By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News
Parenting is an on-going learning experience. In your relationship with your child there are many dynamics that are constantly changing as you each grow. And although your kids provide you with a lifetime of cherished memories, there are also trying times and intense moments where kids will naturally rebel and forgo your instruction and advice. In extreme matters, parents may feel like they are losing control and as misbehavior continues, they may feel fed up and not know where to turn for help.
Did you know that there are a handful of Children’s Administration evidence-based programs available to parents and caretakers of the community by referral through beda?chelh? By requesting assistance from a beda?chelh social worker, Tulalip families can participate in programs that address their specific needs and are geared toward improving and restoring family relationships. There are seven programs in total that range in public classroom-style settings to private in-home sessions; and each program specializes in certain age groups, varying from birth to eighteen.
Tulalip tribal member and Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Manager Jade Carela is currently working on attaining her master’s degree. In doing so, Jade has taken up a 12-hour a week internship with beda?chelh, on top of her very busy schedule. She explained that as a part of her training, she wants to educate the community about these resources and inform local parents about how beda?chelh can assist their family without removing the child from the home.
“You can call beda?chelh and talk to a social worker like, hey I’m having these issues, what programs can I benefit from?,” she explains. “beda?chelh would have to make a referral for the family to these services. If you have an open case or a referral comes in about you, and beda?chelh goes out to talk to you, then they can refer you to these services without opening a dependency on your child. The CPS workers would set-up a safety plan with you so they can keep in contact to make sure that program’s working for you.
“Another way is parents can actually call the CPS intake line, which is 1(866) END-HARM, and request services for their family. The state will then open a family volunteer service case (FVS), but it’s just to monitor and assist the family while they’re choosing which program would be best for them to utilize.”
For years, beda?chelh social workers have dedicated their careers to ensuring Tulalip children are safe, first and foremost, and continue living within their families and community, which allows the kids to engage in their culture and learn about their heritage if removed from their homes. The tribal-based child protective services program has seen a number of reunifications over the years, guiding parents in the right direction who are actively pursuing custody of their children. beda?chelh is involved with both the child and parent from the moment a concern is reported, throughout the placement process as well as post-reunification. When a parent reaches out to beda?chelh for additional support, the social workers will not only refer them to the appropriate program, they will also attend all of the sessions to observe and help moderate.
After a family is reunified, they may experience difficulties getting reacclimated and conflict may arise. At this point in time, a social worker can discuss the issues happening in the home with the family and refer them to one of the evidence-based programs.
A brief summary of each of the seven programs are listed as follows; Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) an in-home 10 to 14-week program for children ages 2 to 16 years old that focuses on increasing safety, improving the parent’s ability to deal with the child’s behavior in different situations and decrease emotional and developmental problems in the child’s behavior; Project Safe Care, for ages birth to 5, is an in-home service for 18 to 22 weekly visits. The program aims to increase home safety and child supervision, improve parent and child relationships and learn the appropriate use of regular and emergency care;
The Incredible Years (IY) which offers three classes – baby class (birth to 8 months), toddler class (9 months to 2 years old) and preschool class (2 to 8 years old). Expected outcomes from IY include the child understanding their feelings, improving problem solving and coping skills and also decreasing the amount hitting and yelling at home or at school; Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) is intended for ages 2 to 7 where therapists will place an earpiece in the parent’s ear and coach them through an interaction with their child behind a one-way mirror;
Family Functional Therapy (FFT) is for the older kids between 11 and 18 and is in-home for 10 to 15 weekly sessions. This program discusses appropriate discipline, increasing communication between the family, reducing teen substance abuse and stabilizing youth’s behavior and academics at school; Promoting First Relationships (PFR) is a 10 to 14-week program that is in-home where therapists teach new parenting skills through live coaching; and Intensive Family Preservation Services (Homebuilders) specializes in birth to 18. This 4 to 6-week intensive intervention program requires face-to-face family time and is focused on connecting families with natural support within their community while also teaching crisis intervention, life skills and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
“I just don’t think the community knows that these different services can be offered to people and families,” says Jade. “I think that it’s so important to let the community know that beda?chelh is not just here as social workers, but they can actually refer you out to these different services that you can utilize through different parts of your life with your family. Or if you’re a parent who has a troubled teen, it’s not that you want CPS or beda?chelh to come get your kid, but you need some help, some structure, some skills and they can refer you to a program that can come into your home and work with you and your kiddo.”
For additional details, please contact beda?chelh at (360) 716-3284.