Missouri Children's Trust Fund

Podcast: Community Based Child Abuse Prevention

(Pictured left to right - Kirk Schreiber, Kari Clements, Jamie Myers, Beverly Wilburn, Ken Bopp, William Holcomb, and Nancy Corley)

Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) is a federal grant initiative administered in Missouri by the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF).  In this podcast, CTF Executive Director Kirk Schreiber is joined by several guests to discuss the innovative “Missouri model” of family support. 

Guests include CBCAP Community Coordinators Beverly Wilburn (Pemiscot County Initiative Network - Caruthersville); Nancy Corley and Kari Clements (Alliance of Southwest Missouri – Joplin); and the CBCAP evaluation team of Jamie Myers (Prevention Consultants of Missouri - Rolla); William Holcomb, Ph.D. (Behavioral Health Concepts - Columbia); and Kenneth Bopp, Ph.D. (University of Missouri – Columbia).
 
Listen CBCAP Podcast (Part 1)
Listen CBCAP Podcast (Part 2)

Grant Funds Available for Child Abuse Prevention

The Children's Trust Fund (CTF) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the availability of child abuse and neglect prevention grant funds for state Fiscal Year 2011 under CTF's general child abuse and neglect prevention grant program. Approximately $350,000 will be available for new (first year) projects.  Additional funds have been set aside for those grantees renewing their projects within the five-year grant cycle. 

An informational seminar for the General Child Abuse Neglect Prevention Program Application will be held Friday, January 15, 2010 from 10 a.m. - 12 noon at the Truman State Office Building, 301 West High Street, Room 492, Jefferson City.

[Download FY 2011 CTF General Prevention Grant Application]
[Download Powerpoint Presentation, Pre-bid Meeting 1/15/2010]
[Download Questions/Responses, Pre-bid Meeting 1/15/2010]  

In a separate application process, CTF is soliciting up to two new Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) sites under the CBCAP federal grant program.  An informational seminar for the CBCAP Federal Grant Program Application only will be held Friday, January 22, 2010 10 a.m. - 12 noon at the Truman State Office Building, 301 West High Street, Room 850, Jefferson City.

The CBCAP (federal grant) Program in Missouri is specifically designed to help communities develop a model integrated system for delivering health, family support and social services to children and families in order to improve outcomes, reduce costs, maximize resources, improve efficiency and ultimately reduce the risks of child abuse and neglect. Through incorporating a lead agency concept, each CBCAP site works to develop a more efficient and coordinated way of working with families to reduce duplication of existing services and maximize the resources of public and private providers. Community collaborations and partnerships are encouraged to apply.

[Download Fy2011 CBCAP Grant Application]
[Download Powerpoint Presentation 1, CBCAP Pre-bid Meeting 1/22/2010]
[Download Powerpoint Presentation 2, CBCAP Pre-bid Meeting 1/22/2010]
[Download Questions/Responses, CBCAP Pre-bid Meeting 1/22/2010 ] 

For grant specific information and due dates, please refer to the individual grant application.  For questions, please contact CTF Program Coordinator Laura Malzner at (573)751-6511 or laura.malzner@oa.mo.gov.

Family Support Project Recognized

Pictured from left to right: Beverly Wilburn, Mabeline Woods, Lynette Cruz, Hugh ‘Buddy’ James

Several members of the Family Support Project (FSP), Caruthersville, were recently recognized for their work to support and strengthen families in Pemiscot and Dunklin counties. Recognized were FSP Coordinator Beverly Wilburn, University of Missouri Extension Nutrition Specialist Mabeline Woods, Lynette Cruz, In-School Career Education Program Coordinator, and Re-entry Program Director Hugh "Buddy" James.  FSP is a Community Based-Child Abuse Prevention Program (CBCAP) funded by a federal grant administered by the Missouri Children's Trust Fund.   The CBCAP in Missouri is an evidenced-based model designed to strengthen families with young children by providing coordinated wrap-around family-centered services and support that promotes the safety and well-being of children and reduces parent stress. Integrating the five protective factors proven to strengthen families, the "Missouri model" provides a community network coordinator who works with a larger service provider network to build capacity, organize and deliver services to families in an integrated, strength-based and comprehensive way.  Each eligible family works with a lead agency and the overall provider network to develop and implement a family roadmap for achieving goals.

 [Full story appearing in the Daily Dunklin Democrat]

Timeline Announced For Prevention Grants

The Children's Trust Fund (CTF) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the availability of child abuse and neglect prevention grant funds for state Fiscal Year 2011. CTF will be soliciting both new (first year) projects under its general child abuse and neglect prevention  grant program, as well as adding up to two new CBCAP (Community Based Child Abuse Prevention) sites under the CBCAP federal grant program. Funding will also be available for currently funded projects renewing within the five-year grant cycle. All applications will be available on the CTF website on the date of release.  The timeline for the application process is as follows:

January 8, 2010 – Release of CTF Grant Funding Application for both the CTF general child abuse and neglect prevention program and the CBCAP federal grant program
January 15, 2010 – Pre-bid informational seminar for the General Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Program only.  Location - Truman State Office Building, 301 West High Street, Room 492, Jefferson City.  10 a.m.-12 Noon.
January 22, 2010 - Pre-bid informational seminar for the CBCAP Federal Grant Program. Location - Truman State Office Building, 301 West High Street, Room 850, Jefferson City.  10 a.m.-12 Noon.
March 12, 2010 – Submission deadline for General Prevention proposals
April 9, 2010 – Submission deadline for CBCAP proposals

For questions, please contact CTF Program Coordinator Laura Malzner at (573)751-6511 or laura.malzner@oa.mo.gov. 

Barceda Families Provide HOPES to Teen Parents

Barceda Families is providing hope to teen parents in southwest Missouri or in this case HOPES - Healthy Outcomes through Prevention, Education and Support. KOLR-TV10 in Springfield recently featured HOPES which provides parent education, mentoring, case management and support to teen moms living in Dallas, Hickory and Polk Counties.  The project equips successful participants with a car seat and baby crib as an added incentive to participating.  HOPES enrolled seventy-six participants last year with sixty successfully completing the program.  HOPES, supported by CTF, is in its fourth year of a five-year grant.  For more information contact Barceda Families at (417)777-2648.

View complete KOLR-TV10 video at OzarksFirst.com

Nurses For Newborns Foundation Recognized for Improving Outcomes

Nurses for Newborns Foundation's (NFNF) Bridge to the Future program has been recognized by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for its work to improve the health of special needs babies. The Bridge to the Future program provides nurse home visits to low-income families with medically fragile infants who have been discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, thus ensuring a smooth transition to long-term care in the home.  The program has shown that infants served by the program are less likely to experience readmissions, inappropriate emergency department visits, child abuse, and placement in a foster home, and are more likely to have up-to-date immunizations and access to medical resources.  NFNF, a Children's Trust Fund (CTF) prevention partner based in St. Louis, provides over 15,500 home visits annually to at risk children and their families using specialized registered nurses.  CEO Sharon Rohrbach began the Foundation in 1989 with the Bridge to the Future program beginning in 1991 with a grant from CTF.

[Full story in MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal July 16, 2008]

BraveHearts Program Lend Dads a Helping Hand

Kansas City's WDAF-TV 4 (Fox affiliate) featured BraveHearts Program For Dads along with the Children's Trust Fund (CTF) on its newscast airing July 21, 2008.  BraveHearts is a father support program administered by Healthy Families Counseling and Support, Kansas City.  Dads meet once per week to talk about stresses in their lives, how to best deal with those stresses, and how to better understand the positive role and impact that fathers play in their children's lives.  It's especially helpful for men who themselves did not have a positive father figure.

BraveHearts was recently awarded a grant from CTF for a fourth year to continue their work with fathers and their children as part of CTF's annual process to distribute funding to community-based organizations throughout Missouri that prevent child abuse/neglect and strengthen families. [View complete article at MyFox Kansas City. Look for the video link to the right of the story.]

Governor Announces CTF Grants to Prevent Child Abuse

Governor Matt Blunt today announced that the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) Board of Directors approved and awarded over $1.2 million for Fiscal Year 2009 in grants to 60 community-based organizations throughout Missouri for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

The funded prevention grants focus on home visitation and parent education, including safe crib and mentoring programs that help pregnant and parenting teens by providing education, resources and support.  Others provide parenting classes and introduce infant massage kits to new parents to encourage and develop positive bonding.  Grandparent and fatherhood initiatives, the Strengthening Families model, crisis nurseries, professional development training, and sexual abuse prevention continue to be addressed through this funding.  CTF also invests in programs that support families of medically fragile babies and other special needs children who are at-risk of abuse.   

Fiscal Year 2009 CTF Prevention Grant Listing (pdf)

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.”

Making a Difference 'One Child at a Time'

DiAnne Mueller has devoted her life to helping others and since 1994 she has been making a difference for children and their families as executive director of the St. Louis Crisis Nursery.  The Crisis Nursery, with four locations in and around St. Louis and a fifth location opening soon in nearby Wentzville, is committed to preventing child abuse and neglect by providing respite care and shelter to children whose families are faced with a crisis or emergency.  Parents can voluntarily bring their children to any of the nursery sites for a variety of reasons ranging from overwhelming parental stress, domestic violence, a parent medical emergency, and other situations that jeopardize the safety and well being of a child. The Crisis Nursery receives support from many in the community as well as foundations including the Children's Trust Fund.  See the complete feature article as it appears in the April 2008 edition of St. Louis Woman Magazine and read how DiAnne continues to make a difference one child at a time.