Maine Families in Knox County Newsletter, January 2023

Happy New Year to all of our wonderful partners in the community.

Thank you for your continued support of our program. Here’s how Maine Families Midcoast rounded out 2022.

Maine Families Midcoast Receives National Recognition as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate

Maine Families Midcoast has earned a prestigious endorsement from Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc., (PATNC) as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate, making it one of the top-performing home-visiting affiliates within the Parents as Teachers’ international network. The official designation was made in October 2022.

Being named a Blue Ribbon Affiliate affirms that Maine Families Midcoast is a high-quality member of the home visiting field, implementing the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model with fidelity. Families in the Midcoast community are positively impacted by the services delivered by this program. The program includes home visits, group connections, child screening, and connections to community resources. It equips parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a stronger start in life and greater success in school.

Implementation with quality and fidelity is vital in home-visiting programs as it determines a program’s effectiveness in accomplishing its original goals and intended outcomes. It also verifies that a program is being implemented as designed. Parents as Teachers’ rigorous endorsement process demonstrates an affiliate’s accountability and credibility to the community, its funders, elected officials, and the partner organizations with which they work.

Group Connection at Beech Hill

Visitors and participating families took advantage of the beautiful Fall weather to hike to the top of Beech Hill together. Once we reached the top we provided gourds for families to engage in a sensory activity with their children. We will continue to offer group connections through the winter months as well.

Maine Families Mid-Coast Welcomes ALL Families

Our Maine Families program is open and welcoming to ALL families. Did you know that currently in Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties, we are serving families who speak Portuguese, French, Lingala, and Spanish? We use interpreters and translated materials and bi-lingual books to help us connect and communicate during our visits. We also recently engaged an American Sign Language interpreter to translate during visits with a parent who uses ASL to communicate.

We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as we work together with families in Maine. We commit to serving all families inclusive of their race, ethnicity, culture, immigration status, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family structure, primary language, ability, religion, or socio-economic status.

Please reach out if you have questions about making a referral for any family. We are here for all and would like to hear any questions you may have or address any need for accommodations. Thanks!

Enrollment in Maine families can take place during the prenatal period and up to the day the child turns three months — or six months for a baby with an adolescent parent or one year for a family adopting. Ongoing participation, up to three years is matched to family needs.

Referrals

We would just like to acknowledge the work you all do as providers to increase awareness about our program. We appreciate all of the referrals that are coming in. Thank you so much!

Thanks for reading and we will update everyone next quarter!

— Hannah Pennington, Claudia Williamson, and GG

This brief newsletter will go out quarterly and will keep providers up to date on what is happening within our program. It is being provided by three Parent Education Professionals who cover Knox and Lincoln Counties: Hannah Pennington, Parent Educator, Maine Families in Knox and Lincoln Counties; Claudia Williamson, Parent Education Professional/Maine Families Visitor, Knox County; and Gretchen Gee (GG), Parent Education Professional, Knox and Lincoln Counties. If you think of someone who would benefit from receiving this newsletter please share it with them.