Child and Family Services unveils priorities
The Child and Family Services has outlined under its 2000-2004 state plan five principal areas of priority to include parenting, volunteerism, response-centered advocacies, system-wide policies and procedures, and staff development and training, in renewed efforts to carry out effective social services reforms to the local community.
The five-year state plan, one of many momentous contributions of recently retired Division of Youth Services Director Eloise Furey to the social services sector, began as early as 1996 and was completed based on common concerns raised by community members during the 1999 Family Symposium.
“In order for programs to succeed, we have to have a plan and a vision,” said Ms. Furey in an interview.
Parenting, a job that social service providers refer to as the “most important job in the world,” in the beginning has existed in the CNMI as a program imposed by the court or social services agencies to individuals, to mitigate certain problems.
Common sense parenting, a program relatively new to parents in the CNMI was, in the past, only attended by individuals as ordered by the court or DYS. But according to DYS statistics, the program took shape in 1997 when more parents voluntarily participated in parenting classes even without referral from authorities.
According to the Child and Family Services, an important part of the overall vision of the parenting is the establishment of a Parent Resource Center.
The ongoing project is envisioned to include a children’s program where children whose parents are attending any scheduled activities/events at the center would have available constructive activities of their own which would enhance and nurture self-esteem and self-confidence, problem solving skills, peer relationship, and peer leadership skills, communication skills, and cultural diversity awareness skills among many others.
Promoting volunteerism is another important aspect of the Child and Family Services mission.
The state plan aims to push for the development of successful volunteer programs in the future. But according to the social services, this vision requires that policies have common public and volunteer education, recruitment, training, motivation, and retention programs. Moreover, a successful volunteer program requires training on the part of agency staff working with volunteers.
In support of this vision, the youth services has changed the ratio of front line staff, those who deal directly with clients, and program staff, those who deal with activities projects such as public education, and community coordinated activities.
Another thrust of the Child and Family Services’ five-year state plan is the implementation of response-centered advocacies through a multi-disciplinary response team, as stated in the 1999 memorandum of understanding between the Office of the Atty. General, Dept. of Public Safety, DYS, Public School System, and Dept. of Public Health.
Social service agencies believe that the struggle to provide a safe, least obtrusive, comprehensive program of professional support, investigation, and treatment for children who are victims of sexual abuse has been long, pressing need especially in the Northern Marianas.
Multiple barriers such as geographic isolation, difficulty recruiting adequate number of professionals, limited training programs and even more limited financial resources, issues of traditional customs and cultures, among others, has hindered local authorities from producing the adequate form of environment for victims in need.
The Child and Family Services strives to go beyond the barriers and push for the involvement of all community organizations in the battle against serious social issues involving family violence, especially child sexual abuse.
The strengthening of system-wide policies and procedures has also been named one of the immediate priorities under the 2000-2004 state plan.
In the first state plan, priorities likewise focused on training social workers, prevention activities, and inter-agency collaboration.
The initiative has resulted in a much better understanding of the major role DYS plays with respect to providing support services and family support preservation services.
An emphasis on DYS staff development and training also continues to be one of the long-term goals of the Child and Family Services.
Consistent with the first five-year state plan, the division has significantly increased its funding for staff training and generated creative funding options to meet its training costs.
In the early 1990s Division personnel training funds were approximately $2,000. Today, DYS spends nearly $50,000 a year for training for all levels of service including juvenile, probation, child protective service, juvenile detention, crisis intervention, shelter care, and public awareness. (MM)
