Cahuilla Tribal Family Resource Room: Cahuilla Band of Indians, Anza, CA

Oppression, separation, and forced relocation of Indian families through the generations have crippled traditional Indian family values and parenting strategies that used to be passed down through the generations. As a result, many American Indian parents today face stressors as unemployment, depression, and substance use, which impact their ability to nurture and support their children. In response to these families' needs, the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians developed and implemented a community-based program to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Project staff adapted the Incredible Years evidence-based parenting program to create a culturally competent program that incorporates the inherent strengths of American Indian culture. The program emphasizes cross-Tribal values and encourages a "circle of support" approach to raising children. Parents are taught to use a combination of traditional childrearing strategies informed by their cultural and spiritual traditions, along with modern-day parenting strategies.

The program includes community-based services as well as in-home services targeted to families at risk for child abuse or neglect. The community-based program is offered on a weekly basis at a local community center and is open to all interested families. Activities include:

• An academic group for school-age children (ages 5-10)
• Cultural activities for both children and parents
• A parent group for improving parenting skills, marital relationships, and cultural connections
• Storytelling for children (ages 2-10) during parent groups

The in-home services teach families the same skills as the community-based classes using an adapted version of the group materials. Case management also is provided for 6 months to follow up with families and connect them with community resources as needed.

The program has served a total of 52 parents and 46 children and has received high parental satisfaction ratings. Preliminary evaluations show decreases in children's aggressive behavior and increases in the use of positive parenting practices. Program staff found that recruitment efforts are most successful at powwows, and a powerful incentive for families' participation is the incorporation of cultural activities and language classes into the program.

Partnerships with the local Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS) and with nearby courts and public child welfare agencies have been critical to the success of the program. By educating local professionals about the different Tribes in their community and the culturally competent services that are available to American Indian families, program staff have improved their relationships with local agencies and courts, resulting in more referrals to the program.

ICFS and the Torres Martinez Tribal TANF program have committed resources to continue with the SPIRIT parenting program. In addition, the project director has given several presentations to child abuse councils and individuals interested in child abuse prevention in Tribal communities.

Reprinted from Children's Bureau Express, December 2008/January 2009, "Community-Based Services for Tribal Families" (http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewArticles&issueid=101&sectionid=1&articleid=2471).

Abstract | Need for This Service | Goals of Project

Abstract

(adapted from the project's grant application)

The Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians aims to foster an understanding and knowledge of diverse populations in order to be effective in preventing and treating Native American child abuse and neglect. The Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians, located in Riverside County, CA, seeks to create a Tribal Family Resource Room that offers family-based prevention services to the Native American community. The current development and evaluation project will establish a Tribal Family Resource Room that will support a multilevel preventive child abuse intervention for Native families.

The intervention will consist of two levels. Level 1 is a universal intervention aimed at the community at large and will consist of community groups where parent, marriage, and cultural strengthening sessions will occur on a weekly basis. Child cultural groups also will be held during the community group time with a focus on literacy and cultural strengthening. As well, for school-age children, an academic-strengthening club will be offered in the community that is aimed at increasing the self-advocacy of Native students as they move through their academic career. Participation in the academic-strengthening club will be open to all school-age children and will not be contingent on parental involvement in the community groups.

Level 2 is a focused intensive intervention aimed at families who are at high risk for child abuse based on family and historical characteristics, including parental substance use, depression, marital stress, and family history of abuse. The intensive intervention for these families will consist of in-home parent training sessions, with accompanying cultural videos to place each skill into the context of parenting Native children, as well as 6 months of case management where project staff will work to support families as they access and maneuver their way through community services designed to support and help families.

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Need for This Service

(adapted from the project's grant proposal)

The overall objective of this program is to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of child abuse or neglect within the Native American population. This program will provide for comprehensive child abuse and neglect prevention activities and family support services, including an emphasis on strengthening marriages and parenting and reaching out to include fathers.The need for such activities is highlighted in national statistics indicating that there is one report of child abuse for every 30 American Indian children age 14 years of age or younger, three times that of the national rate (Bigfoot & Braden, 2005). Moreover, though American Indian children make up only 1.2 percent of U.S. child population, they comprise 2.5 percent of all maltreatment cases reported, having the highest incidence ratio of any racial group (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). According to the National Indian Child Welfare Act (1999), neglect is the leading danger for American Indian children, occurring four times more often than physical abuse and resulting in a higher number of fatalities.

Locally, child neglect and abuse rates within the Riverside Native American community are alarmingly high. There were 3,900 child abuse referrals for Native American children in Riverside County in 2003. More than half of the children were under age 10 (Needell, Webster, Cuccaro-Alamin, Armijo, Lee, Shaw, et. al, 2004). Reports from Riverside Department of Social Services (DPSS) indicated that there were 178 Native American child abuse victims in the month of April 2002, in Riverside County. Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS), situated in Riverside County, estimated that the number is even higher than that reported by DPSS. During the month of May 2005, ICFS served 150 Native American child abuse victims with ongoing case management services, stating that this number was less than a quarter of the cases called in but that their resources could not accommodate all children. Sadly, there are limited resources to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of abuse or neglect within this population.

Social and family risk factors for child abuse and neglect have been identified in the literature. Salient among family risk factors that are addressed in the current program are lack of appropriate parenting skills; parenting stress, particularly related to parenting a difficult child; marital conflict; and parental depression and substance use, with these difficulties often preceded by a family history of child neglect or abuse (Bethea, 1999). In fact, substance use related problems in American Indian populations, including violent behavior (BIA, 1990) and child abuse (U.S. Congress, 1976), serve as commonly cited reasons for the removal of American Indian children from their families.

Adding to family difficulties is the societal response failure in addressing the academic needs of American Indian children. American Indian children disproportionately experience the cumulative effects of school failure and subsequent drop-out (IHS, 1997). These child difficulties come into the home, placing yet another stressor on the family environment that may exacerbate family conflict and subsequent abuse. As well, academic failure is related to lower self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-belief in children (Marsh et al, 1999; Skaalvic & Valas, 1999; Fredic et al, 2003), factors that may serve to render American Indian children more vulnerable to the effects of child abuse and neglect.

Finally, societal factors related to isolation, oppression, unemployment, and a violent social milieu are disproportionately represented within the Native American communities (CDC, 1998; Indian Health Service, 1997) and further contribute to stress related to child abuse and neglect. Riverside County, as served in this project, is no exception to these complex and interrelated difficulties.

History can serve to place the difficulties experienced by American Indian families and communities into perspective. Over 500 years of contact with European culture has had a profound impact on Native American communities in this country (Morrissette, 1994). Included in this are the extraordinary loss of life, loss of ancestral lands, the passing into obscurity, within some communities, of traditional cultural practices and assimilation efforts to dismantle traditional Native culture (Duran & Duran, 1995). Perhaps in no domain has European contact had a greater effect than on the Native American family (Hull, 1982).

Traditionally, extended families were the keepers of knowledge; the teachers and protectors of children. Information about how to live was passed down from older generations to the younger through the extended family. Historical trauma has led to disruptions in parenting knowledge and assimilation efforts have dismantled the American Indian family. These efforts, through destructive policies, include placement of American Indian children in boarding schools, forced adoptions into non-American Indian homes, and relocation efforts breaking up the extended family. These have all contributed to well thought out American Indian childrearing practices not being handed down and unhealthy practices being introduced into the culture.

Traditionally, Tribes had systems of protecting children and families through a Circles of Support model. In that model the child was supported by the family who was in turn supported by the clan. The clan was supported by entire community. The European-American invasion broke up these protective circles. Historical factors ultimately lead to the mental health problems we see today in Native American communities. In order for communities to heal the impact of historical factors on Native American communities, families and parenting practices must be understood in relation to its impact on parenting and programs that promote healthy parenting practices, particularly traditional American Indian parenting concepts, which are adapted to fit today's society are needed.

Unfortunately, child abuse prevention programs for American Indian children and families are desperately needed and minimal. American Indian families in the Anza area, where the proposed program will take place, have few local opportunities to receive culturally competent, child abuse prevention services, even in the larger Riverside area where such resources also are limited. Further, many of the support services available for American Indian children at risk of abuse consist of county programs that lack cultural sensitivity, and the American Indian population does not utilize these resources or quickly drops out of services.

It has been noted that American Indians commonly resist mental health programs due to an incompatibility between values associated with modern psychotherapy and traditional Indian values (La Fromboise, 1993). Though American Indians experience a variety of social and mental health difficulties (LaFromboise, 1988), contact between American Indian families and mental health agencies has taken on a negative view given previous experiences with mainstream social agencies. In order for a program to be culturally competent, and therefore ultimately successful, it must be congruent with the values of the culture and such cultural congruence does not uniformly exist (Forehand & Kotchick, 1996).

ICFS is the main provider of services for culturally appropriate and acceptable child abuse prevention for American Indian children and families in Riverside County. However, they also serve San Diego and San Bernardino Counties and are spread out and have difficulty reaching out to more remote locations such as the Anza community to provide prevention services.

All together, the findings presented above also point to a need for making available a culturally appropriate preventive child abuse and neglect program, an effort that is multifaceted and focused on parenting, marriage, family stress, as well as child academic behavior and efficacy. An effort that is cognizant of the need to allocate resources to best address the diversity in American Indian communities, offering a multilevel tier of prevention services that is targeted to differing levels of risk. Further, an effort that is presented in a culturally appropriate framework such that American Indian families will engage and benefit from the services offered.

The proposed program, through the expertise and knowledge of Dr. Dionne, ICFS, and the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians, addresses these issues by providing a Tribally based, culturally adapted family and child prevention program at both the community and individual family level that will serve at a minimum 50 diverse American Indian families with children between the ages of 2 and 10 in Riverside County. In targeting intra- and interpersonal child and family functioning in a single approach, we will address the widest array of risk and protective factors known to influence child abuse and neglect.

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Goals of Project

(adapted from the project's grant proposal)

The overall goal of this program is to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of child abuse or neglect within the Native American population. We put forth six proximal project objectives to move towards this goal. These objectives stem from the work of Dr. Renda Dionne, Project Director, and the work of ICFS, whose primary focus is ensuring the strength of all family environments surrounding Native children and providing culturally appropriate, research-based parent training to achieve this goal. In their work with Native families, a focus on a continuum of culturally appropriate services has been of uppermost importance to address the diverse needs within American Indian communities and to allocate available resources to better serve these needs.

Dr. Dionne has spent many years developing a one-on-one, in-home, parent training program that merges the effectiveness of empirically supported parent training programs with the strengthening context of Native cultural beliefs, values, and traditions. ICFS, a Southern California community service agency working with Native foster and biological parents and dedicated to the healthy reunification and preservation of Native families, has taken this framework and administered it within individual and group formats, the latter providing the opportunity to reach a larger number of Native families.

The proposed program serves as another step in expanding, diversifying, and focusing culturally appropriate service delivery to Native families by connecting the strengths of Dr. Dionne and ICFS with those of the Cahuilla Band of Indians to work together towards the common goal of strengthening all Native families to guard against child abuse and neglect. This partnership recognizes the need for differing levels of services to ensure the generalized promise of strength to the entire community. Within this framework the following objectives are proposed: 

Objective 1:  Establish a Tribal Family Resource Room on the Cahuilla reservation in Anza, CA, that will offer weekly community-based parent and child programs in the service of strengthening children and families and create a successful connection of services offered through the Resource Room with those offered to families needing assistance in the larger surrounding area by ICFS. Within this objective, linkages and support networks of coordinated resources and activities will be formed between ICFS and the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Program, the lead agency funded under Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and Riverside DPSS.

Objective 2: Develop implementation and training manuals for community-based parent and child strengthening meetings, to be held on a weekly basis at the Tribal Family Resource Room (Level 1 services). The weekly meetings will include group sessions aimed at strengthening parenting skills, marital relations, and cultural connections, with simultaneous child cultural groups for children age 2-10 aimed at literacy and cultural strengthening. Prior to the community meetings, academic strengthening sessions will be offered to school-age children (age 5-10) that focus on increasing the self-advocacy of students within their academic environment and providing the language of learning (Kindergarten-Grade 2), thinking (Grades 1-3), and writing (Grades 2-5), all of which contribute to success in school.

As well, implementation and training manuals will be developed for the conduct of culturally embedded individual, in-home, parenting sessions and case management for families at higher-risk for child abuse and neglect (Level 2 services). These services will include 14 one-on-one sessions with parents and extended family caregivers in the home that will parallel the parenting skills provided within the community group setting, but will provide more focused practice and reinforcement of these skills. The intervention places considerable focus on understanding the child's developmental level and abilities.

Additionally, Level 2 families will receive 6 months of case management to follow up on families and provide support and problem-solving around issues related to accessing additional community social services. Within this objective, two family allies will be trained to provide Level 1 and 2 services to families, with implementation fidelity and cultural sensitivity assessed throughout training.

Objective 3: Provide Level 1 community-based parent and child strengthening sessions to at least 30 community families with children aged 2 to 10 years and Level 2 individual parenting sessions and case management services to 20 families at high risk for child abuse and neglect and whose children are also 2 to 10 years of age. Academic strengthening sessions will be open to all children in the community aged 5 to 10 years, including children whose parents take part in Level 1 and 2 services as well as those whose parents do not participate in other offered services. The program will provide academic strengthening sessions to at least 30 school-aged children.

Objective 4: Evaluate the implementation of program services relative to the achievement of project objectives, including measures of satisfaction, acquisition of competencies, effectiveness of services, efficiency of implementation, and community impact.

Specifically, as related to Objective 1 and community impact, community surveys will be conducted to assess knowledge of the Tribal Family Resource Room. Families and Tribal leaders within the community as well as individuals affiliated with networked agencies will be assessed. Surveys will be conducted throughout the project and provide feedback relative to potential modifications that will increase community knowledge about the program.

Related to Objective 2 and the acquisition of competency and efficiency of implementation, training procedures for Level 1 and Level 2 services will consist of initial ally training meetings, practice sessions with one another and Dr. Dionne as well as real-life pilot sessions at both the individual and group level. During pilot cases, both implementation fidelity and cultural competence will be assessed by Dr. Dionne, and satisfactory implementation must be obtained on two consecutive pilot situations before allies move into the community. Feedback provided through the training process will allow for modification and revision of the project implementation process and manuals.

Relative to Objective 3 and the effectiveness of and satisfaction with the program and service delivery, program outcomes will be assessed to determine improvements in a) child behavioral functioning, b) parent sense of competence, and c) the display of appropriate parenting skills and knowledge as well as reductions in parenting stress.

Objective 5: Disseminate program evaluation results as well as implementation and evaluation manuals for both Level 1 and 2 services such that similar evaluation research and evidence-based practices can be replicated in other communities. Dissemination efforts will focus at the community, State, and national levels, providing information directly to service agencies and researchers through conference and workshop presentations.

Objective 6: Secure commitments and infrastructure support to continue the Tribal Family Resource Room services once the project ends. Our primary measures of sustainability will be indices of the communities' investment in supporting the continued availability of the intervention in the community. One such index will be the commitment of funds or other resources (e.g., space; supplies) from Tribal councils or Tribal programs. A second index will be the establishment of networks of community partnerships to work with ICFS to develop sources of continued funding. An additional measure of sustainability will be the development of an infrastructure for the ongoing provision of services through the opportunity to develop networked systems comprised of referral sources and a cohort of individuals certified to conduct intervention and prevention services.

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The site visit took place on May 19, 2008, at the project office in Temecula, CA. In addition to viewing video clips of sessions, the visitor met with the following people:

• Renda Dionne, Ph.D., Project Director
• Hollie Simpkins, Family Interventionist
• Luke Madrigal, Executive Director, Indian Child and Family Services
• Gary DuBois, J.D., M.S.W., Director, Pecahnga Cultural Resources
• A father who has utilized project services

Unique and Innovative Features | Challenges | Successful Strategies and Keys to Success

Unique and Innovative Features

• Project staff are implementing a culturally tailored evidence-based parenting program. This came out of a need to help families deal with modern and cultural issues. They do not see this as just a name change or a fancy brochure, nor is it imposed or foreign. Indian families have had enough of that and, there is a lot of bad history to overcome. They are glad to have something that does fit. This model combines the best parenting practices of the modern world and the best from traditional Indian culture.
• For many families, in-home services are highly desirable, so they are given that option.
• Project staff are using Native language classes to engage families on the reservation.
• In Cahuilla, project staff meet in a TANF trailer. It is used for children's and other community groups. They send out flyers so people will know about the classes. Someone from that community teaches the Native language classes, then they do a brief parent education session. Both happen at the same meeting. They also do some groups that only focus on parenting.
• Project staff also are doing academic groups. Children come two hours before the parenting classes. A meal is served as parents arrive. Then they do the community group session. They have found that it is important to serve food. Some of it is homemade by people in the community. The children have a story teller during the parent group. The children are part of the group during activities like Native language classes or basketmaking.
• The Cahuilla birdsong is an important cultural tradition. It is woven into their children's and parenting activities in a variety of ways.
• Project staff are finding that cultural revitalization is very meaningful to Indian families, and it is working well in the context of their family resource program.
• Classes build on historical American Indian parenting concepts. There are 65 words for family in the Cahuilla language. The circle of care, the hoop of life, embraces the family and the Tribe. Clan mothers are still important and relevant figures, as evidenced by a grandmother who just went through their program. Families are encouraged to live their lives based on a historical understanding of how they were meant to live.
• Project staff help parents see how traditional nurturing Indian family values were destroyed by the European invasion, forced separations, boarding schools, missions, and relocation programs. Acknowledging the devastating impact of this historical loss and trauma gives parents a useful perspective on their own childrearing. They see that traditional practices were not passed down and in their place, new models of harsh discipline were introduced from the outside. Shame and isolation replaced the traditional circle of care. Parents come to see how this puts their children on a bad path, with greater risk and less protection.
• Parents learn that they are the main resource to change this. They recognize that this won't be easy. These days parents are getting less help from the Tribal community, and families are being subjected to many more stressors. Parents are asked to think about what was handed  down in their family- both good and bad- and to consider what they will hand down to their children. Parents come to see that they need to learn both traditional and new strategies for childrearing. They learn that they have a rich cultural and spiritual tradition to draw upon, and the realities of modern day life mean that new strategies also are necessary. Parents are shown the options and asked "What will you choose?"
• As parents learn how Indian families have changed, they become very emotional. Many of them either didn't know their history or didn't think about it.
• Project staff help them process their feelings. For example, they related Tribal history to a mother's genogram and her experiences. There were a lot of blanks in her family history. These missing ancestors may have been in boarding school.
• Project staff ask the group what they are proud of as parents. Responses include their circle of care, participation in parenting class, breaking the cycle, learning to be proud, and becoming a role model of staying clean for their children.
• Participants learn there are a lot of strengthening traditions in their culture. They are asked to consider what they would like to carry on and pass on. Some parents don't know at first. This is incorporated in both the parenting classes and the academic program.
• The goal of the academic strengthening group is to help children start off right, to inspire them about learning. They do this by experiencing a "possible selves" life journey. The children create a possible selves book of feathers with sayings, dreams, strengths, interests, and knowledge. They also work on SCORE skills. They create their own folder for class materials. Each child signs a contract with someone who cares about them. They receive a certificate they can take home and frame. After each session, there is a note that goes home to parents describing what their child did and learned. Members of the reading club keep a reading log and receive dragonfly stickers for completed books. In addition to books, reading club members enjoy crafts, rattles, bird songs, and basketmaking. They start with a Zuni story about a dragonfly and the importance of children. They work with a tree. They put their picture at the top. There are branches for the learner, interests, strengths, and roots- things that make them strong. They learn about hope. Children are encouraged to talk about what hope is and what they hope will happen. They are taught how to talk to their teacher and how to be a good learner. Children discover how to relate their current interests to what they can do today that will lead to their dreams ultimately coming true. Classroom activities include learning games, story telling, and dialog learning. Children receive books, with each page asking questions. These academic strengthening groups meet in several places. On the Cahuilla reservation, they meet in the office right before the parenting class. On another reservation, they meet at a church. They typically meet right after school for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Groups consist of up to ten children, ages four to ten, which can be a challenge for the two teachers. They have manuals for each of the different sessions.
• Project staff feel that the name they have chosen, "Spirit Incredible Years", is a good metaphor for their program.
• Project staff chose Incredible Years as their parent education model because it is highly collaborative rather than directive, emphasizes modeling and role play, includes skill practice with children at home or in class, and it addresses the pros and cons of spanking.
• The curriculum is divided into 12 parenting sessions plus one on school issues. The first six sessions focus on enhancing the relationship between parents and children. The last six sessions focus on limit setting.
• Project staff use the analogy of parenting as basketmaking- attending to the whole process with a spirit of respect.
• Project staff suggest that parents use a different metaphor- watering seeds of respect. If parents show children respect, the children will return this respect.
• When discussing limit setting, they acknowledge that pruning is necessary, with the understanding that it should be used sparingly.
• Parents are taught to engage in child-directed play such as sitting on the floor and following the child's lead as they both play with toys.
• To support their native language work, parents use CDs with Cahuilla words for practice and a homework binder.
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman has been a tremendous asset to the program. He was a big movie star, playing the chief in the movie "Dances with Wolves." Until Floyd passed away recently, he recruited for the Tribal Family Resource program at powwows and spoke at trainings. He also appears on several of their training videos.
• In 2000, Holly Simpkins, group leader and Family Interventionist, started working with the project at Indian Health Services. Dr. Dionne I is Chippewa and from the Turtle Mountain reservation.

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Challenges

• Their history of mistreatment makes it difficult for Native Americans to trust the system. There also is a history of people from universities coming into the Tribal community, doing research, and leaving without there being any benefits to the community.
• There is a popular misconception in California that all Tribes are like the "gaming" Tribes that are doing well financially with their casinos.
• California has a very large and diverse Indian population. There are 106 Tribes in California. A majority of the Native Americans in California have relocated from other parts of the country. Riverside County has 11 small Tribes which often form consortiums, such as the health clinic and Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS). Working with such diversity is a huge challenge.
• In the service area, families are very spread out over a very large area, making it difficult to get people together to deliver the Tribal Family Resource program in a group format. This situation might be different on a big reservation, but even on the Cahuilla reservation where they do offer group sessions, many families prefer in-home individualized services because of confidentiality, transportation, and child care issues. This preference for in-home services puts a strain on program resources. It is a lot more time intensive, but project staff do it because they believe they are serving families who wouldn't participate otherwise.
• The families they serve come out of generations of many very serious issues. Staff saw connections between this and what they called the "Disconnected Indian." They also have to deal with the ongoing violence in a local Indian community, which was in the news at the time of the site visit. Within this context, parenting presents a lot of struggles.
• In their childrens groups, the age range is 4 to 10 years, making programming a challenge for one leader.
• Recruitment of families also is a challenge. It is hard to get their public service announcements aired on local TV stations.
• There also are challenges with the judicial and child welfare systems. It has been difficult to get them to refer families to the program. Child welfare caseworkers don't always know about the program. Confidentiality laws sometimes get in the way of getting families the help they need. There is confusion about when to notify Tribes and when to notify ICFS. Judicial and child welfare caseworkers tend to not understand how many Tribes there are and how many Indians are from out of State. It takes a lot of advocacy and education.
• Project staff believe this model will be complicated to replicate and disseminate. For example, they believe their mix of in-home and group services would be challenging to reproduce. They are at the beginning stages of figuring out how to do this. Although they have produced a manual for each session, they know that training and supervision will be needed.

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Successful Strategies and Keys to Success

• Combining evidence-based practice (Incredible Years) with cultural competence is proving to be a successful strategy. The Tribal Family Resource program brings together the best of the modern world with the best from Indian culture. They are finding that using an evidence-based practice and building on the strengths in Indian culture are both equally important. The program began as the Spirit Project, which started in 1995 at the Indian health clinic. At that time, Dr. Dionne was working with the Indian health clinics. They received a grant to do cultural tailoring with the Incredible Years program. As they began implementing the Incredible Years program, they built on the National Institute on Drug Abuse study of that program and stressed fidelity to the model. They start their work with each new family by conducting a thorough initial assessment and offer a variety of service/referral options.
• Project staff are seeing the importance of finding common values. They started by looking for cross-Tribal values like respecting elders and addressing historical trauma. They identified and are promoting positive American Indian parenting practices, such as the circle of care, valuing of children, treating children gently, and avoiding harsh discipline. They also acknowledge Tribal differences.
• As project staff were starting Tribal Family Resource groups on the reservation, they found that doing something cultural at their meetings helped attract and engage families who wouldn't come in just for a parenting class. For many participants, Native language activities and basketmaking are much more interesting than parenting education alone.
• The parenting education classes are designed to build on strengths, which improves parent-child relationships with plenty of opportunities to practice the skills they learn. There are six sessions on enhancing relationships and six sessions on setting limits. Classes are offered at the program office or in the family's home. Project staff stress collaboration and encourage the extended family to come to in-home classes.
• They make effective use of several powerful videos. The site visitor viewed one of the videos which focused on Native American history. It featured a Tribal elder who was taken away from his family and put in a boarding school. He got into trouble, then made a decision to go a better way. They also use "One Thousand Roads," an Indian museum video in their classes. It highlights the challenges of living in two worlds and makes the point that each person has to find his/her own way. Viewers are asked to reflect on how they will connect to bring back their strength and the fact that they are always connected, no matter what. The videos have been accepted well, along with the participant manuals. Parents are asked to think about how their culture has passed down parenting knowledge. They are encouraged to think more deeply about what they're doing with their children and what they want to do so they'll be healthy and happy.
• Project staff also are offering academic/social skills groups for children. They have developed a rich curriculum for these groups. There are two adults for every 10 children.
• Project staff have noted several keys to recruiting, engaging, and retaining families. They do a lot of community education. Outreach at powwows has been their most effective recruiting strategy. Once families are identified, perseverance is the key. They don't give up. Staff keep going back until the family says "no," even if families miss several appointments. Staff ask if there is something they can change (e.g., meeting time). The Indian family wellness assessment has helped engage families. Successful retention strategies include providing meals, being accessible and flexible, having activities for children during the parenting classes, providing case management, and going with families to court or school meetings.
• Another key to success has been partnering with ICFS, a consortium of Tribes and all Indians located in a three county area. ICFS has regular meetings with judges and social service agencies. The project does outreach to individual Tribes, but they need this broader perspective too. They have found that coordination with the Tribal Consortium is crucial. Luke Madrigal, ICFS Executive Director, grew up in a nearby community. He said he feels fortunate to have survived the violence there. The seven children in his family all received degrees thanks to their parents' encouragement. They have a family tradition of leadership and recognition of education's value. He related that the Spanish made their ancestors forget their Indian-ness, and his grandfather was in one of the Indian boarding schools. He is now seeing a cultural revitalization, which is evidenced by people going back to learn their traditional songs, like the Cahuilla bird songs.
• Good relations with the public child welfare agencies and the courts have brought referrals to the program. Some of the families who participate in the program are court ordered. The cultural component is the key here. Project staff learned from focus groups that families relate favorably to it as an Indian program, citing the videos, cultural concepts, and Indian traditions as examples. They have found that if families are open to this approach, it fits. Even if the court ordered them to participate, families still enjoy and benefit from their participation in the program.

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Summary of Activities and Accomplishments | Evaluation | Dissemination | Sustainability

Summary of Activities and Accomplishments to Date

(adapted from the project's most recent semiannual progress report)

Project staff have implemented a Tribal child abuse prevention program. They have:

• Hired staff
• Culturally adapted materials
• Trained staff
• Set up the family resource room on the Cahuilla reservation
• Held collaboration meetings with Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS) and Riverside Department of Social Services (DPSS)
• Created recruitment and program materials such as brochures and flyers
• Conducted community outreach about the program to the local Tribes at Native American meetings, local schools with a large Native American population, and other community agencies
• Established a protocol for referring families to the program at ICFS

Project staff have established a Tribal Family Resource Room on the Cahuilla reservation that offers weekly community groups with parenting, child groups, marital sessions, and culture. They provide in home parenting services within Riverside County. They have established linkages and support networks of coordinated resources and activities with ICFS (provides office space, referrals, and resources), Riverside DPSS (provides referrals and contacts to improve coordination of care for Native families), and the Tribal TANF program (referrals and office space for community groups).

They serve families at two levels. Level 1 services are community groups and academic and social skills child groups. Level 2 services are in-home parenting and case management. At the time of this report, 11 parents were receiving Level 1 parenting services, and 41 parents were receiving Level 2 parenting services for a total of 52 parents. They also had served 13 children in their storytelling group and 33 in their academic strengthening group.

Meeting With a Father Who has Utilized Project Services

• Program staff arranged for the site visitor to meet with a client. This man took off work to meet with us. He was a father who had gone through the program's parenting sessions. He told us that he grew up in Michigan. As a child, he went through a lot of foster homes. All of his foster families were Caucasian. He said he knew he was different. He remembers being a violent and destructive child, always wondering when they'd get rid of him. He was moved many times. He wanted to offer his children a better way.
• He shared that his adult life also had been very unstable, going through a divorce and lots of personal change. He would sometimes get frustrated and yell at his children. He was desperate to change but did not know how to start. He didn't have the basic tools. He didn't want to repeat the bad things in his life, and he wanted to break the cycle. He didn't want his children to know his dark side. This motivated him to look for help. In spite of, or perhaps because of, everything that was going on in his own life, he could see the potential benefits that his participation in the Tribal Family Resource Program would have for his family. One day he realized he needed help and was glad the program was here for him.
• He is a member of the Pottawattamie Tribe. His foster homes took him away from that. He never lived in an Indian foster home. The State took him away from his parents. Now he wonders where the rest of his Tribe was, why he wasn't kept in his Tribal group. He hasn't been back there. He says he's stuck in the struggle of making it out here in California, and his family is here now. He doesn't remember getting counseling as a foster child. He became a "good bricklayer," building a big wall around himself. Even physical violence made it stronger. He went into the military. He thinks he should have gone to college instead. He believes he has no social or life skills. He says he was an angry person and the military didn't work well. He believes it made him angrier and more dangerous. His kids broke the wall. He started reaching out, talking to people. Finding out how to be a better father was a slow process.
• He could see the effects their upbringing has had on his sister. They went through a great deal of trauma together. He related that he saw her smack one of her kids in the mouth, and he didn't want that to happen with his children. He believes she has a false image that her life is okay and that she is okay. He thinks this may be a defensive reaction to her shame over what she experienced as a child. His sister sometimes thinks he's crazy. She doesn't understand his desire to change his life. He wants a better life for his sister. She wants it too, but doesn't know how to overcome her trauma. People like to believe the way we grew up was okay, but there is sometimes a better way. Getting people to realize that is difficult. He believes the Tribal Resource Program is a good step in that direction.
• Understanding the problems in his own life has helped him be a better father. He used to be a very angry, closed person. It was difficult for him to relate that to others who haven't had his life experiences. He scared his children. He says it's a wonder he didn't end up in prison, and he understands how many people end up there. Program staff helped him honor his good choices and to see what a difference this will make for his kids. He can see that now there is a much better path for his children. He knows that breaking that cycle takes a lot of effort. It is not easy to do. Being a parent is rewarding, but it is not easy. This program helped him realize it takes work every day. He needs to stop for a second, say "whoa," step back, recenter, and look at the whole situation. Knowing the impact he has on his children's life, he believes it was important to participate in the Family Resource program. He sees this program as benefitting his children. They now see a different, happier dad. He has learned the value of a structured household. He bought a house and gave it to his ex-wife so his children would have a decent home to live in.
• He said he used to feel shameful. He felt different from other people. He wondered what was wrong with him, why he didn't fit in, why he didn't have meaningful relationships. When asked what helped him see that, he responded that it was divine intervention. He used to pray to be taken out of this world. Then he prayed that things would get fixed. He gave up on praying for a while. Then one day he asked for an understanding of what he was doing wrong. After that, it all hit him, day and night doors in his head opened. He understood that behind it all was the trauma and how it had affected him. It was very powerful. One day he woke up and realized how to put it all together. He said wow- that's what I missed/did wrong.
• Without the basic tools, he was completely lost. He began by learning where to start, what he needed. He signed up for the Tribal Family Resource Program shortly after that. This was a few years ago. He believes it was a modern day vision quest kind of experience. He wonders why the answers finally came and where they came from, but he knows they were life changing. He has realized since then that all the answers were there. He just wasn't open and couldn't recognize them because he was so closed. Without friends and a support group, it was hard. He might have realized this a long time ago if he had them.
• When they showed his group the video at the beginning of the program about being taken away, it really brought home the feelings of helplessness. He felt that being institutionalized was his problem. He didn't know it was not his fault. He used to see his deficiencies as weaknesses, and this caused him shame. Now, knowing where he came from, the other side of his life, gives him a lot more power. He believes he can learn from both sides. He definitely knows what not to do. This is burned deep in his mind. The violence was really terrible. He doesn't want to pass that on to his children. More than that, he wants to give them the best life possible. All this is very recent. He is still learning and is very glad he changed.
• He is finding it is not easy to be a parent, especially to do it alone. He knows his life isn't perfect and he feels bad about the divorce, but he wants to do everything he can for his children. He is realizing the benefits of fitting in. He believes his participation in the Tribal Family Resource Program will be a tremendous benefit for his children and their children. The parenting class helped him a lot. It gave him good tools. He wants this for his children and for everyone. He said that once parents realize they need this program, they want it, and everybody likes the cake and ice cream too.
• It is hard for him to know who is a good person. Social interaction is difficult for him. He wants to become more involved in Native culture. He wants to do more but is not sure what that will be. Right now he feels he is stuck in the struggle, working two jobs. Weekends are his time with his children, and he wants to maximize that. He has learned about how to talk to power, that the dynamics of the system make you feel not good enough. This also has helped him at work. He was able to ask for a structured training program. He's learned that it is hard to change other people.
• Staff related that this father came into the office for the Tribal Family Resource program. The program was here when he needed it. Staff believe there's a reason for this- someone is looking out for him. He learned about the program at a powwow. It was a pan-Indian event for local Tribes and all Tribes. It is a great place to recruit. He did the Level 2 program at ICFS. This was the in-home, intensive program. It has helped him a lot. He came to the office for one-on-one sessions, which is unusual. Most people prefer to do this in their home because of transportation and child care issues. Getting a dad involved is remarkable. He has expressed interest in the upcoming Native men's conference. They'll go up to the mountains. There will be ceremonies and men together talking about their issues. Staff will get him the information he needs. They believe he's a man doing the right thing, with real leadership potential. They believe sharing his story will help other people.
• Staff said that a lot of Native American parents are on this father's path. They have experienced trauma, are down and out, and struggling. Unfortunately, so many other Indian children went through similar experiences, both recently and historically. This shows the importance of having culturally competent parenting programs available. Some Tribes are still struggling for Federal recognition. It is good that ICFS is able to help all the Tribes, Federally recognized or not. Even when both parents are there, not having the right tools makes it hard. Most families can benefit from a program like this. They believe the world would be a better place if only everyone had proper parenting, and people would be more peaceful.

Training Video

• The site visitor watched the video, "Spirit of Respect," used in Session 1. It starts with Indian men shaking rattles and singing the bird song. It goes on to talk about how adult modeling is important in a child's learning, explaining that values, traits, and roles are learned this way. Child-centered play is introduced, showing how the mother follows her child's lead, demonstrating that they enjoy, value, and respect their child. Parents are encouraged to attend to the process and reminded that this is a traditional Indian approach used, for example, in basketmaking. It enhances the parent/child relationship. When a spirit of respect is present, it is more likely that the child will listen and parenting will be less stressful. Reinforcing the Spirit theme, process is referred back to constantly. In the video, a staff person plays the role of the mother, and the mother plays the role of the child. The staff person first shows the wrong way to play (taking over), then the right way (child-centered, a lot of praise), so the mother can experience which feels better to her. Then they switch roles. At this point the leader would stop the video and lead a discussion of how respect is passed down in the participant's Tribe. Practicing the skills is described as the key to success. Parents are encouraged to practice at home with their children and told that just 5 minutes a day will make a difference.
• The site visitor also watched a videotape of a group participating in Session 13. The parents were talking about what they had gotten out of the program. A summary of their comments is in the Evaluation section of this report.

Pechanga Reservation Tour

• To gain a better understanding of the land, the culture, and one of the Tribes whose members participate in the Tribal Resource Program, the site visitor toured the Pechanga Reservation with Pechanga Cultural Resources Director, Gary DuBois (http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/page?pageId=1). Tribal Family Resource Program staff explained that the proceeds from the Pechanga Tribe's successful casino provide their members with many resources and opportunities. They contrasted this with other Tribes they serve, like the Cahuilla Tribe whose casino is not as prosperous because of its location, Tribes that have no casino, and Native Americans, like the client we met with, who moved to California from other parts of the country. One highlight of this tour was spending a few moments under the Great Oak on the Pechanga Reservation (http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/page?pageId=12). According to their website, "To the Pechanga people, the land and the Great Oak that stands upon it carry meaning that transcends physical presence. The Great Oak has come to embody the identity and character of the Pechanga Band: strength, wisdom, longevity and determination. The Great Oak is the largest natural-growing, indigenous coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) wi'aashal tree in the United States and is estimated to be anywhere from 850 to 1,500 years old, making it one of the oldest oak trees in the world. The tree has been used by countless generations as a gathering place. The Great Oak area, Wi'aasha, is home to numerous culturally sensitive, historical and archaeological sites, including tribal interment sites from time immemorial." Another highlight was a visit to the nearby site of their very successful Traditional Summer Youth Program, which introduces 12-17 year olds to the traditional life ways and skills of their people (http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/page?pageId=113).

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Evaluation

Project staff are evaluating the implementation of program services relative to the achievement of project objectives. The evaluation includes measures of satisfaction, acquisition of competencies, effectiveness of services, efficiency of implementation, and community impact. Community surveys have been conducted to assess knowledge of the Tribal Family Resource Room.

Training procedures for Level 1 and Level 2 services have consisted of initial ally training meetings, practice sessions with one another and Dr. Dionne, as well as real-life pilot sessions at both the individual and group level. During pilot cases, both implementation fidelity and cultural competence were assessed by Dr. Dionne, and satisfactory implementation has been obtained by both interventionists. Preliminary evaluation results show decreases in child aggressive behavior and increases in positive parenting practices. Satisfaction ratings have been very high. Parents like the program, find it useful, and report that they are learning to be better parents. They are continuing to get positive feedback from parents. They also administer wellness assessments- one for families and one for children.

The site visitor also watched a videotape of a group participating in Session 13. The parents were talking about what they had gotten out of the program. They shared personal experiences of substance abuse and parents whipping them. One mother spoke of being mandated to participate in this program and how the father decided to come too. There were 10 children in their home, mostly teenagers. Parents said they looked forward to the classes and learned better ways to do things. They said they previously had no control over their children at all. A parent related that her children appreciate the difference too. They are now proud of their mom, they call her, and they enjoy doing things together. The mom said the classes helped parents stay focused. Participants learned a new way of life and new parenting techniques. When they tried them, they found that they worked. They can see that their children's lives have changed for the better too. From the medicine man, they had learned what a parent needs in order to get themselves in the right state to be a good parent. At the end of the session, there was one last cultural piece- a tribute to Floyd Red Crow Westerman. Many Tribes have no words for saying good bye; instead they say "until we meet again." Parents were encouraged to acknowledge what they've accomplished. Leaders wished them well and a safe journey. One of Floyd's songs, Going Back, Going Home, was played. Parents were given a mug with a medicine shield.

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Dissemination

In March, 2007, Dr. Dionne presented at the Administration for Children and Families Child Abuse Prevention conference in Baltimore, MD. She also presented in San Diego, Sacramento, Redding, and Ukiah, CA to child abuse councils and individuals interested in engaging Tribal communities around child abuse prevention. She presented in Portland OR at the Tribal Child Care Conference in May. 

Project staff have developed the following materials:

• Implementation and training manual
• Program procedures
• Cultural adaptation manual for the community group parenting sessions and in-home intensive parenting sessions
• The Indian Family Wellness Assessment for this program
• A manual for the academic strengthening group
• A brochure and flyers for the program

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Sustainability

Project staff have established a strong collaboration with ICFS and also are networking with Tribal TANF. ICFS has expressed a commitment to sustain the program beyond the life of the grant for the American Indian community in Riverside County. They plan to continue offering the culturally adapted parenting program using grant funding and contracts with TANF.

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• Program Brochures (PDF - 982 KB)
• SPIRIT Medicine Shield (PDF - 149 KB)
• Feedback forms for the Indian Family Wellness Assessment (PDF - 1281 KB)
• Academic Strengthening Handouts (PDF - 3686 KB)