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Third Annual Fatherhood Conference a Great Success
The third annual fatherhood conference, presented by the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County, brought 110 men and women to Foster City on October 3, 2001, to learn why "Fathering is Prevention". Fatherhood Coordinator Herb Pierrie described a new direction being undertaken by the Fatherhood Collaborative, towards providing direct services to fathers and men in the following areas: legal assistance, particularly around issues of establishing paternity or providing child support; personal development, including literacy training and mentoring; parenting skills, including anger management; family health, including men's health and child health and development; and employment and job readiness, with a focus on job training and establishing self-sufficiency. These services will be provided in the context of case management, support groups, training of providers, and support for diverse fatherhood efforts in San Mateo County.
Ted Lempert, San Mateo County Board of Education Trustee, opened the conference, and Supervisor Jerry Hill of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors provided closing remarks. The continued enthusiastic support from Supervisor Hill, members of the Board of Supervisors, and other elected officials has clearly enabled the Fatherhood Collaborative to move forward in supporting fathers and men in their roles as parents and providers.
A panel of young fathers, facilitated by Newt MacDonald of the Bay Area Male Involvement Network, described the joys and difficulties of raising children as young parents. While some of these young men have custody of their children, and others do not, they all highlighted similar issues around child development, setting expectations, and guiding their young sons and daughters.
Guest speaker Bill Otterbeck, Regional Administrator for the State of California's Department of Child Support Services, described the new agency and its effort to link with public and community-based agencies to address concerns of custodial and non-custodial parents.
The keynote speaker, well-known comedian, motivational speaker, and former probation officer Michael Pritchard, kept the audience laughing while presenting the importance of father and parent involvement in raising healthy, responsible and successful children. He cited many instances from his own childhood and family, his probation career, and young people he has encountered in his travels, to illustrate the key role that supportive fathers and father figures play in ensuring that young people avoid major risk taking behaviors and develop into respected and responsible adults. Michael stayed long after the closing session to talk to conference attendees, and registered his support for the efforts to support families and youth in San Mateo County.
Many thanks to the conference organizers and speakers, including Vince Leeburn, County Office of Education, for leading the conference planning committee, Aaron Crutison, Human Services Agency, for speaking on the connection between fathering and prevention, and all the members of the Fatherhood Collaborative and Steering Committee who worked to make this conference a success. For further information about the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County, please contact Herb Pierrie at 573-2454.
Prenatal Advantage/Black Infant Health Role of Men Program
The Prenatal Advantage/Black Infant Health Project has added a Role of Men component to provide increased services to fathers. Case management services, parenting classes, training on establishing financial independence and assistance with the legal system are offered to men that have a female partner and/or child aged 0-5 years enrolled in the program. Program participants provide support to one another in support groups, and field trips and outings are planned for the men and their children. Meetings are held at the Free at Last Drug and Alcohol Recovery Center at 1796 Bay Road in East Palo Alto every other Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The program provides assistance with all referrals. For more information please contact Patrisha Scott, Coordinator at 599-7248.
Walk to School Day
On October 2, 2001, children, parents, teachers, public safety personnel and community activists all over the world participated in Walk to School Day 2001. This event is held annually to call attention to school travel issues threatening school-aged children's health and safety. Activities are conducted on this day to encourage children to be more physically active, to practice safe pedestrian skills, and to learn more about their environment.
In San Mateo County, the Childhood Injury Prevention Program (CIPP), Santa Clara/San Mateo SAFE KIDS Coalition, and Federal Express sponsored two Walk to School Day activities. Belle Air Elementary School (San Bruno) designated six walking sites where children met and walked to school in groups led by teachers, parents, law enforcement officers and CIPP staff. Mrs. Angela Addiego, the school principal, stated "over 300 students walked to school". After their walk, the children were served a light breakfast, which was provided by Albertson's, Inc. and the PTA. The day ended with each child receiving a bag of "goodies" donated by SAFE KIDS Coalition, Federal Express, 3M Corporation and the San Mateo County Transit District. In addition, the Transit District issued one free round-trip train pass to each school family.
Fair Oaks Elementary School (Redwood City) held its second Walk to School Event this year. The Sheriff's Department worked closely with Fair Oaks students and teachers and helped children walk safely to school. Once the students arrived at school, they received "goodies" and a healthy snack. A poster contest was held in which students created safety messages. A number of classrooms worked together to come up with one large poster.
Next year San Mateo County hopes to expand the schools we are able to assist with this important day.
Family Violence
"Violence in our cities relates to human behavior and values. When people see a better way to lead their lives, they will take charge of their environment and forge a new future. Local health departments are helping communities do just that - to build upon the many positive forces in urban and suburban America that will prevent violence." J. Thomas Cochran, Exec. Dir., United States Conference of Mayors, 1997.
FAMILY VIOLENCE: An escalating pattern of abuse, where one partner in an intimate relationship or a family member controls the other through force, intimidation, or the threat of violence. This includes child abuse, adult domestic violence, elder abuse and abuse of dependent adults.
Draft Executive Summary
Summary of Process Leading up to Strategic Plan
In August of 2000, Health Services Agency leaders and the Public Health Education Program received a small 17-month grant to develop a 3 to 5 year strategic plan for the Health Services Agency to improve and increase family violence prevention and treatment. Throughout the past year staff have worked to obtain information about needs, gaps in services, concerns of staff about issues related to family violence, and have sought recommendations from those who work directly in the community with clients. The eight key project areas for the strategic plan are listed below.
- Internal Coordination of Activities: The Public Health Division will work to set in place the structures that will increase cooperation, coordination and communication among Health Services Agency Divisions and programs.
- Screening and Reporting: Health Services will work to ensure that there are standardized procedures and protocols for screening, reporting and assessment of all forms of abuse (family violence).
- Training on Family Violence: Family-violence specific training on screening and treatment for Family Violence will be coming next year to many Health Services staff in all divisions to screen, identify, assess, and refer victims of domestic violence (and children witnesses).
- Direct Services: As a direct service provider - through our unique Keller Center and other divisions of the Agency Ð Health Services will work to expand the vision of the service we provide and how those services can both better serve the needs of our clients and reduce the incidence of family violence in our community.
- Epidemiology and Data Collection: The Public Health Division will work to integrate reporting systems so that there is an on-going process to gather data from the numerous sources in the community that provide services or work with family violence victims.
- Resources Directory: Health Services will work to make available to all health providers within the county the same consistent resource guides and information, and to have this information up-to-date and easily accessible by all.
- Communication and Collaboration: Health Services will maintain and improve communication between the divisions and with community and law enforcement agencies so that clients can receive care in a continuum of support, so that duplication of service is avoided and so that clients receive access to all services appropriate to their needs.
- Education of and for the Community: Without competing with the many existing programs in the community, Health Services will work to collaborate on education programs, and will develop educational programs, as appropriate, that are both primary prevention-oriented and address the educational needs of victims and/or their families.
Children's Report Initiative
The San Mateo County Children's Report Initiative, a public-private effort to achieve real improvements for children, is doing exciting work to recognize and support programs that are making a difference for children and families, and to improve the availability of quality child care in our community.
Child Care Action Campaign
Have you or parents you know struggled to find quality, affordable child care? To help address this problem, the Children's Report Initiative is launching a Child Care Action Campaign to improve the availability of quality child care for families in San Mateo County. The Campaign aims to increase public and private investments in existing child care solutions that could result in more licensed child care centers, improved physical condition of centers and better quality care for kids. The Campaign is led by a community group comprised of parents, child care experts, faith-based leaders, business leaders, education professionals, and representatives from public agencies, local government and non-profit organizations. To get involved in the Child Care Action Campaign, contact JoAnna Caywood at jcaywood@pcf.org or 650.358.9369 ext. 373.
Recognition & Awards Celebration
Do you know of a program that is making a difference for you and your children? Do you think that program would like to receive a cash award and public recognition as an outstanding program? If so, please nominate that program - or your own program - to be publicly acknowledged as a successful program at the first biannual Recognition & Awards Celebration in March 2002. Any programs helping kids, teens and/or families in San Mateo County are eligible, whether they are public, private (for-profit, non-profit), education, health, faith-based, collaboratives or other groups. How do you nominate a program? Complete a simple nomination form, available in English and Spanish at www.pcf.org or www.co.sanmateo.ca.us (under "What's New") or by calling 650.358.9369, ext. 373. Nominations are due January 11, 2002.
Toll-Free Parent Resource Line
Call 1-888-840-0889 for Information and Referrals
The new Toll-Free Parent Resource Line has been up and running through Prenatal to Three since September. Staff in Health Education have been working closely with staff in Prenatal to Three to ensure that the line is operating smoothly.
Community members as well as providers can call the resource line to get information about insurance, pregnancy, parenting or any other health-related topic. This is, however, not an advice line. People will receive basic information and then will be given referrals to appropriate agencies.
All calls will be logged. This will allow staff to look for patterns on incoming calls, referrals, caller ages, and other important information to most accurately help callers.
We are still working out some kinks, but we are hopeful that the line will ultimately be able to better serve our community.
Parent Education Project
Supported by a 2-year grant from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, staff from Prenatal-To-Three are offering parent education classes to families with young children. Based upon the "Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families and Communities" curricula, these 12-week classes will be offered at various locations throughout the County. The project emphasizes prevention of child abuse and neglect by providing culturally appropriate information and support to strengthen the parenting capability of families. Staff who have been trained in the curricula are Sara Arancibia, Mercedes Castro, Lorayne Jimenez, Laarni San Juan and Jasmin Wettstein. Kristine Zafrani has recently joined the staff as coordinator of the project. For more information, or questions, contact Kristine at 312-5569.
Buying Safe Toys
So, parents, ready or not---its time to start making out your holiday shopping lists. Most toys are safe, but some can be a problem. Here are a few tips to help you pick the right and safe toys for those special children on your list.
- Pay attention to age labels... they are guides to safety as well as skill level.
- Watch out for choking hazards... children under 3 tend to put everything in their mouths. Baby clothes...ensure that baby clothes are not flammable.
- Look for sturdy construction... choose toys that are well made.
- Don't forget protective gear... if you are buying bikes, scooters, in-line skates, or skateboards, buy helmets and other safety gear, too.
- Check for recalls... you may think a toy on a store shelf is safe, but that's not always the case.
- Foreign-made toys... check that toys made in other countries meet local safety standards.
- Assemble correctly... toys that are not properly assembled could pose a risk to your child. Also, remember to discard any plastic wrappings - they can cause suffocation.
More toy safety information is available from the following organizations:
US CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
1-800-638-2772 or www.cpsc.gov
NATIONAL SAFE KIDS CAMPAIGN
www.safekids.org
FEDERAL CONSUMER INFORMATION CENTER
1-888-878-3256 or www.pueblo.gsa.gov
SAFE
www.saferam.org
Taking Folic Acid
Every year in the U.S. approximately 4,000 pregnancies result in spina bifida or anencephaly, serious or fatal conditions affecting the spine and brain of newborns. November was Folic Acid Awareness Month, and surveys from the March of Dimes reveal that, on a national scale, folic acid awareness among women of childbearing age has increased from 52% in 1995 to 79% in 2001. Consumption of vitamins containing folic acid increased from 28% in 1995 to 34% in 2000, but dropped again to 29% in 2001. When asked what might encourage them to take folic acid, 20% of women, unprompted, replied that they would be more likely to do so if their doctor or healthcare provider recommended it.
Since 60% of California pregnancies are unplanned, and neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly occur in the first few weeks after conception, it is essential that all women of childbearing age take a multivitamin containing at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. With this simple measure, a full 50-70% of these neural tube defects can be prevented. Taking folic acid is another way to love your child.
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