Recent Community News

Click for information about our Family Nurturing programMary had been attending college for several years when she applied for the Community Services Block Grant Scholarship. Mary is a single mother of two sons and works part time at a local store. She also volunteered at the admissions office at Western Kentucky University at the Glasgow campus to help herself get through college. Mary received a $1500 CSBG scholarship in May 2010.Two young children, ages 2 and 1 month, were removed from their home. The children have the same mother, but have different fathers. Community Action Family Nurturing’s CCC ) Community Collaborations for Children) program began providing Supervised Visitation services for this family in November 2010. The mother and the paternal grandfather, who was an approved visitor, were present for all visits. Visits were scheduled so both fathers would have the opportunity to visit their child. Two CCC family service associates were assigned to the family to help make visits safe and smooth.

 

After several visits where the primary interaction between the visitors and the children centered on sugary snacks and drinks, the family service associate began to work with the parents and paternal grandfather on (1) nutritional needs of children and (2) stages of infant and child development (3) appropriate interactions, and (4) parenting skills. The mother, paternal grandfather, and biological father of the infant demonstrated significant improvement during the months of supervised visits. During the time of service delivery, the biological father of the older child stopped coming to visits, and the father of the second child and the mother reconciled. The family service associate worked closely with the DCBS Family Service Worker and advocated so that the infant’s father got to be included in the visits with the older child.

 

When the case closed, the mother secured housing that would accommodate the family. The family was bringing more nutritious snacks to the visits and limiting the intake of sugary snacks. They demonstrated appropriate bonding and attachment with both the children. They were engaging in age appropriate activities and using age and stage appropriate discipline with the older child.

 

At the twelve month follow up, the family’s reunification goal had been achieved. The children had been returned to the home, and the family had completed Community Action’s Family Preservation Intensive In-Home Reunification services. When the Family Preservation Program services ended, the family had housing and transportation. The younger child was in day care, and the older child was in a pre-school program with an IEP (Individualized Education Program).

 

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