Follow-Up Webinar on Guam Common Core

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CRT-TA and Transition Specialist “walk-through” the “live binder” website during the webinar. (L-R) Janice Almoguera, Norine Guzman, Portia Topasna, and Ron Gogo.
Guam CEDDERS Consultant Mary Schillinger (shown on TV) facilitates the three-hour webinar on December 6.

As a follow-up to the August 2017 on-site training on the Common Core and the Special Education Student, Guam CEDDERS Consultant Mary Schillinger conducted a three-hour webinar on December 6 with 15 Guam Division of Special Education Consulting Resource Teachers – Technical Assistance (CRT-TA) and Transition Specialists.  The purpose for the webinar was to continue strengthening the supports provided to schools for students with disabilities to have access to the general education curriculum aligned to the Common Core State Standards.  The session served as a refresher on the Common Core, with facilitated practice on developing Common Core aligned Individualized Education Program goals.  In addition, the session provided a review of the resources available on the “live binder” website, which is intended to be a resource for ongoing support to the schools.

Project Bisita Training and Events

Department of Public Health & Social Services Project Bisita I Familia
Vera Blaz, Guam CEDDERS Training Associate and Project Bisita I Familia TA and Training Coordinator, facilitated training on November 20 on the impact of domestic violence in early childhood for Maternal Child Health Program staff and Project Bisita home visiting staff.
On September 18-20, Ellie Jimenez (seated third from right), Healthy Families America national trainer, provided training on “Facilitating Change: Motivational Interviewing.” Project Bisita I Familia home visitors, Kariñu service providers and family partners, and Department of Education Guam Early Intervention System service providers were in attendance. The training focused on understanding the stages of change, which can provide insight into the process of change and how to best support the process with families. Guam CEDDERS staff Vera Blaz, Jenika Ballesta, and JJ Mendiola participated in this training.
Participants at the Parent Café pose for a photo.
Project Bisita I Familia held a Parent Café on November 16 at the Pacific Star Resort & Spa. The Parent Café theme was “Taking Care of Yourself.”
Participants at the Parent Café pose for a photo.
Project Bisita I Familia held a Parent Cafés on November 30 at the Pacific Star Resort & Spa. The Parent Café theme was “You Are Not Alone.”
Vera Blaz (second from right), Guam CEDDERS Training Associate and Project Bisita I Familia TA and Training Coordinator, facilitated orientation training on October 11 for new home visiting staff. Home visitors learned about the development of the home visiting program as well as how to administer and score the Ages and Stages Questionnaires Third Edition (ASQ-3) and the Ages and Stages: Social Emotional (ASQ: SE).

Project Bisita Celebrates First Graduation

Community Services: Technical Assistance Department of Public Health & Social Services Project Bisita I Familia

 

On December 1, 2012, Project Bisita I Familia home visitors embarked on a journey to provide a new kind of home visiting services to families on Guam. Grounded in its mission to improve the well-being of Guam’s children, birth to 8 years of age, and their families, through evidence-based home visiting services, Project Bisita I Familia has made a difference in the lives of many families.

Project Bisita is a free and voluntary program that was developed to encourage positive parent-child interactions, give parents the knowledge to support their child’s health, growth, and development; strengthen parents’ confidence, prevent child abuse and neglect, promote effective communication between parents and children, and improve coordination of services with other programs. Project Bisita uses the Healthy Families America® (HFA) home visiting model. In 1992, Prevent Child Abuse America® launched the HFA home visiting model to address high rates of child abuse occurrences to children under five. The program was designed to promote positive parenting, enhance child health and development, and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Project Bisita began its pilot home visiting program with three (3) full-time home visitors serving eight (8) enrolled families. As of September 2017, Project Bisita had 58 families enrolled in the program. These families started out receiving home visiting services once a week. Since the program is strength-based and family-driven, the families would set manageable goals with short time frames. Activities that emphasized healthy development and positive discipline were also given to parents to use in the home. As families achieved their goals, the home visits decreased in number. When goals had been met and evidence of positive outcomes were seen, families received home visiting services twice a month. As families became more self-sufficient, services decreased to once per month and then once per quarter.

On September 16, 2017, ten families with a total of 11 children graduated from the program. These families met their goals with positive outcomes and have transitioned out of the home visiting program. The children are now enrolled in the following Department of Education programs—Preschool Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program, Head Start Program, or Kindergarten. Being a part of Project Bisita has given these families a hand up and a head start to future success in school and in life.