MARCH 4, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WHERE DID IT START?

◦ Federally funded initiative from the federal Maternal and Child Health Program ◦ Purpose: Create a comprehensive early childhood system in Louisiana that will coordinate and integrate services for children ages 0-5 ◦ Five Priority Areas:  Parenting Education  Others: Access to Health Insurance and Medical Homes, Mental Health and Social-Emotional Development, Early Care and Education and Family Support

 BrightStart Strategic Plan ◦ Includes goals and strategies for improvement in parenting education in Louisiana  Identified need for more information on what currently is offered throughout the state ◦ Conducted a Parenting Education Program Survey December 2006-January 2007

Parenting Education Program Survey Conclusions  There are a number of nationally recognized models and curriculums being used in Louisiana, but there may be issues of fidelity.  A large number of programs may have too few contact hours/intensity to impact the high risk families they are trying to serve.

Parenting Education Program Survey Conclusions  Few programs reported that either the program or the educators were accredited, certified or credentialed in any way.  A large number of programs (41%) reported no specific training requirements for their parent educators, and a large number (45%) reported no specific annual training requirement for their educators.

 There is no statewide organization to support parent educators in Louisiana.  State funding for these programs spans four different state departments, but there is no coordinating body for parenting education.

 Determined that the first step should be to create an association for Louisiana parent educators  LAPEN formed

Louisiana Parenting Education Network The VISION of LAPEN is that Louisiana will have high quality and effective parenting education. The MISSION of LAPEN is to provide leadership and infrastructure to support Louisiana’s parent educators. LAPEN seeks to include parent educators from every field. The GOALS of LAPEN are threefold: 1.To develop and support a statewide network of parent educators who offer parenting education services. 2.To promote best practices in parenting education. 3.To provide and promote continuing education and professional development opportunities for parent educators.

Top 3 Professional Development Services: 1) NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES 2) EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS AND EVALUATION 3) PROGRAM / RESOURCE DIRECTORY 1.

 February 27, 2008 over 150 professionals from across the state attended Summit  Participants Identified top 3 Priorities: ◦ CORE COMPETENCIES ◦ WEB SITE ◦ BEST PRACTICES IN PARENTING EDUCATION PROGRAMS / TIE FUNDING TO QUALITY

First year: ◦ Developed Core Competencies for LA Parent Educators ◦ Adopted a Code of Ethics for LA Parent Educators ◦ Provided Regional Trainings ◦ Planned a second Summit for Parent Educators in March, 2009 ◦ Provided a Parenting Education Track for the Prevent Child Abuse Conference in March, 2009

Core Competencies:  Formed Core Competencies Committee  Developed LAPEN Core Competencies  Presentation at 2009 Summit

Web site:  Formed Web site Committee  Launched Web site :  Links for Information Requested

Best Practices:  DR. BAV0LEK’S WORKSHOPS – OCTOBER 2008  INCLUDED AN “EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS AND IMPLEMENTATION” COMMITTEE WITHIN THE LAPEN STRUCTURE  PLANNING FOR TRAINING IN JUNE 2009 on EVALUATION

 BRIGHTSTART  LOUISIANA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES  Staff made possible through LA Children’s Trust Fund Grant: Tiffany Hinton (also Director of the LA Partnership for Children and Families)

 Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund ◦ Support to provide staff and for the Summit  Prevent Child Abuse LA ◦ Hosted all our meetings; hosted the Parenting Education Track and Summit; co-sponsor future trainings  Louisiana Promise: Parent Information & Resource Centers ◦ Co-sponsored our regional trainings  The Children’s Coalition for Northeast LA ◦ Co-sponsored our regional trainings

Louisiana Parenting Education Network Guidance Team and Committees March 1, 2009-February 28, 2010

Guidance Team Co-chairs: Barbara LeBlanc (New Orleans) and Lenell Young (Baton Rouge) LAPEN’s Guidance Team will play an essential role in the direction of LAPEN. The Guidance Team will consist of a Chair, or Co-Chairs, Chairpersons of LAPEN Committees, BrighStart representation, and others interested in and willing to work on the behalf of LAPEN.

Core Competencies Co-chairs: Beverly Grant and Pam Wall, St. Francisville Refine Core Competencies for parent educators in Louisiana, including knowledge, skills and attitudes for professionals in the field, and determine the best use of those competencies to further high quality and effective parenting education in Louisiana.

Ethics Chair: Dr. Betty Robertson, Lake Charles Adopt a Code of Ethics for parent educators in Louisiana, and determine the best use of the Code of Ethics to further high quality and effective parenting education in Louisiana.

Web site Chair: Eileen Sonnier, Baton Rouge Develop and update content for the Web site.

Summit and Conference Chair: Deborah Jones (Baton Rouge) Assist in defining and organizing the annual LAPEN Summit and the Parenting Education Track for the Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana Conference (or a separate statewide annual conference for parent educators).

Regional Trainings/Networking Meetings Co-Chairs: Gatha Green (Monroe) and Sheri Hogg (Lake Charles) Assist in organizing regional trainings and networking meetings, and offer continuing education units (CEUs).

Fund Development Chair: Dr. Betty Robertson (Lake Charles)  Seek and secure funds for the Network.

Effective Programs and Implementation Chair: Jacinta Settoon, Baton Rouge Identify high-quality programs and resources for parent educators, including identifying criteria and means to evaluate programs and resources, and supporting implementation with model fidelity.

 INDIVIDUAL RATINGS 1. BEGINNER 2. APPRENTICE 3. ADVANCED 4. EXPERT 5. MASTER

Area of FocusCurrent Level Specific Training TopicsMethod of Training Examples: Regional trainings, multi-day conference, on-line learning, technical assistance etc. Impact of Parenting Beliefs and Attitudes Parenting Knowledge and Skills Parenting Programs & Practices: Assessment & Evaluation Professional Skills as a Parent Educator Anonymous – Inventory Summary LAPEN is interested in developing resources that will be helpful to parent educators across the state. Please help us by completing this anonymous survey. For each section please rate yourself from 1-5 using the scale below. Then, list the specific training topic you would be interested in, and the method of training that would most appeal to you.

Rating Scale 1 – Beginner: My knowledge and skills in this area are very limited. I need training opportunities on the basics of this area. 2 – Apprentice: I know the basics but need to devote more time and effort to this area in order to become a more competent parent educator. 3 – Advanced: I have an adequate level of knowledge and skill on this topic, but as a professional parent educator I could benefit from a higher level of training. 4 – Expert: I am highly skilled in this area and have a strong knowledge base on this topic. Training for me needs to focus on advanced and specialized topics. 5– Master: This is an area where my knowledge, skills and understanding are complete. I have mastered this area and now I just need to keep up to date on the latest findings.

Participants provided numerous suggestions for workshops in each of the four focus areas

 Cultural Competence / Sensitivity  Discipline Techniques  Core Competencies  Research-Based Programs  AAPI / Informal and Formal Assessments  Tools to Give Parents  Working With Adolescents / At-Risk Children  Effective Communication  Engaging Parents / Changing Beliefs & Attitudes  Early Child Care (From Birth)  Brain Development / Stages  Kohlberg, Erickson & Freud’s Stages

 Cultural Competence / Sensitivity (PCAL Workshop #15)  Discipline Techniques (PCAL Workshops #20 & #26)  Core Competencies (Summit)  Research-Based Programs (October 2008 Workshop)  AAPI / Informal and Formal Assessments (June trainings)  Tools to Give Parents (Will be available on Web site)  Working With Adolescents / At-Risk Children (PCAL #20)  Effective Communication (PCAL Workshop #29)  Engaging Parents / Changing Beliefs & Attitudes (PCAL Workshop #29)  Early Child Care (From Birth) (PCAL Workshop #22)  Brain Development / Stages (PCAL Workshop #1)  Kohlberg, Erickson & Freud’s Stages (Web site links)

 Regional Training 91  Multi-Day Conference 58  On-Line Learning 48  Technical Assistance 16  ½- or 2-Day Workshop 16  Small Groups (20) 2  Monthly Meetings 1  Leadership Development 1

PARENTING EDUCATION CONFERENCE TRACK Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana Conference March 4-6, 2009 On-site Registration Available

 Topic to be addressed: EVALUATION of PARENTING EDUCATION PROGRAMS MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED

 Topic to be addressed: CULTURAL COMPETENCE / BELIEFS / ATTITUDES MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED

 VOLUNTEER  ATTEND TRAININGS  COMMUNICATE IDEAS / SUGGESTIONS/ QUESTIONS  VISIT LAPEN WEB SITE

 Tiffany Hinton Director, LA Partnership for Children and Families Phone: 225/  Melanie Bronfin Assistant Coordinator, BrightStart Phone: 504/  Committee Chairs and Co-chairs 