Healthy Families Task Force brings community service agencies together

Part 1

[May 16, 2013]  On behalf of the Healthy Families Task Force, Coleen Moore coordinated a meeting last week of area family service providers. The Healthy Families Task Force is a part of the Healthy Community Partnership, which is directed by Angela Stoltzenberg.

The purpose of the meeting Thursday was to open a dialogue so that the groups and individuals could get acquainted with one another, and to raise awareness on what each organization does to assist families in Logan County.

Moore began by talking about a training she had attended last year and how it had benefited her in her program. She said in that meeting she had seen some of the most frightening statistics for this area. Ranking high on the list of issues for young children were problems with childhood obesity and child abuse.

She said that at one time, her school had 30 foster children. So, she was very well-versed in the problems of child abuse, as well as how to work with the state Department of Children and Family Services and the foster care program.

She said she was led to write a grant through the Illinois Action for Children and won the grant. This gave the Healthy Families Task Force the momentum to start a program of working together to offer valuable services to those in need.

She said the best part of the meeting Thursday was the opportunity for the various groups to talk about what they do and, more important, to share information on how to access the services they do provide. Moore said it would surprise them to find out how many people say they don’t know how to get the help they need; they don’t know whom to contact.

Moore began the presentations around the room by discussing her program, Christian Child Care.

Christian Child Care

Christian Child Care is located on Wyatt Avenue in the single-story building of the Odd Fellows campus. The phone number for the office is 217-732-5750.

Christian Child Care offers affordable day care services for working families. Depending on the income level of the family, day care services can be supplemented with payments from DCFS. DCFS pays the qualifying portion of the day care bill and parents are responsible for the balance, if there is one.

Moore said that when she took over as the director of the day care six years ago, it was in dire straits financially. She told the group that it was community support that helped her get the center back on its feet, but money is always going to be a problem for the day care.

In addition to financial improvement, Moore and her staff have worked hard to achieve high ratings from the state on the quality of care they provide. Currently the center is holding a strong 3-star rating. Moore said that in all of Illinois, there are only slightly over 400 day care facilities that have that high a rating, something she is pleased with, but not satisfied with. She wants to see her agency earn a 4-star rating. But again, there are improvements that would have to be made, and that means more money. Moore said she hopes to do more parent-teacher activities and more parent trainings. This will go toward her higher rating.

She said it was very hard to run the agency on what they do have. She said, "I would love to give my staff raises," but she told the group the money just isn’t there. She doesn’t want to raise rates because her parents are already struggling with the fees. She also noted that in Springfield the same services she offers would cost over $400 a month, and in Bloomington it would cost over $300 a month. Christian Child Care rates are about half that amount.

Head Start

There were three representatives in the room from the Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois: Marcia Hieronymus, Mackenzie Montgomery and Libby Canady. Hieronymus began their presentation by offering a rundown of all the services the agency offers.

Community Action offers programs such as Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance, which provides funds to help pay heating costs for seniors and low-income families. The agency also provides a weatherization program to help make homes more energy-efficient. In addition they offer senior meal programs with home delivery and congregate dining sites, and the Foster Grandparent program that links seniors to at-risk children in the public school system. Community Action also administers the Logan Mason Transportation Program.

The group was there to primarily talk about Head Start and Early Head Start. In this area there are three Head Start classrooms that serve approximately 90 children. The Community Action Head Start program serves six counties, and the total enrollment is close to 400 children.

Hieronymus said right now they are recruiting for the fall classes, and families are being encouraged to sign up their children. The program is divided into two stages: the birth to 3-year-old group and the 3- to 5-year-old group.

Hieronymus said the programs are available free of charge to qualified families. The program includes daily transportation to school for the children and healthy meals and snacks during the class period.

Head Start is federally funded, and Hieronymus said they, too, face challenges as government funding is always changing and they have experienced some deep cuts.

Montgomery talked about the health aspects of Head Start. In addition to offering good nutrition, the program works to get needed medical services for the children. She said their biggest challenge is in finding dental care. Many of the families have medical cards that will subsidize the needed services, but the problem is that there is a shortage of dentists locally who will take the card. Head Start does take advantage of the dental clinics offered by the Logan County Department of Public Health, but in many cases their services are not enough to meet the needs of the child.

Canady talked about the early childhood program and what it offers to parents of small children. She said the program reaches out to parents to offer parenting help and education.

The program also offers help for parents in conducting job searches and writing résumés. In addition they do job interview trainings.

The Community Action corporate offices are at 1800 Fifth St. in Lincoln. Their phone number is 217-732-2159.

Department of Child and Family Services

Cince Bowns was on hand from the Department of Child and Family Services. DCFS deals with abused, neglected and delinquent children. Bowns said they do a lot of work with mandated reporter training and have a memorandum of understanding with the local Head Start.

Mandated reporting is a program specifying that agencies working with children are required to observe child behavior and report to DCFS any actions that could be an indication of neglect or abuse in the home. DCFS investigates those reports on a one-on-one basis and acts accordingly. DCFS can be reached by calling 217-735-4402.

Lincoln Christian Church

Marsha Wells of Lincoln Christian Church is a youth minister at the church. The church offers worship programs for children, and a day care program is also available.

Lincoln Christian Church is across from Latham Park on North McLean Street.

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Part 2 of this report will be published on Friday with glimpses of area youth summer programs offered by 4-H, Salvation Army, United Cerebral Palsy and the Lincoln Park District.

[By NILA SMITH]