Questions, comments or suggestions may be directed to: Ellen Varley, ev1@umail.umd.edu phone: (301) 405-4581

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From the Director's Desk

Since its inception, the Cooperative Extension Service has offered educational programs and services for families, addressing such needs as finances, nutrition, child care, parenting, legal issues, and more. This issue of Focus highlights just a few of our efforts. Some of our programs, such as the workshops for day care providers and financial counseling efforts, reach people throughout Maryland. Others, like "Un Bebe Saludable," target specific audiences in one or two counties. Some, like the Childwatch tour sponsored by Voice for Kids depend on cooperation at the local level. And others, like the National Network for Family Resiliency, involve the nationwide collaboration of professionals in complementary fields. But all these programs share the underlying goal of improving the quality of life for families.

Many of our family-related efforts would not have been possible without the commitment and support of Dr. Nan Booth, former interim associate dean and director of the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Booth helped guide the efforts of Extension's programs during a difficult time of transition and budget cuts, and I am extremely grateful for her ideas and insight. I wish her well as she continues her Extension career as a specialist in the Institute for Governmental Service, and I look forward to working with her successor, Dr. James Wade, as he assumes the duties of associate dean and director.

Thomas A. Fretz
Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Director, Cooperative Extension Service

Fostering Financially Secure Families

Ruth Miller, home economist and county Extension director in rural Calvert County, is one of those agents. In 1995, Miller reached 229 people through 12 classes, including evening and lunchtime classes on the basics of saving. Taught by Miller and certified financial planner Vincent Garone, these sessions, which are also being offered this year, were designed to help people make savings and investment decisions by themselves. According to a follow-up survey of people in the beginning savings and investment classes, 87 percent reviewed their investments, 66 percent made changes in their investment strategies, 66 percent increased the amount saved or invested, and 93 percent spent additional time investigating investment possibilities or learning more about investments.

Because most people must resolve any debt issues before they can even think about investing, Miller also helps individuals identify strategies for developing a debt repayment plan. Using a computer program developed by Utah State University Cooperative Extension called "PowerPay," she calculates repayment periods and interest costs under several scenarios. Since a local newspaper ran an article about this Extension program on December 14, 1994, Miller has analyzed the credit situations of 50 people. "With the information I provide using PowerPay, people can determine which method of debt repayment is best for them," she says.

Learning to Live on Less

To help financially strapped families live within their means, Stephenson developed a unique program in 1991 called Living on a Reduced Income. Posters promoting the program are displayed at unemployment offices, company benefit offices, social services agencies, and other sites where people in need are likely to see them. The posters provide information on the availability of financial counseling classes; publications on such topics as getting out of debt, living on less, and communicating about money; and a six-part newsletter series that explains how to analyze income and expenses, develop a credit payment plan, cope with stress, start a home-based business, and more.

Since the program's introduction, 2,718 people have subscribed to the newsletter series, and most of them have found the information relevant (96 percent) and taken action as a result of receiving the newsletters (92 percent). For example, 72 percent determined family income and expenses, 52 percent calculated net worth to determine assets and liabilities, and 45 percent considered options for turning skills into money.

In additon to subscribing to the newsletter series, many Maryland residents have ordered publications or requested financial counseling. And the requests are still coming in. "When we created Living on a Reduced Income, we thought we'd be performing a short-term service to meet an immediate, short-term need," says Joanne Hamilton, a home economics agent in Anne Arundel County who focuses on financial issues. "Unfortunately, the need continues unabated. A significant number of Maryland residents are still living on a reduced income. And as long as they are, we'll continue to do what we can to help them get by."

By Invitation Only

Addressing the needs of a very different audience, Patricia Finch, a home economics agent in Baltimore, conducts a series of workshops throughout the year for clients of the Shelter Foundation, which provides housing for families making the transition from renters to homeowners. The foundation requires its prospective homeowners to attend Finch's workshops, which help prepare them to handle a variety of financial responsibilities.

"A lot of these people are used to paying only with cash or money orders," says Finch. "They're often intimidated by banks and confused by the services offered. In a session on banking services, I teach them such basic but essential skills as how to set up a checking account and how to reconcile their checkbook."

Another important session focuses on basic record-keeping skills. Participants learn how to file and keep track of such important personal documents as wills, birth certificates, and homeowner's insurance policies. Other workshop topics include credit, budgeting, tax issues, and major lifetime purchases.

"Basically," Finch concludes, "we're trying to prepare people for success as homeowners and to make them aware of the resources they can tap into if they encounter difficulties."

Demystifying Tax Forms

Since 1976 Extension faculty and volunteers in Montgomery County have helped teach members of the county's immigrant community how to perform this essential job. "We're dealing with a segment of the community that often has limited means and education, including people who have not gone beyond the 5th grade in their own countries," says Montgomery County Extension home economist Anne Elward. "To complicate matters, many of our immigrant clients speak little if any English."

Each year, Elward and her trained volunteers teach some 200 individuals primarily from the county's Arab and Hispanic communities how to fill out their own tax forms. Often assisted by translators and using an overhead projector, they review the short tax form line by line while participants fill out their own forms. The goal, according to Elward, is to help participants save money by eliminating the need for a paid tax preparer, receive any earned income credit they're entitled to, and teach them a useful skill. "It takes longer than having someone else do their taxes for them," she says, "but once they've learned how to do it themselves, they all go off with a smile and say, that's easy.'"

Building Resilient Families

The network was created in 1994 to provide access to family resiliency resources through electronic media, as well as various educational and community development programs. Collaborators at the state and federal level conduct research and educational programs on significant family issues and share their results, successes, and failures with each other.

"Family resiliency is defined as the family's ability to cultivate strengths to positively meet the challenges of life," says Dr. Billie Frazier, Extension human development specialist and the information coordinator for family resiliency at the University of Maryland, College Park. "Our goal as professionals is to facilitate this process."

NNFR is one of six national electronic networks funded by CSREES and accessible through CYFERNet, an internet-based information system operated by CSREES. Dr. Merl Miller, Maryland Extension specialist for leadership and volunteerism, played an instrumental role in setting up NNFR as part of CYFERNet.

"The network is a collaboration of professionals who are readily accessible to other professionals and persons working directly with families as they deal with their own problems," says Miller. "The latest research, best approaches and specific suggestions are available to anyone with access to the Internet."

Written information is available in the form of publications, research abstracts, bibliographies, and brochures on topics relating to family resiliency. Contributors must follow specific guidelines, and each university maintains control over its own contributions to the network. "This centralized/localized approach makes information accessible to people around the world but gives indi-vidual universities the ability to remove out-dated or obsolete data," explains Marianne Reynolds, a University of Maryland graduate assistant for the network.

A coordinating committee composed of representatives from eight universities, including the University of Maryland, facilitates and maintains communication with all participating universities primarily through email messages and monthly teleconferences. Leadership for the network is organized through six working groups dedicated to broad network functions like marketing and research and four special interest groups focusing on specific family issue areas. Coordinators at Iowa State University are responsible for fiscal management and convening the coordinating committee during 1996.

Continuing Ed Programs for Day Care Providers

In Maryland, all licensed day care providers must receive 12 hours of continuing education every two years. Such programs give them the skills necessary to run a successful business and to provide a quality service. For providers in some parts of the state, however, finding approved programs in their local community that fit their needs and schedules can be difficult. So Extension home economists throughout Maryland offer programs approved by the Child Care Administration for use toward biannual recertification.

Teaming Up for Training

During a training program held January 27 in Caroline County, Extension home economics agents taught classes for 56 licensed family child care providers on such subjects as discipline, nutrition, and retirement planning for the self-employed. "We try to focus on both human development and business issues," says Dian Rowe, home economics agent in Kent and Queen Anne's counties. "We want participants to look at child care as a business, not just something they do for a few years when their own children are young."

One well-received session, taught by Geri Mason, home economics agent in Somerset County, focused on record keeping. "Keeping up-to-date records is a necessity," Mason explains. "It may be hard to get excited about filling out forms, but accurate records give day care providers and other business owners a clear picture of whether they are actually earning or losing money."

In March, 90 day care providers attended a similar training session in Cecil County. In one popular class called "Do You want to Work Forever?" Caroline County home economics agent Donna Kimball taught participants about some retirement planning options they have as self-employed workers.

One 'Clock Hour' at a Time

The sessions frequently focus on nutrition subjects, such as healthy breakfasts or snacks and nutritious gifts from the kitchen.

Several times a year, Corridon and Kaye Derr, Extension faculty assistant, are invited by Social Services of Frederick County to conduct a training program for day care providers who participate in the organiza-tion's Child and Adult Food Program. Such participants receive subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for preparing meals that meet certain nutritional requirements. As might be expected, most sessions focus on how to prepare safe, healthy meals, although other topics, like the retirement planning, also are offered.

Learning Leadership Skills

The program is geared primarily for individuals who operate day care businesses out of their homes. "Leadership skills are especially important to these people," explains Dr. Merl Miller, Extension leadership and volunteerism specialist.

Judy Stuart, home economics agent in Carroll County, applied for and received a grant from the Child Care Resource Network to conduct the FCL training. "Our goal," she says, "was to teach participants the leadership skills they need to be effective in their conflict resolution, and how to achieve specific goals through the political process, the training also covered both verbal and written communication skills. "These skills form a foundation on which the others rest," Stuart explains.

The FCL training was so popular that Jane Sullivan, president of the Carroll County Family Child Care Association has received numerous requests for the training materials.

Coalition Sponsors Childwatch Tour

Sometimes the best way to make a difference is to combine resources and expertise with other organizations and individuals with similar interests and concerns. That's why Sandy Corridon contributes her time and talents as an Extension home economics agent in Frederick County to Voice for Kids, a local non-profit, multi-issue child advocacy coalition. "Getting involved with Voice for Kids seemed like the natural thing to do," says Corridon, who has conducted in-service training programs for employees of such Voice for Kids participating organizations as Head Start and Family Partnership.

A Head Start student shares the joy of reading aloud with a new friend.

One Strong Voice

Among their recent efforts was a program called Child Watch 1996: Building Frederick County's Future Work Force. Fifteen local leaders from government, business, and the news media met at Heather Ridge Middle/High School, a public, alternative program that provides educational and therapeutic services to students who, for whatever reasons, aren't doing well in their home schools. The group met with principal Marty Tarr, who explained that the school's program is designed to help students develop the skills necessary for them to return to and do well in their home schools. Despite the program's success, Tarr says, "I wish there were no need for a school like Heather Ridge."

Maryland delegate Paul Stull observes the fine art of "soap" plowing at Waverly Elementary School.

Tots Get a Head Start The dedicated staff at the next two stops along the Child Watch road tour the prekindergarten/Head Start class at Waverly Elementary School and a comprehensive family center called Family Partnership are working to turn Tarr's wish into a reality through early intervention and support of families and children. A collaboration between Frederick County Head Start and the Frederick County Public Schools, the program at Waverly uses Title I and Head Start funds to offer prekindergarten education and a variety of services, including nutritious meals, health and dental screenings, and family services.

The goal of the program is to ensure that children achieve future academic success by establishing partnerships with parents that support healthy child development and learning. Child Watch participants assisted with that development and learning as they read to youngsters or joined in the serious business of plowing whipped soap "snow" with small plastic snow plows.

Focus on Families

"The visits to these three programs gave Child Watch participants a first-hand look at what's being done to help Frederick County's children," says Corridon. "Aside from their humanitarian value, they are helping educate, nurture, and prepare our future workforce. It's in our best interest to support such efforts."

Programs for Parents

The five weekly sessions were held in the evenings at the Towson YMCA beginning in January. They were geared toward parents of young children, and the YMCA provided child care during the classes. Each session covered a different topic, such as building self esteem, improving communication skills, dealing with the difficult or angry child, coping with parent burnout, and solving sibling rivalry. Some 25 to 45 mothers and fathers attended each session, which was formatted as a discussion.

"Usually I presented the topic and then opened the session up for questions and answers," says Grobaker. "Most participants thought that was the best format because it allowed for a good exchange of ideas and suggestions between the parents."

One of the concerns of parents today, according to Grobaker involves setting bounaries and giving their children choices. She often uses examples from her own life when dealing with such issues.

For instance, when Grobaker was a child, she did her homework as soon as she came home from school, but, years later, her daughter wanted to come home and relax, have dinner, and then do her homework. "Parents are not always successful in imposing their temperaments on their children," says Grobaker. "As long as my daughter got her homework done that night, I allowed her to wait to do it."

The sessions on dealing with the anger of both parents and children have been helpful for many participants. Discussions are centered around what makes people angry and how to recognize the physical signs of anger, such as clenching teeth or a churning stomach. Grobaker stresses that feeling anger is a normal and natural experience for anyone over four months old, and that the key to handling it effectively is recognizing it and applying stress reducers.

"Stress reduction takes many forms and it all depends on the individual as to whether they will become quiet, cry, exercise, call a friend, or pray," says Grobaker. "The important thing is to release the anger energy without harming yourself or your children."

An anger scale that Grobaker obtained at a conference at Penn State identifies five levels of anger, progressing from no anger to mild irritation to annoyance, the pivotal point at which stress reducers should be applied. Without such stress reducers, the level of anger can reach fury, causing a loss of control and an inability to deal effectively with anger.

"Children are often told what they can't do when they get angry," says Grobaker. "But it's more productive to tell them what they can do."

Many parents have expressed their appreciation for Grobaker's sessions. "The group dynamic of sharing and offering suggestions was the best part about this excellent series," says Mary Pat Lowe, a mother of two young children who attended Grobaker's classes. "The classes make you realize that other parents are going through the exact same thing and there are effective ways of handling difficult situations."

The U.S. Coast Guard heard of Grobaker's success and asked her to teach three half-day sessions on parenting in April for fathers of young children.

"Their biggest concern is how to be a consistent parent when often they see their children for a week or two and then are gone," Grobaker explains. "I'm trying to help them be the most effective fathers they can, given their circumstances."

Take a Look at This

Resources for Families

• Managing Credit (FS 435)
• Living on Less (FS 509)
• Your Aging Parents (L 198 201): a series of publications covering issues related to understanding changes associated with aging.
• The Art of Parenting (L 148)
• Home Alone? Working Parents and Child Care (L 151)
• Living with Your Teenager (L 202 206): a series of publications designed to facilitate positive relationships between parents and teens.

Helping Hispanic Mothers Raise Healthy Babies

Like all new mothers, Fatima Sorto wants the best for her baby. And thanks to the efforts of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, the Department of Health Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Maryland office of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), she is learning how to provide Esmeralda with the food and care she needs to grow and thrive. The three organizations are involved in a three-year research and education project called Un Bebe Saludable: Un Regalo Muy Especial! (A Healthy Baby: A Very Special Gift). The project is funded by a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its efforts to reach the nation's neediest WIC clients. Dr. Jean Ann Anliker, a faculty Extension assistant in the University of Maryland's Department of Nutrition and Food Science, and several of her colleagues decided that first-time Hispanic mothers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties match this description. "There aren't enough culturally appropriate educational resources available to meet the needs of these women," explains Anliker. "We felt this grant provided us with an opportunity to make a difference."

New mother Fatima Sorto feeds her daughter Esmeralda some cereal, an appropriate food for a seven-month-old baby. Sorto is one of 120 Hispanic women receiving prenatal and infant nutrition information as part of a research and education program called Un Bebe Saludable: Un Regalo Muy Especial.

A Personal Approach

Because one of the goals of Un Bebe Saludable is to produce valid, useful data on the impact of such an educational program, it includes a control group as well as a treatment group. Participants in the control group receive information about baby care and safety, but not about nutrition. Promotoras collect data on infant feeding practices from women in both groups every three months. With these data, Anliker and her colleagues can compare similarities and differences within and between the two groups over time.

Sorto, who is a member of the treatment group, is glad to be involved in the program. She says she has received a lot of good advice about what foods to feed her daughter, what changes to expect in the baby each month, and how to respond to these changes effectively. Esmeralda just smiles contentedly after a midday meal.

Older Adults Get a Look at Legal Issues

The idea for this event originated in Kentucky and was brought to Maryland by Helen Abrahams, program director at the Holiday Park Senior Center in Montgomery County,following a conference. She approached Extension home economics agent Susan Morris for assistance. As a result of their efforts, the first Law Day for Older Adults in Maryland was conducted in 1994 for 259 people by Montgomery County Extension faculty, staff, and volunteers.

This year's event was cosponsored by Extension, Senior Beacon, Legal Services for Senior Citizens, the Maryland Bar Association's Elder Law Section, and Montgomery County's Departments of Recreation and Health and Human Services, with financial support from several other organizations. The program featured a plenary session with a guest speaker and various workshops conducted by attorneys and representatives from legal organizations. A business card directory of local accountants, lawyers, and other professionals was provided to each person attending.

"Law Day seems to be a powerful way to reach the 55-plus population," says Morris. "Participants receive valuable information on wills, trusts, Medicare, consumer fraud, social security, and other legal issues."

Building on Success

An intern with the Office of Consumer Affairs compiled a consumer reference entitled Shield Yourself From Senior Scams. The publication was handed out to every participant and was discussed in several sessions to make people aware of scams and where to go for additional help if needed. The book was well received by the Law Day participants and has been entered in an awards program of the National Association of Consumer Affairs Administrators (NACAA).

"I'm glad to see the collaborative relationships that go on between Extension and other organizations to provide a service like this to older adults," says Greene. "Everybody has combined resources to make this a posi-tive experience for senior consumers."

Such cooperation has been so far-reaching that Greene has been invited to speak at an upcoming NACAA meeting about the many ways Extension has collaborated with them on mutually beneficial efforts.

"I hope the Law Day idea catches on in other counties," she says. "There are so many laws and regulations unique to the older population that need to be addressed."