling
* Intend to adopt healthy lifespan behaviors
* Engage in discussions about life story and legacy, ageism, empathy, death, dying, loss and bereavement, and other age-related family issues (e.g. dementia, power of attorney, living wills, failing health, end-of-life)
* Commit to healthy eating and food safety practices
* Engage in financial planning

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Learning Opportunities:

Audience: Parents
Project or Activity: Nurturing Parenting classes
Content or Curriculum: Nurturing Parenting
Inputs: FCS Agent, Burgin Family Connections (FRYSC), Southside Christian Church, Division for Community Based Services Protection and Permanency
Date: Fall and Spring

Audience: Parents
Project or Activity: Keys to Great Parenting program
Content or Curriculum: Keys to Great Parenting
Inputs: Extension Staff, Division for Community Based Services Protection and Permanency
Date: TBD

Audience: Families
Project or Activity: Take Back Family Night
Content or Curriculum: Family Mealtime
Inputs: FCS Agent, Extension Staff, Burgin and Mercer Schools
Date: December

Audience: Teens and Adults (Latinas)
Project or Activity: Relationships Smarts 3.0
Content or Curriculum: Relationship Smarts 3.0
Inputs: FCS Agent, Extension Specialist, Mercer County Schools
Date: Fall

Audience: Families
Project or Activity: Caregiving Basics
Content or Curriculum: Prepare to Care AARP
Inputs: FCS Agent, Extension Specialist, AARP
Date: TBD

Audience: Aging Adults
Project or Activity: Stand Up to Falling/Matter of Balance
Content or Curriculum: Stand Up to Falling/Matter of Balance
Inputs: FCS Agent, Extension Specialist
Date: September

Audience: Families
Project or Activity: Estate Planning
Content or Curriculum: Estate Planning
Inputs: Extension Staff, local funeral homes, banks
Date: February

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Success Stories