Continuing Professional Development
1. Convene a community forum on building a community that supports resilience.Invite a speaker familiar with the topic and build on the discussion by asking key community agencies to come together to develop an action plan for a mentally healthy community.
2.Become a mental health promotion instigator for your community!
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) offers manuals that provide a comprehensive framework for bringing proven prevention programs to your communities. Two recommended publications are, Getting Started.: The NMHA Guide to Establishing Community-Based Prevention Programs, and Getting Started: The NMHA Directory of Model Programs to Prevent Mental Disorders and Promote Mental Health. For ordering information, contact the NMIIA in Alexandria, Virginia, (703) 684-7722.
3. Create an action plan to make your program a welcoming place for the men in the lives of your children.
A good resource to get you started is Getting Men Involved: Strategies for Early Childhood Programs, available through the Fatherhood Project of Families and Work Institute. The same project also has developed a self-assessment tool called the Male Involvement Profile to help programs to assess how pro-active they are in engaging men. Get more information on both resources from The Fatherhood Project of the Families and Work Institute, (212) 465-2044.
4. Invest in skills that build resilient children and families.
Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices is a resiliency based substance abuse/violence prevention preschool curriculum, accompanied by training sessions and technical assistance for teachers. The curriculum provides short, fun lessons designed to foster specific resiliency characteristics in children. The curriculum kit, available to trained teachers, includes puppets, original songs on audiocassette, a songbook, parent letters, home-school messages, and color photographs.
5. Design trainings for parent education group leaders.
The resiliency based parent education series, Here, Now, and Down the Road.:: Tips for Loving Parents, is designed to enhance parent's skills in guiding their children toward healthy life-styles: Parents learn practical tips for daily interactions which help their children develop positive social skills and shape their children's attitudes to favor peaceful resolutions and health.
For further information on Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices and Here, Now, and Down the Road... Tips for Loving Parents, contact Resilient Children Making Healthy Choices, at Virginia Institute for Developmental Disabilities/VCU, P.O. Box 843020, Richmond, Virginia, 23284-3020, (804) 828-8586.