Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report

Table of Contents

Leadership Message

Teen Births in Washington County

Children Entering School Ready to Learn in Washington County

Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington County

Juvenile Delinquency in Washington County

Out-of-Home Placements in Washington County

Family System of Care Navigation in Washington County

Financial Snapshot

Mission

Working together to improve the lives of children and families in Washington County

Vision

All Washington County children will be born and raised in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment to become healthy and responsible adults

Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report

Leadership Message

Teen Births in Washington County

The Issue: Washington County has historically had the fourth highest rate of teen births (ages 15-19) for all races in the State of Maryland, and has the second highest rate of teen births (ages 15- 19) for Caucasian teenagers in the State of Maryland.

Why It's A Problem: Adolescent mothers are more likely to drop out of high school, experience unemployment, or, if employed, earn lower wages than women who begin childbearing after age 20. Children born to teen mothers face increased risks of low birth weight, developmental problems, child abuse, neglect and poverty.

WCCP's Goal: Babies are born full term, developmentally and physically thriving, into families that are physically, emotionally, and economically prepared to meet their needs.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

During FY 2007, the WCCP awarded $108,897.00 for strategies initiated by the Washington County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition, Inc. (Coalition). The Coalition's proposed strategy has four major components: 1) a public awareness campaign targeting parents and teens through the use of multiple media sources, 2) provision of awareness presentations to various community groups, 3) training to develop the skills of local agencies and organizations so that researched-based, model prevention programs can be expanded and implemented and 4) the acquisition of materials that will enable the distribution of public awareness information.

"Sex Has Consequences" Ad and Film Contest

The Coalition held an Ad and Film Contest in FY 2007 with the theme "Sex Has Consequences." The contest was for local youth, ages 13 to 21 years old, to create print ads, 30-second public service announcements and short films. Its goal was to raise awareness in Washington County about teen pregnancy and its consequences; to change attitudes and values regarding teen pregnancy; and to encourage parent and child communication about sexuality, reproductive health and the risks of teen pregnancy. Local youth submitted 140 entries that were judged by a panel of teens and then by a panel of media experts and Coalition members. Representatives from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy organization in Washington, D.C. also participated by serving as judges on the panel. Winners in all these categories received cash prizes. The winning entries will be utilized in future awareness campaigns.

Teen Advisory Group (TAG)

The Coalition formed the TAG during FY 2007. The TAG served as the youth voice to plan and implement Coalition activities. The TAG received the Golden Apple Award from the Washington County Board of Education for their efforts to impact the teen birth rate in Washington County. Members of TAG ran the "Sex Has Consequences" Ad and Film Contest ceremony. Teen Advisory Group members participated in the Western Heights Middle School Spring Fair, distributed parent toolkits and recruited TAG members. Teen Advisory Group members assisted in the compilation of more than 1,000 parent toolkits on May 15.

Training to Develop Local Skills:

"Wise Guys Train-the-Trainer" Event - Wise Guys is an award winning adolescent pregnancy prevention program for young men ages, 11-17. The curriculum and program are designed to promote sexual responsibility in young males.Twenty-one (21) participants representing 12 different organizations attended the November 2 and 3 training.

"Just for Us Girls" Evening - This event was coordinated in partnership with the Washington County Health System on May 10 at Robinwood Medical Center. Approximately 150 women and girls attended and heard presentations by two local physicians about teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Tables with information offered the girls fun things to do like pottery and educational materials about such health concerns as skin cancer and smoking.

"Tough Talk" - This educational event was for fathers and sons. Unfortunately, since only eight men and boys registered, the event was cancelled. Future parent/teen events will be combined to include both boys and girls.

The Coalition's speakers bureau also provided over 13 awareness presentations about teen pregnancy prevention to over 400 persons including health professionals, teachers, Parent Teacher Association members, faith-based representatives, business groups, social workers, college students, middle/high school age youth and parents.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month Activities:

The Coalition, in partnership with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, adopted the Month of May to highlight teen pregnancy issues. The Coalition received proclamations declaring May Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month from the County Commissioners and the Mayor and City Council. Pens and tattoos were purchased and distributed to middle and high school students to publicize a national online pregnancy prevention quiz. Teen Advisory Group members wrote and delivered morning announcements in the schools about taking the educational quiz and entering the Ad and Film Contest .

Parent Toolkits:

Parent toolkits, containing information on how to talk with your child about sensitive topics, local resources, sexually transmitted infections and other health information, were developed and compiled. Five hundred parent toolkits were distributed at various locations. A group of 15 volunteers met and assembled an additional 1,000 toolkits that are being distributed to local physicians' offices with posters advertising Coalition contact information for parents or youth to request a toolkit to be mailed to them. Another assembly meeting is scheduled for an additional 1,500 toolkits to be completed for distribution. Volunteers have come from Coalition stakeholders and from other groups such as Friends of the Library, thus expanding citizens who become informed about the Coalition's mission.

Children Entering School Ready to Learn in Washington County

The Issue: Over a third of Washington County children enter kindergarten lacking the social and emotional developmental skills, physical skills, language and literacy skills, mathematical thinking skills, scientific thinking skills, social studies skills and artistic skills that are needed to successfully meet kindergarten expectations.

Why It's a Problem: Recent neuro- scientific research strongly supports the belief that early learning experience prior to formal education is an essential foundation for later school success. Research about how young children learn supports the assumption that improvement in school readiness will positively impact school performance, as measured by the results of future assessments administered statewide to Maryland students.

WCCP's Goal: All Washington County children, who are birth through age five, are provided with an enriching pre-school experience that equips them with the social and emotional developmental skills, physical skills, language and literacy skills, mathematical thinking skills, scientific thinking skills, social studies skills and artistic skills that are needed to successfully meet kindergarten expectations.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

Utilizing funding from the Governor's Office for Children, the Washington County Community Partnership for Children & Families (WCCP) entered into a contract with Head Start of Washington County, Inc. (HSWC) for the purchase and implementation of the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI) curriculum in all 12 center-based classrooms. The CLI curriculum was implemented to target the language and literacy domain of the Work Sampling System Kindergarten Assessment (WSS).

At the end of each school year, HSWC assesses their four-year-old students' readiness for school using the WSS. The three levels of readiness are full readiness, approaching readiness and developing readiness. Full readiness is defined as consistently demonstrating skills, behaviors, and abilities that are needed to meet kindergarten expectations successfully. Approaching readiness indicates that a student is inconsistently meeting those goals and requires targeted instructional support. Students who are assessed as developing readiness do not successfully meet kindergarten readiness goals and require considerable support. These are based upon teacher ratings in the following seven domains: social and personal, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, social studies, the arts, and physical development.

Based on the WSS, 77.3% of four-year-olds who exited the program were assessed as fully ready for kindergarten in the area of Literacy. This is a 2.5% increase over the 2006 school year data.

Based on the WSS, 76.8% of four-year-olds who exited the program were assessed as fully ready for kindergarten in the area of Language. This is a .7% increase over the 2006 school year data.

The implementation of the CLI curriculum not only benefited the students but the educational staff as well. The program manager noted that the educational staff's increased knowledge of language and literacy due to their training in CLI had, perhaps, caused them to score the students a bit lower on the WSS this school year. Consequently, the data for the 2007 school year can be more appropriately viewed as a baseline than as a comparison to the 2006 school year data.

Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington County

The Issue: Washington County has historically had one of the highest rates of indicated child abuse and neglect in the State of Maryland.

Why It's a Problem: Child abuse or neglect can result in physical harm, developmental delays, behavioral problems, or death. Abused and neglected children are at greater risk for delinquency and mistreatment of their own children.

WCCP's Goal: Children are born and raised in a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment, parented by caring adults capable of meeting the child's physical and emotional needs. Ultimately, children will be free from child abuse, neglect, juvenile delinquency and the destabilizing effects of domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health concerns within their homes and communities.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

Healthy Families Washington County (HFWC) is a child abuse and neglect prevention program serving first-time parents residing in Washington County. Healthy Families Washington County, which is credentialed by Prevent Child Abuse America, began services in March of 2000 as a joint collaboration between the Washington County Health System (local hospital system) and the Washington County Health Department (WCHD). Healthy Families staff conduct home visits with three main goals in mind. First, staff work to improve parenting skills by reviewing parenting curricula and conducting parent/child activities at each home visit. Healthy Families staff help by guiding parents to read their child's cues, modeling appropriate interaction/behavior and providing information on a variety of parenting topics. Second, staff work to enhance family functioning through the IFSP (Individual Family Support Plan) process in which parents set and work toward accomplishing family and child-oriented goals. Staff teach and model intervention strategies so that families gain additional skills to work through issues when staff support is not available. Third, staff encourage healthy lifestyles by connecting families to the medical community including, physicians, mental health professionals, and other community-based health services including those offered by the WCHD.

Healthy Families Washington County's primary target population is first-time parents who receive Medical Assistance. The majority of Healthy Families' screens for services are conducted through the Healthy Start program at the WCHD.

During FY 2007:

A total of 92 families received services;

An average of 54 families were served each month;

1,473 home visits were completed;

96% of families that were enrolled did not have a child placed outside the home;

94% of children over four months of age who received eight or more home visits were screened for developmental delays;

91% of target children were current with immunizations;

100% of target children had a health care provider within two months of enrollment; and

87% of families who were administered a pre and post SAFETY assessment received an adequate or higher score.

Juvenile Delinquency in Washington County

The Issue: Washington County's rate of juvenile non-violent and violent offense arrests has remained stable over the last decade.

Why It's a Problem: Commitment of juvenile offenses increases the child or youth's risk of victimization, emotional and physical injury and/or death. Risk factors for juvenile delinquency include a lack of educational and job training opportunities, poverty, family violence, substance abuse and inadequate supervision. Poor school performance, including absence from school and falling behind one or more grade levels, increases the likelihood of involvement in delinquent activity.

WCCP's Goal: Children are born and raised in a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment, parented by caring adults capable of meeting the child's physical and emotional needs. Ultimately, children will be free from child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency and the destabilizing effects of domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health concerns within their homes and communities.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

Since October 2005, the Washington County Diversion Program has provided case management and diversion services focused on two core components: diverting eligible juvenile offenders from the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) and redirecting alleged Children In Need of Supervision (CINS) youth away from the DJS to community-based services. The juvenile offender diversion component is based on a Restorative Justice philosophy. The eligible offender, offender's parents and the victim engage in the diversion process to restore the harm done and make the offender accountable for his/her actions, while generally avoiding formal court proceedings. Children In Need of Supervision Redirection case management services provide family support, advocacy and linkage to community-based services. Requiring strong collaborations with other community organizations, the program assists youth and families in exploring and accessing community-based interventions as an alternative to entering the juvenile justice system. The Washington County Diversion Program served 542 juvenile offenders and/or CINS youth during FY 2007.

During FY 2007:

89% of juvenile offenders satisfied all obligations and successfully completed the diversion program during the year;

90% of CINS youth avoided adjudication for one full year from the open date of case management services; and

95% of families returning customer surveys reported satisfaction with program services.

Out-of-Home Placements in Washington County

The Issue: Washington County has historically had one of the highest rates of out-of-home placements in the State of Maryland.

Why It's a Problem: Family instability, abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, crime, violence, homelessness, substance abuse, serious illness and disability may pose substantial risks to children and may contribute to the need for children to be placed in alternative care.

WCCP's Goal: All Washington County children live in households headed by an adult or adults who have attained a level of educational attainment and/or specialized training that affords them the opportunity to meet their financial obligations and provide for the necessities of their children without undue reliance on public supports. Such households facilitate the child's opportunity to live a productive, developmentally appropriate childhood in their respective household.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

The Interagency Family Preservation Program (IFP) provides local child-serving agencies the ability to refer a family for services that prevent the removal of a child from the child's family for out-of-home (OOH) placement. The IFP services provide intensive in-home supports and linkage to community resources in order to promote the integrity of the family and build family skills. A family is eligible for services if the family and/or child is currently receiving services or involved with one of three public agencies (Washington County Department of Social Services, Washington County Department of Juvenile Services, Washington County Mental Health Authority, Inc. (Core Service Agency)) and meets the eligibility definition for imminent risk of OOH placement. Washington County Public Schools and Washington County Health Department may also partner with one of these public agencies to make a referral. The IFP may include intensive and step down services, as appropriate. A maximum of 42 days can be allocated for intensive services. In addition, a maximum of 120 days of step- down services can be provided. Ensuring the safety of the child(ren) in the home during the course of service is paramount.

The program served 72 new families during FY 2007.

Eighty-nine (89) families completed the intensive phase IFP services. Of these, 52 families transitioned into step-down services.

Family System of Care Navigation in Washington County

The Issue: Washington County has a population of parents and/or caregivers of children with special needs who are unable to effectively navigate the System of Care because 1) they do not have an existing relationship with an agency that can assist them in doing so, and/or 2) they lack knowledge of the available resources and how to access them.

Why It's a Problem: Parents and/or caregivers who lack the requisite skills and knowledge may feel powerless and frustrated by the process of accessing services and advocating for their child. These feelings may result in their lack of full participation and engagement in the treatment planning process for their child.

WCCP's Goal: All Washington County parents and/or caregivers of children with special needs possess the knowledge and advocacy skills required to effectively navigate the System of Care and request the appropriate services to meet their child's needs.

A WCCP Highlighted Strategy:

The Family Network, a program of the Maryland Coalition of Families for Children's Mental Health and staffed by parents of children with special needs, works with families that, based on a brief screening tool, have been determined to have a child, birth through 21 years of age, with intensive behavioral, educational, developmental, physical and/or mental health needs and: 1) the family is not currently linked with, has been ruled as ineligible for, or has exhausted case management services elsewhere; 2) coordination of multiple service agencies is requested; and/or 3) assistance identifying linkages to appropriate resources and services is requested. Family Navigators provide one-on-one support to the family while modeling navigation and advocacy skills.

During FY 2007:

111 families were provided services;

92% of the families surveyed who completed their Family Plan goals agreed or strongly agreed that The Family Network was successful in helping their family identify family and community supports;

85% of the families surveyed who completed their Family Plan goals agreed or strongly agreed that they understood how to contact the agencies, organizations or professionals suggested by The Family Network to access services or supports; and

100% of the families surveyed who completed their Family Plan goals agreed or strongly agreed that they felt more able to speak up for the needs of their children and family.

Financial Snapshot

About Us

The Washington County Community Partnership for Children & Families (WCCP) is a State of Maryland Local Management Board (LMB) Initiative. Local Management Boards in each jurisdiction promote an interagency, collaborative approach to serving children that involves all stakeholders, parents and families in the process. This collaborative effort ensures a more effective system of care for youth and families across a continuum of services from prevention to intervention to aftercare.

Local Management Boards represent no single perspective but, rather, convene a community's public and private partners to address the needs of the "whole child" through collaboration, coordination, community and capacity- building. Fundamentally, LMBs bring communities together to better serve children and their families. Local Management Boards not only focus on services for children with intensive needs but focus on services for all children in their jurisdictions. Local Management Boards do not provide direct service - instead, they work through partnerships with local and regional providers to maximize and leverage resources for positive results for children in every jurisdiction in Maryland.

Email: tmkline@washco-md.net

Tel: 240-313-2090

Web: http://www.wccp-online.org

WCCP Board Members

Scott Beal, Washington County Department of Juvenile Services

Carolyn Brooks, Washington County CSAFE, Secretary

Patricia Campbell, Community Representative

David Engle, Washington County Department of Social Services, Chair

Jenny Fleming, United Way of Washington County

Samuel Key, Community Representative

Mark Lannon, Community Representative

Melicent Malchenson, Community Representative, Treasurer

Anne Martin, Community Representative

Kim Mills, Community Representative

Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, Washington County Public Schools

Paul Pittman, Community Representative, Vice-Chair

Karen Post, Western Regional Developmental Disabilities Administration

Marshall Rock, Washington County Mental Health Authority, Inc. (Core Service Agency)

Donna Rudy, Community Representative

Norma Sappington, Washington County Circuit Court

Chief Arthur Smith, Hagerstown Police Department

Mindy Sorensen, Community Representative

Earl Stoner, Washington County Health Department

Charles Strong, Washington County State's Attorney

Erin Teach, Community Representative

Ex-Officio Members

James Kercheval, Washington County Commissioner

Robert McKee, State Delegate

WCCP Staff

Stephanie Stone, Director

Melissa Nearchos, Senior Project Coordinator

Paula Fisher, Project Coordinator

Tom Kline, Project Coordinator

Kathy Saxman, Project Coordinator

Linda Widmyer, Project Coordinator

Bob Jones, Fiscal Specialist