Henry County Family Connection connects with Washington

MT. PLEASANT — Henry County’s Family Connection program now includes Washington County.

According to Family Support Supervisor Amy McLaughlin, just a month after Washington County closed their Family Connection program, Henry County’s program expanded to serve families from both counties.

This program is a support for families from pregnancy until the children begin school around 5-years-old.

“We’re a home visitation and family support,” McLaughlin said. “Our philosophy is that parents are the first teachers of their kids and by far the best and most important teachers of their kids.”

With this expansion, the Family Connection program staff grew from one staff in each county to a staff of four.

“We have a full-time Family Support Specialist (FSS) in Washington, her name is Lisa Clark,” McLaughlin said. “We have a full-time here in Henry County, her name is Harriette Fowler, and then we have a bilingual FSS who goes back and forth between counties and her name is Jessica Haro-Ponce.”

From the beginning, Family Connect used Parents as Teachers curriculum for supporting participating families, and they still utilize the same program with both counties today.

According to McLaughlin, in September 2021, Henry County Family Connection served around 15 families.

“Washington County had several, but not very many of them transitioned with the program,” she said. “So, in the past 15-16 months we’ve grown to up-over 50 families now,” she said. “That’s been the biggest change is the growth.”

“Our program is a four pronged program,” McLaughlin explained.

According to the Family Connection brochure, the four prongs consist of private home meetings, parenting classes, play groups, and family activities.

“Home visits are the bulk of what we do,” McLaughlin said. “We bring an age and developmentally appropriate activity and lesson to the families. We talk about things like nutrition, safety, and early childhood education.”

“We also focus on four domains of development which are social/emotional, motor development, language, and cognitive,” she said.

“We are basically there to support,” FSS Lisa Clark said. “We offer child development activities and If they have questions we offer resources.”

“We had a family that owned a house and one of their goals was to start replacing windows in it,” Clark said. “So then I started helping them find resources.”

“We are kind of a liaison and get them that information and then it is up to them to make that connection,” she explained.

“My question when we are starting a home visit is usually ‘what are the latest developments? How is everyone feeling?’” Clark said. “and I ask ‘How can I help you?’ as I am leaving.”

According to Clark, Family Connections provides check ins most weeks and schedules visits at least two, sometimes three times a month.

“It just depends on what is going on in their lives and what they need help with,” Clark said.

“We also provide annual screenings for kiddos,” McLaughlin said. “They are not very formal, but our screening are enough that we can get a sense of if a child is developing normally or if there are areas of concern.”

Family Connection offers an incentive program that allows participants to earn points that they then use to purchase baby and some household items.

According to McLaughlin, families earn points by meeting with a FSS and attending groups.

Funding for program salaries and operation costs comes through an Early Childhood Iowa (ECI) grant, but additional funds for the program’s incentive program come from local donations.

“We have had some wonderful support locally for our incentive program,” McLaughlin said.

“We just got a grant from the HCHC Foundation, generous donations from Wayland Mennonite Church in the past couple of months, St. Alphonsus Church, and the First Presbyterian Church,” she said.

Because Family Connection is a grant-based program, they are able to receive these kinds of donations to add value to the resources they provide.

Those wishing to make donations can drop them off at the Henry County Iowa State Extension Office or call the office and ask for Amy McLaughlin to arrange for a pickup.

The program accepts monetary donations, but also appreciates donations of the following items:

Diapers (due to many children having skin issues, we prefer Huggies or Pampers brand)

Diaper wipes

Hooded towels/washcloths

Diaper cream

Laundry detergent (allergen free)

Dish and hand soap

Shampoo and conditioner

Deodorant (men and women)

Pacifiers

Bibs

Sippy cups

Educational toys (no batteries)

Teething rings, rattles and other infant toys

Bottles

Baby blankets

For Clark, the success stories keep her motivated to continue to help families through this service.

“I have a mom who a year ago moved back with her toddler and stayed with relatives for a few months,” Clark said. “She was able to secure a job. Looked into finishing her GED, which she did by summer. She moved out on her own. She then moved closer to Washington to her main job. Her turned her life around 360.”

“The feelings they have of success and to know they put in all that hard work is amazing,” Clark said. “Those success stories are really awesome. They make you push harder and just want to see more success as you work with more families.”

Clark and McLaughlin want families to know that this program is for every family.

“It is open to anyone,” Clark emphasized. “We have an age range up to five but there isn’t a stigma with it.”

“A lot of people think we just work with low income or people just barely making it,” she said. “That is one thing I learned from the get-go, though. It is from one extreme to another. I have families that are self-sufficient and just kind of want the activities.”

“It is for anybody,” Clark said.

More information about the program is available at Henry County Extension Office. McLaughlin also invites interested families to reach out by calling 319 385-8126 or 319 385-4090.

They can also send a message to the Family Connection Facebook page.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com