CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND

Children's Trust Fund helps parents do a tough job
   Sentinel & Enterprise
Bonnie Toomey's parenting column, Parenting Forward, has been a wonderful addition to the Sunday Sentinel & Enterprise. Ms. Toomey captures both the joys and the difficulties of raising children. Good parenting is not automatic, and children don't come with instructions. That's why the Children's Trust Fund (CTF) is such a vital Massachusetts resource. CTF ensures that parents and caregivers have the skills and knowledge necessary to raise safe and healthy children.
We do this by bringing community-based parenting education and support programs to families in the Fitchburg-Leominster area and across the state. CTF funds Healthy Families of Northern Worcester County, a home-visiting program for first-time, young parents, and Growing Together: My Child, Myself, a parenting education and support group. CTF also provides OneToughJob.org, a source of parenting advice and tips.
In our work, CTF has adopted an approach that focuses on strengthening families and ensuring that all Massachusetts families have the following five factors in their lives, so children experience the optimal social and emotional growth and abuse doesn't happen. These factors are part of every family-support program that we fund.
* Parents must be strong and flexible -- No one can eliminate stress from parenting, but building parental resilience can affect how a parent deals with stress. Parental resilience is the ability to cope with and bounce back from all types of challenges. It is about creatively solving problems, building trusting relationships, maintaining a positive attitude, and seeking help when it is needed.
* Parents need friends -- Generations ago, parents relied on grandparents, aunts, cousins, other family members and friends to provide help in raising children. Today's parents may not have the benefit of living near loved ones. To make sure they are not isolated, CTF helps them find social connections so that they can get the support they need from friends, neighbors and community services.
* We all need help sometimes -- Parents need access to services that can minimize the stress of a difficult situation, such as job loss, financial problems or substance abuse. CTF programs help families identify and connect with these resources.
* Being a great parent is part natural and part learned -- Having accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior help parents better understand and care for children.
* Children need to connect and relate to their environment -- A child's ability to talk, play and behave well has a great impact on the parent-child relationship. Children with challenging behaviors are more likely to be abused, so early identification and work with them helps keep their development on track and keep them safe.
The Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund leads statewide efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting parents and strengthening families. As an umbrella organization, CTF funds, evaluates, and promotes the work of more than 100 agencies that serve parents. Supported by private, state and federal funding, the CTF invests in Massachusetts' most precious resource -- children and their families. For more information about CTF, please visit www.mctf.org. Also, visit www.OneToughJob.org, CTF's online parenting resource with helpful tips and information.
John Iacoboni of Leominster -- father of two sons, Evan, 21, and Jeffrey, 19 -- is director of Public Affairs for the Children's Trust Fund of Massachusetts.
(c) 2011 Sentinel & Enterprise. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

You can obtain more information about the Children's Trust Fund, its programs, and its online parenting resources by clicking on the links below.

Note: John's sons Evan (21) and Jeffrey (19) attended the Northwest Child Development Center in Leominster.

Businesses Sponsoring A Star

Guided Parenting Solutions

guided_parenting_solutions.pdf

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS

Family Fun Night: Fabulous Food!

Click here for info Family_Fun_Night_020212.pdf

Strengthening Families

WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS!

FREE 6 week course for Parents

The goals of the course, which is taught by NAMI-trained parent volunteers, are to provide parents/caregivers with the basic information necessary to take the best care possible of their child, their family, and themselves; to help the parents/caregivers cope with the impact of mental illness on the child and the entire family; and to provide tools that will assist in making the best decisions possible for the care of the child.

 The course includes:

· Introduction to the stages of emotional reactions of the family to onset of mental illness, including crisis, shock, denial, grief, and acceptance

 · Insights into understanding the experience of the child living with a mental illness, including learning to separate the child one loves from the illness that alters the child's behavior and abilities

 · Current information about Attention Deficit Disorder, Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Childhood Schizophrenia, and Substance Abuse Disorders

 · Current research related to the biology of mental illness and the evidence-based, most effective treatment strategies available, including medications used to treat mental illness in children and adolescents

 · Specific workshops to learn problem solving, listening, and communication skills

 · Examples of strategies that have been found helpful in handling challenging behaviors in children and adolescents

 · Information about the systems that are major players in the lives of children and adolescents with mental illness – the school system and the mental health system

 · Exposure to personal record-keeping systems that have proven to be effective for parents/caregivers in their interactions with the school and healthcare systems

 . Information on planning for crisis management and relapse

 · Information on locating appropriate supports and services within the community to build a community of support for the parent/caregiver

 · Information on advocacy initiatives designed to improve and expand services, with an emphasis on personal advocates for the parent/caregiver and child on an individual level

CLICK on the link for Registration Information:  nami_basics___mental_illness_workshop.doc

 

Strengthening Families Local Resources

Attached you will find a guide sheet for families with names and addresses of local resources. This list was compiled by Kristina Picariello, School Social Worker at Bennett School, Leominster, MA.  Thank You! Kristina!


MASS Department of Early Education and Care Offers Resources for Parents

MASS Department of Early Education and Care Offers Resources for Parents

 Five (5) new resourcesfor parents and families have been posted to the EEC website in four (4) languages: English, Spanish, Haitian and Khmer. Click on this link to go there: 

The NCDC WEB STORE!

SHOP THE NCDC WEB STORE AND SAVE.

This section is under RE-CONSTRUCTION.     Please be patient as we redo this section.

    SanMar Clothing. Make an Impact, featuring the best brands and nearly 1,000 styles including over 185 new choices to give your logo (or, NCDC logo) maximum appeal. Just click on the SanMar Clothing link below.

    TheCorporateChoice. Another fantastic catalog featuring Ashworth, Chestnut Hill, Devon & Jones, T-shirts, Champion, Alo, Bella, Canvas, Alternative, Hyp, LA T Sportswear, Tie-Dye, Camouflage, Garment-Dyed, Sport Shirts, Adidas Golf, Hook & Tackle, Wovens, Sweaters, Dickies, Outerwear, Toddler & Infants, Accessories, Hats, and Bags. Click on the thecorporatechoice link below.

    Teamwork Athletic. Something for the sports minded individuals or team coaches/sponsors. This catalog features warm-up jackets & pants for men, women and children. Also baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, track, lacross, football, cheer, volleyball, wrestling, hockey fan & sideline and officials uniforms and accessories. You can design your own uniforms as well. Click on the Teamwork Athletic link below.

    Phoenix Bats. This catalog is for the serious baseball/softball player or fan. Real wood bats, approved by Major League Baseball. Used by players such as Manny Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera,  Billy Butler, Darnell MacDonald (Red Sox), Jake Fox, Chris Gimenez and Lars Anderson (Red Sox) to name a few. A 10% discount is available for all purchases, with even better deals for teams (6 or more bats), leagues and fund raisers. Free engraving (2 lines) is free. Youth bats are also available. Special fund raiser to honor our military heros - 3 programs - Defense of Freedom Honor Bat, Bases and Unit Appreciation Bat, Enduring Remembrance Honor Bat. All 3 programs include 3 lines of engraving (the third line is for the name, etc.) for free. We also offer vintage bats from the 19th century-extremely distinctive versus a modern day bat. All bats can be made to your specifications and in a variety of finishes (colors, etc). Click on the Phoenix Bats link below.

Thank you for your support!