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Message
from the State Director:
MKCA Has Moved!
We are now located
at 161 St. Anthony Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55103.
Moving always creates challenges. The fax doesn’t work,
can’t
find important paperwork, emails lost…but, things have
settled down and we are looking forward to a productive year.
We have four new Board members to welcome: Jenny Mason,
Brian
Wolf, Ila Schneibel, our new treasurer, and Marcia Mehle, the
RSA
representative. It was suggested by Dianne Lev, an independent
consultant, we engaged to evaluate our service delivery model
that
adding an RSA representative to our Board would bring an important
viewpoint from greater MN. Marcia and the other new members,
have brought strength and valuable input to our dedicated and
loyal
Board. Brian is an author and public speaker on grandparent
issues....
for more information on Brian, refer to www.thegrandparentcoach.com.
Ila is raising her granddaughter and just retired from the State
as a
Program Director. Jenny is the former director of a kinship
program
in California. MKCA is stronger and more focused with the addition
of these dedicated individuals.
This June marks my fourth year with MKCA and more than
nine
months since I took over the Director position for MKCA. The
past
months have been exciting and challenging as MKCA continues
it’s
strong supportive programming and begins to look at public policy
issues.
With our move came the end of the supportive services we received
from the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging. We truly value our
relationship with them and found the decision not to move with
them
to North St. Paul, a difficult one. The MKCA Board felt we needed
to stay more centrally located and our new location affords
us easy
access to the Capitol. Our deepest appreciation and thanks to
Dawn Simonson, MAAA Director, and her caring and generous staff.
We feel assured our close relationship will continue.
We would like to thank our current funders: MN Board on Aging,
People in Business Care, Minneapolis Foundation for Piper and
Wells
Family Funds, AARP, and the Brookdale Foundation. It is through
the generosity of these organizations that we continue to offer
the
support MN caregiving families need.
Sharon Durken
MKCA State Director
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Save
the Date…
PATHWAYS TO KINSHIP CARE
An AARP/MKCA Gathering for kinship families and others
Sept. 30, 2006 in St. Paul.
To register call Patti
at AARP 1-877-926-8300
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NAPTR
Project: FASD Collaboration
MKCA Partner
in Native American Parenting Traditions Revisited
(NAPTR) Project: Curriculum for families affected by fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (FASD).
Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC), announces
the
acceptance of a $77,000 grant from Cummins Power Generation, a
Fridley-based division of Cummins, Inc., a manufacturer of diesel
engines and power generation systems. This grant supports the
development and piloting of a culturally specific parenting curriculum
to
address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and its serious
impact in
Native American communities.
The Native American Parenting Traditions Revisited (NAPTR), a
curriculum/toolkit, will increase the development of positive
family
management skills for American Indian parents who may be affected
by
FASD resulting in better outcomes for families and their children
in
school. The curriculum/toolkit will also increase the awareness
of the
impact of pre-natal alcohol exposure and anticipates a reduction
in
FASD births.
MIWRC’s collaborative partners in this project are MN Organization
on
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, MN Kinship Caregivers Association,
and
Native American Community Clinic.
“The grant from Cummins is such a wonderful gift to MIWRC
and the
community,” stated Suzanne Koepplinger, Executive Director
of
MIWRC. “The program being developed is desperately needed
and
there is nothing like it anywhere in the United States.”
Cummins, Inc.
was ranked as the “No. 1 Corporate Citizen” by Business
Ethics
Magazine in 2005.
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The
Minnesota Children’s Platform Coalition
Young people rely on
adults and their communities to assure they have
the best possible opportunities to reach their full potential.
Working in
the interest of all children and youth requires a community-wide
effort
and the commitment of our policy makers at all levels. Public
policies
that address the needs of our children are more effective when
they
address issues holistically.
MKCA has become a Member of the Minnesota Children’s Platform
Coalition (MNCPC), a collaboration of nonprofit and community
organizations,
parents and other caring adults, faith communities, businesses,
labor, and higher education. The MNCPC aims to educate the public
and
guide decision makers in ensuring that the health and well being
of all
Minnesota children and youth is our state’s highest priority.
If you would like more information about the MN Children’s
Platform
Coalition or how you/your organization can get involved, contact
Christy
Botts, MN Children’s Platform Coordinator, by email:
MNPlatform@everychildmatters.org
or at (612) 817-5380 or visit our website
at www.everychildmatters.org/mn.
Thank you for your effort to insure that in
Minnesota, Every Child Matters!
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MKCA
Hosts 2006 Community Forums
Following the success of the 2004 and 2005 community forums around
MN; we are once again, with support from AARP offering another
series. Thus far this year’s events for grandparents and
relatives raising
children, professionals, Elders, and interested community members
are
scheduled at the following sites:
March 27, Carlton…Marcia @ (800)-662-5711
May 9, Detroit Lakes…Bonnie @ (800)-450-1385
May 19, Rochester…Jaime @ (800)-462-1660
August 3, Boise Forte Reservation…Vera @ (888)-231-7886
Sept. 26, St. Cloud…Jessica @ (800)-288-8549 ext. 29
Nov. 8, Metro area…Ellen @ (612)-879-5377
Call the RSA Coordinator listed above to register. Topics range
from legal, public policy, attachment, financial with each site
offering
topics requested by the caregivers and professionals in their
region.
CEUs are offered for social workers.
Our
Children: Our Future
Our Children: Our Future is private not-for-profit
incorporated in 2004
with the Mission: To eliminate the disparities African
American and
American Indian children experience with systems of child welfare.
Racial disparities are pervasive throughout Minnesota’s
child
protection system. According to the most recent Child Welfare
Report
issued by the Minnesota Department of Human Services in April
2005:
• Minnesota’s African American children and American
Indian children were
about six times more likely to be reported as abused or neglected
and were about seven times more likely to be determined to have
experienced maltreatment than were White children.
• African American children and American Indian children
were
placed in out-of-home care at a rate four and seven times, respectively,
of their representation in Minnesota’s child population.
• Although State law states a preference for foster care
and
adoptive placements with relatives, 75 percent of Minnesota’s
placements
in pre-adoptive homes or foster care were with non-relatives.
Our Children: Our Future seeks to partner with
MKCA in strengthening
kinship families to prevent kinship children from entering the
child
welfare system, as alternatives within the child welfare system,
and/or as a means to exit the child welfare system.
To learn more about Our Children: Our Future
please contact:
Christopher C Clauson
Project Director
Our Children Our Future
2324 University Avenue, West #120
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Ph 651-999-4566/Fax 651-641-0452
Email: chrisocof@aol.com
or visit our Website: www.ourchildrenmn.org/
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News
From Around the State -
Regional
Service Agency (RSA) Report
MKCA is pleased to welcome Child Care Choices,
St. Cloud, as the RSA to support the
southwest region. They
have strong partnerships and outreach around the region.
Jaime Swift, is the new RSA Coordinator for Child Care
Resource & Referral in Rochester,
serving the caregiver
population in the southeast region.
The Mahube RAPP, Park Rapids, received an Honorable
Mention for Best Practices Award
from the Minnesota Community
Action Association.
Lutheran Social Services, Metro RSA saw several
achievements during the first quarter of
the year,including helping a grand family acquire furniture and
household goods, hosting 56
people at the Winter Grandfamily Camp Omega and initating two
teen groups. The Stillwater
newspaper ran a front page article on local kinship families.
The United Cambodian (UCAM) support group dedicated
much time to assisting a Cambodian
family receive a public
housing subsidy. The family does not speak English and UCAM staff
provided much needed
translation services.
The AEOA – ROCK RSA, held their community
forum in Carlton on March 27th. The RSA
Coordinator and MKCA
Director promoted the forum and outreach on the Duluth ABC affiliate
morning tv show. Press
releases sent to the local papers resulted in an article about
kinship care
on the front page of
the Duluth News Tribune Sunday paper.
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe RSA hosted a Valentine’s
party for grand families on
February 12th. On Feburary
17th they collaborated on a substance abuse prevention session.
MCT has also begun
a collaboration with an informal caregiver program, FNN, on the
Leech Lake Reservation.
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Contact
the Regional Service Agency
(RSA) In Your Area
AEOA - ROCK northeastern MN.
Marcia (800)-662-5711
ext. 254 mmehle@aeoa.org
LSS Grandparents & Others Raising Relatives Children
metro and outlying counties.
Connie (612)-879-5351
cbooth@lssmn.org
Linda (612)-879-5307
lhammers@lssmn.org
Ellen (612)-879-5377
ehufschmidt@lssmn.org
Child Care Resource & Referral, Grandparents Parenting
Again southeast MN.
Jaime (800)-462-1660,
(507)-287-2020x201 jaimes@c2r2.org
Mahube Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP ) northwest
MN.
Bonnie (800)-450-1385,
218-732-7204 bdevore@mahube.org
www.mahube.org
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, AAA, Boise Forte, Grand
Portage, Fond du Lac,
White Earth,Leech Lake,
and Mille Lacs Reservations.
Vera (888)-231-7886
mctvrb@paulbunyan.net
Child Care Choices southwestern region.
Crystal. (800)-288-8549
ext. 18 choernemann@childcarechoices.net
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