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Center for Schools and Communities • 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200 • Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 763-1661
August2016
News Brief News BriefFamily Support
School’s out for the summer …” Many children have been joyfully singing these lyrics for some time
now. Though some children experience year round learning, this is not true for many families. With this transition comes the added responsibility to provide more meals for more members of the family. This can be a burden for some families who now have to adjust their nutritional and financial budget to accommodate the added expense of providing more meals per day per child.
According to research conducted by Feeding America, children who experience food insecurity are more likely to repeat a grade in elementary school, experience developmental delays, and have adverse social-emotional and behavioral experiences. Research recently completed by the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, concluded that there was a “strong relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (such as abuse and neglect) and household food insecurity.”
Hunger and its Impacts on Healthy Family Development Fortunately, throughout the country, food hardship rates have declined as participation in school year and summer nutrition programs have increased. Leading the effort is the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Working with programs such as Feeding America and the Food Research & Action Center, they have collectively addressed barriers that families face when attempting resolve their food insecurity. Barriers such as lack of transportation, limited program awareness or the inability to access programming due to school being closed, are resolved by bringing the food to families at local parks or working with summer programs and camps.
Do you work with families who do not have the capability to access summer feeding programs? What role can home visiting play in assuring that families’ nutritional needs are met? How can your program decrease a family’s likelihood exposure to adverse experiences such as neglect or abuse by addressing a family’s nutritional needs? What role do you play in supporting families in accessing their concrete support in times of need?
These questions may be best answered during your advisory committee, staff meeting or at your local interagency council meeting. Utilizing your resource network may reduce incidents of food insecurity and increase familial stability in your community.
Follow the hyperlinks in the article for more information about available resources to you and your community.
www.pa-strengthening-families.org
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Roll and Read
Taking Care of Yourself as a Family Support Professional
Powered by Parents as Teachers
Have you ever hosted a Roll and Read event? Do you want to learn more about it? Visit
the Advocacy tab of the Parents as Teachers website to download the Roll and Read event planning toolkit. Below is a brief overview of the project.
Roll and Read• Is powered by Parents as Teachers
and is a community awareness opportunity promoting early literacy and healthy families.Provides a unique and enjoyable activity for your Parents as Teachers program to highlight the importance of early literacy to participating families, your community and your elected officials.
The families served may need a lot of support and share their stories of trauma with us. The tasks of
completing paperwork and reporting can seem insurmountable. The state of feeling stressed and overwhelmed has been called by many names including secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout. While all of these conditions are related, there are subtle differences.
Secondary traumatic stress “is the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another.”1 Symptoms may resemble those of post-traumatic stress disorder and lead to hopelessness, difficulty sleeping, feelings of fear or guilt and exhaustion.
Research indicates that teaching social emotional learning skills to preschoolers may reduce bullying
behaviors which can occur in person and online. When a child is empathetic they are more able to form positive relationships with their peers, such as demonstrating care and concern
What It IsRoll and Read consists of a one-mile walk and stroller roll for the entire family dotted with three “reading stations” along the way. The day blends two important goals for Parents as Teacher families – early literacy and physical well-being.
What It Looks Like in Your CommunityYou can use Roll and Read to be a fundraiser. It could be a way to increase awareness about your program and the value of early learning in your community, or it could be your next group connection event.
Reading station, booths, presentations, registration area and refreshments are just a few things to consider for your event. What your specific Roll and Read looks like will be based on many factors, including location, time, goals, funding and weather.
Compassion fatigue is sometimes used interchangeably with secondary traumatic stress. Dr. Charles Figley described compassion fatigue “as a formal caregiver’s reduced capacity or interest in being empathetic or bearing witness to the suffering of patients and is the emotional state that results from knowing about the traumatizing events that another human being experienced.”2
Vicarious trauma “is a theoretical term that focuses less on trauma symptoms and more on the covert cognitive changes that occur following cumulative exposure to another person’s traumatic material.”1 This term is used to describe what happens within in the family support worker.
for others including sharing and helping behaviors. Empathic children are less likely to be aggressive, shy and withdrawn among their peers.
Various studies show that the more empathy a child displays, the less likely they are to engage in bullying, online
The Roll and Read toolkit includes an event planning timeline to help your affiliate and partners plan a successful event. The toolkit walks through steps necessary to find a venue as well as recruiting sponsors and exhibitors. Sample letters are included to use with local businesses and suggested text is provided for different media outlets. Take a couple of minutes today to download the Roll and Read Advocacy Toolkit.
Burnout may occur with the three conditions listed above, but is different. According to the Mayo Clinic, “job burnout is a special type of job stress — a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.”3 It is important to note that the stress experienced related to burnout is related to the job itself, rather than the indirect trauma that may be experienced by the family support worker.
and in real life. Empathic children and adolescents are more likely to engage in positive social behaviors, like sharing or helping others. They’re also less likely to be antisocial and exhibit uncontrolled aggressive behaviors.
Center for Schools and Communities • 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200 • Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 763-1661
Teaching Empathy to Preschoolers
Although the effects of secondary traumatic stress and burnout can seem challenging there are strategies family support workers can employ to prevent the stress from becoming overwhelming. Further, supervisors and organizations can work to create environments that recognize and mitigate the harmful effects of compassion fatigue and burnout. You will find more information on the matter below.
Children’s Bureau Express: Spotlight on Secondary Trauma and Professionals’ Well-BeingThis issue published in July 2016 includes five articles on secondary traumatic stress and how organizations can support their employees.
The National Child Traumatic Stress NetworkThe network provides a wealth of information on secondary traumatic
stress including definitions, tools to help professionals identify symptoms in themselves and strategies for prevention. They have also published a fact sheet for child-serving professionals.
The New Social Worker: Mindfulness: 10 Lessons in Self-Care for Social WorkersThis article explores how mindfulness practices can help to reduce work-related stress.
Center for the Study of Social Policy – Taking Care of Yourself: Putting Protective Factors into Play for YourselfThis two-pager discusses how the protective factors, that are a part of the Strengthening Families approach, apply to family support professionals. It includes strategies for workers to use to build each protective factor.
1 National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Secondary Traumatic Stress Committee. Secondary traumatic stress: A fact sheet
for child-serving professionals. http://nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/secondary_traumatic_tress.pdf. Published 2011. Accessed July 25, 2016.
2 Melvin CS. Historical Review in Understanding Burnout, Professional Compassion Fatigue, and Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder From a Hospice and Palliative Nursing Perspective. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing. 2015;17(1):66-72. doi:10.1097/njh.0000000000000126.
3 Mayo Clinic Staff. Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. Mayo Clinic, Healthy Lifestyle, Adult health. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642. Accessed July 25, 2016.
Center for Schools and Communities • 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200 • Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 763-1661
Whether children walk, ride their bicycle or take the bus to school, it is extremely important that they take proper safety precautions. Here are some tips to make sure your child safely travels to school.
Walking to SchoolWalk on the sidewalk, if one is available. When on a street with no sidewalk, walk facing the traffic. Before you cross the street, stop and look left, right and left again to see if cars are coming. Never dart out in front of a parked car. Practice walking to school with your child. Cross streets at crosswalks when available.
Riding a Bicycle to SchoolMake sure your child always wears a helmet when leaving the house. Make sure their helmet is fitted properly. Teach your children the rules of the road. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic and in a single file. Come to a complete stop before crossing the street. Practice riding bikes to school prior to the first day.
Riding the Bus to SchoolGo to the bus stop with your child to teach them the proper way to get on and off the bus. Make sure your child stands six feet away (or three giant steps) from the curb. If your child and you need to cross the street in front of the bus, walk on the side of the road until you are 10 feet ahead of the bus. You always should be able to see the bus driver and the bus driver always should be able to see you.
Driving to SchoolMake sure your teen is ready to drive into school. Explain the difference in traffic and pedestrians. Discuss the different types of distractions within the car. Follow the Pennsylvania Young Driver Law.
School SafetyMany school-related injuries are completely preventable. Follow these steps to ensure your child’s safety at school.
Preventing Backpack-Related InjuriesChose a backpack for your child carefully; it should have ergonomically designed features to enhance safety and comfort. Do not overstuff a backpack; it should weigh no more than 10-20 percent of your child’s body weight. For example, a child that weighs 40 pounds should carry a backpack no heavier than eight pounds. Ask your children to use both straps when wearing their backpack to evenly distribute the weight on their shoulders.
Preventing Playground-Related InjuriesEncourage your child to use playgrounds with a soft surface. Children under the age of four should use climbing equipment with assistance and adult supervision.
Safe Kids Corner
Transportation Safety
Parents as TeachersUntil one month prior to the event, registration will only be open to Pennsylvania participants. If you have a new hire in the month before the event, contact Wenda Deardorff.
PAT Foundational & Model Implementation For new parent educators & supervisors of affiliate programsOctober 31 – November 4 Camp Hill, Pa.December 5-9 Camp Hill, Pa.
PAT FoundationalFor new approved users September 26-29 Homestead, Pa.October 31 – November 2 Camp Hill, Pa.December 5-7 Camp Hill, Pa.
PA Foundational 2: 3 Years through KindergartenNovember 14-15 Homestead, Pa.
Family Support Family Support WebinarsFirst Wednesday of the month 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM September 7 TBA
2016
Family Support at the Center for Schools and Communities provides training and technical assistance to Parents as Teachers providers, Children’s Trust Funds grantees and the Strengthening Families Leadership Team.Partnerships Project Manager Karen Shanoski
(717) 763-1661 x139 [email protected] Support Specialist Wenda Deardorff
(717) 763-1661 x116 [email protected]
Family Support Technical Assistant Coordinators • Children’s Trust Fund and Strengthening
Families Rijelle Kraft
(717) 763-1661 x221 [email protected]
• Parents as Teachers Allyson Fulton
(717) 763-1661 x146 [email protected]
• Parents as Teachers and Strengthening Families Tiedra Marshall
717-763-1661 x103 [email protected]
Pennsylvania Parents as Teachers is based at the Center for Schools and Communities. Learn more at the following sites:Children’s Trust Fund
Strengthening Families
