Missouri Children's Trust Fund

CTF Partners with Lincoln County for Reality Babies Project

Photo caption: Students from Silex R-1 High School participate in the Reality Babies Project

With a grant from the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF), the Lincoln County (MO) Resource Board purchased Reality Babies this past year for use by school districts in Lincoln County.  Funds for this project were obtained from local sales of the CTF prevent child abuse specialty license plate.  CTF license plate funds were also used to purchase three other babies named Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Baby, Drug Affected Baby and Shaken Baby.  These babies can demonstrate the effects of drinking or taking drugs during pregnancy and what happens to the brain when a baby is shaken.

Reality Babies are the brainchild of Rick Jurmain who felt that teens did not receive the true effect of babies' crying, middle-of-the-night feedings or crying caused by colic simply by portraying such through carrying eggs and sacks of flour.  The Reality Babies make the experience as realistic as possible, and everyone must treat the reality-like doll as if caring for a real infant.

Silex R-1 Schools was the first school in Lincoln County to use the Reality Babies.  The students took turns taking the baby home for the weekend.  The classroom instructor, Cheryl Kerns, extracted the data from each baby reflecting the care given during that time.  A Silex student commented, “I did not expect the baby to cry every two hours.” Another said, “I learned I had to adjust my daily routine to fit in with the baby’s.”  And a third student summed it up best, “Having a baby is very hard and time consuming.”  Mrs. Kerns said, “Overall it was a very good learning experience for them, and it is a good resource we can use now.”

Child Fatality Review Program Will Host Regional Training

With funding from the Children's Trust Fund, the Department of Social Services (DSS) - Missouri State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) Child Fatality Review Program is providing their 2008 annual training at 17 locations across the state beginning July 9.  These one-day sessions will provide updated and useful information on the following topics of interest:
-Child Fatality Review Program updates and 2007 data
-Converting data into meaningful prevention strategies
-Understanding and investigating SIDS-type infant deaths
-Multidisciplinary investigation of abusive head trauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome).

Training is free to all participants and is open to the entire child protection community.  Seating is limited, so early registration is encouraged! Register online or call (573) 751-5980 for further information.

Fatherhood Programs - Lessons Learned

A new report by Child Trends indicates that there are an increasing number of programs that work with fathers and specifically focus on improving fathers' involvement with children and families. A National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse brief takes a closer look at fatherhood programs and examines experimental evaluations of fatherhood and parenting programs to identify ten promising practices.