Extension
It Starts With Us
Nurturing Families
Building Healthy Families
Ruth Chowning
Nurturing Parenting
Relationship Smart Plus 3.0
Real Skills for Everyday Life
Nurturing Families (general)
Healthy couple and parenting relationships and resulting family stability benefit the well-being of adults and children. Co-habiting, same-sex, divorced, widowed and single households are the new majority. 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 2009, 26 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty, ranking Kentucky 48th in the nation. 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 or parent education; more such education is needed. Within Bullitt county, there are no local Parenting Programs. This presents many of our limited resource citizens with significant challenges of traveling over 25 miles and paying for classes to meet court mandated requirements. 25% of the children who are removed from a home here in Bullitt County are done because of hazardous living conditions due to an unclean home. Working with the county social services and judicial branches, adults can be taught life skills that may not have been taught within their parental family unit. It takes a “village” (community) to adequately support families in rearing children. Everyone who takes a parenting role has at some point the intention of loving children and doing a good job of rearing them. Raising a family is a strenuous, long-lasting job at best. Extension has helpful resources to offer.
Kentucky families improve their quality of life resulting in stronger families
Build personal strengths and self-control, interpersonal communication, life skills including wise decision-making
Practice parental leadership skills
Foster the optimal development of children and youth
Access community resources when needed
Become volunteers to make their community a better place to live for everyone
• # who Set and used family rules, routines and limited screen time
• # who reduced stress levels, made time for selves, and/or made wise decisions about money, time, etc.
• # who played and spent quality time with child daily
• # who accessed community agencies and resources when needed
Commits to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
Intends to manage stress; make time for self; listen, talk, bond with family members; read with child daily; teach responsibility in use of money, time, and habits, etc.
Intends to contact community agencies for assistance
Long-term Outcome: Practice parental leadership skills
Indicator: Participants will report decreased involvement in court system
Method: report by participants and court system
Timeline: June 2018
Intermediate Outcome: # who played/ spent quality time with child
Indicator: Participants will report strong parent/child relationships
Method: 6 month post assessment tool/ phone survey
Timeline: December 2017, June 2018
Initial Outcome: Commits to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
Indicator: Participants will develop and implement a family “Rules/Disciplinary” system
Method: Pre/ Post class assessment tools
Timeline: June 2018
Long-term Outcome: Build personal strengths and self-control, interpersonal communication, life skills including wise decision-making
Indicator: Participants will graduate from SAP program
Method: # of SAPP participants reporting gain of personal skills
Timeline: December 2017, May 2018
Intermediate Outcome: # who contacted and interacted with child weekly
Indicator: Participants will report strong parent/child relationships
Method: 6 month post assessment tool
Timeline: December 2016, June 2017
Initial Outcome: Commits to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
Indicator: Participants will develop ideas/ “mock” plan for a family “Rules/Disciplinary” system
Method: Post class assessment tools/ forms
Timeline: October 2016, June 2017
Audience: Court mandated parents
Project or Activity: 13 week parenting program
Content or Curriculum: “Nurturing Parenting” program
Inputs: FCS Agent, FCS Program Assistant, FCS Council members, Bullitt County Women’s Club, District Court Judges, Social Service case workers, School social workers, Headstart workers, CASA workers, Bullitt Co Homemakers, Department of Family Sciences faculty
Date: August 2017- December 2018
Audience: SAP incarcerated participants
Project or Activity: 24 week parenting program
Content or Curriculum: “Nurturing Fathering/Parenting” program
Inputs: FCS Agent, FCS Program Assistant, FCS Council members, District Court Judge, SAP Case workers, School social worker, CASA workers, Bullitt Co State representative, Bullitt Co Homemakers, Department of Family Sciences faculty
Date: July – Dec 2017, Feb- May 2018
Author: Ruth Chowning
Major Program: Nurturing Parenting
In the past 3 years, the Bullitt County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent has partnered with the Bullitt County Detention Center Substance Abuse program (SAP) to provide a 13 week “Nurturing Fathering” program to over 331 incarcerated male participants. Surveys of the men who participate in the program show that over 40 % of the men had absentee fathers or suffered from childhood trauma. During the classes they often discuss the negative impact their background has on their
