Parent Support Program Will Enhance Education for Children Who Have Emotional Disturbances
Some facts about the
Hillsborough County
School District…
- 3rd Largest in Florida with 180,000 Students
- 11th Largest in the US 19% of all students are enrolled in a special education program
- Nearly 2000 students are identified as emotionally handicapped or severely emotionally disturbed
- 48% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches
Parent Support Program Will Enhance Education
for Children Who Have Emotional Disturbances
Parent Support Groups will be central to this school-based project aimed at improving outcomes for children with severe emotional or behavioral problems.
The Office of Special Education Programs at the US Department of Education has awarded $750,000 to CFS to address one of the major challenges facing public schools today – the education of children who have emotional disturbances. When compared to children in other disability groups, it is these children who have the lowest grades, the lowest graduation rate, the poorest employment record; and after two years of separation from school, over 50% are involved inthe criminal justice system.
The new project, An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Parent Support Groups, is a unique partnership between the Hillsborough Chapter of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, the Hillsborough County School District and the Department of Child and Family Studies. The goal of the project is to produce innovative strategies to support parents, enhance their collaboration with their child’s school and teachers, and to improve outcomes for their children. This will be accomplished through the implementation of an effective parent support program that includes weekly parent to parent connections as well as periodic educational programs providing information about community resources.
CFS professors Drs. Albert Duchnowski and Krista Kutash will serve as co-principal investigators of the project. For the past 20 years, they have been conducting a coordinated series of research, training, and dissemination activities in the area of education and mental health services for children and families.
“ There is a critical need to develop strategies to help schools increase their collaboration with families. The communication between school and parents needs to emphasize how each partner can work most effectively to help children do their best,” said Krista Kutash. Family members from the Federation will be trained to implement family support and educational groups at selected schools in the Hillsborough County School District. If successful, it is expected that the program could eventually be implemented in all schools in the district.
The project will consist of a variety of activities that will reach the network interested in children and their families, including school personnel, parent advocacy groups, policy makers, mental health and social service providers and researchers. Dissemination products will range from family friendly manuals, workshops and presentations to articles published in scientiýc journals.
“ The education of America’s children has become an issue that ranks very high as a concern by the American public, and consequently, has become the focus of attention of political leaders and policy makers at all levels of government,” said Al Duchnowski. “Our goal is to present an excellent model to the US Department of Education that will improve outcomes for the nearly 20% of US children who have a diagnosable emotional disturbance and their families.”
Additional information can be obtained by contacting 813-974-4661.