Live Interactive Chat
Creating Home/Program Partnerships That Work: Support Children With Problem Behavior
January 26, 2005
Matt Timm
 CSEFELmoderator
Greetings, CSEFEL Chat participants. Welcome to the third in a series of Online Live Chats sponsored by the Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior (CEBP) and the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL). Tonight's chat is titled "Creating Home/Program Partnerships That Work: Supporting Children with Problem Behavior." Let me begin by introducing our guest speaker, Dr. Matthew Timm, who is the Early Childhood Research Director for Tennessee Voices for Children.
 Matt Timm
Good evening, everyone. I'm looking forward to our conversation. We're going to be talking about families and programs and young children with challenging behavior. We're likely to use words such as partnership, collaboration, involvement, and support in the process.
I'm hopeful our discussion will encourage a thoughtful reappraisal of some individual values, beliefs, and practices. As Descartes once wrote - We should examine most closely those things we hold most dear.
I fear that sometimes the concept of home/program partnerships resembles those rules for healthy living that almost everyone endorses but not enough of us practice. Get plenty of exercise, eat your vegetables, get enough sleep, reduce stress. True partnerships between families and programs require self-honesty, sustained effort, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to change. They aren't always easy.
CSEFELmoderator
Let's start with some instructions. The procedure for the live Chat session is as follows. Participants can send questions to the chat guest at any time. When you send your question, please note that it will not be visible to all chat participants. The CSEFEL Moderator receives the question first and will post it to the whole chat group. If there's a long queue of questions, the Moderator will notify the questioner that the question was received. Then, at the next break in the discussion, the question will be posted for all to see and for our guest to answer.
Note that there will be a pause after a question is posted while the Chat guest composes a response to the question. So please be patient! During these pauses, the Moderator will post occasional information about the CSEFEL Web site or about other relevant topics. Because some Chat participants enter the Chat in the middle of the session, some of these messages may be posted more than once.
Questions will be posted in the order they're received, unless there's some obvious reason to group similar questions together. Participants may send follow-up questions. If you do send a follow-up question, please remind the Guest and other participants of the earlier question (something like "In my earlier question about single-parent families…") because it's easy to forget earlier questions in the long list of questions that occur during the Chat session.
If your question is not answered by the time the Chat session ends at 9 pm Eastern Time / 8 pm Central Time, the question and its answer will be included in the Chat transcript that will be made available online approximately 3 weeks from today.
If, at any time during the chat, you want to review the instructions for participating in the chat, please visit this page: http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/ecapchat-csefel.html#participating.
Or for instructions on sending messages during the chat, see this additional section of that page: http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/ecapchat-csefel.html#procedure.
CSEFELmoderator
Now let's begin our chat. Dr. Timm, we have a question that we received in advance of the session.
What is the most important thing that teachers and staff can do to promote effective partnerships with families?
Matt Timm
Respect and appreciate the fact that family members are family members and program staff are program staff. The relationships, responsibilities, and daily interactions with the child are different. Usually, knowledge about the child is different. Sometimes beliefs about what's best for the child are different.
The point is that all these differences can be positive and very useful. The strongest partnerships tend to be those in which members contribute varying viewpoints, ideas, experiences, and strengths in pursuit of a common goal. The common goal in this instance is the child's and family's well-being over time.
By the way, I think Carl Dunst and his associates have contributed particularly useful evidence and recommended practices in this regard over the years.
 Erica
Please tell us about your program that you have for children and families. I am a social worker who is part of a community coalition providing clinical case management for families in their homes. I am based out of several early childhood centers. I am interested in learning about other programs.
Matt Timm
Erica, since 1971, I've had the privilege of working within a program model in which parents and other adult family members are not only the primary teachers and therapists for their own young children with challenging behavior but are also the daily operators of the programs and the primary sources of support and guidance for each other. It's known as the Regional Intervention Program or RIP.
jpm
Are there some steps to go through in persuading parents that partnership with you (the teacher or care provider) would be a good idea because the child's behavior is a problem, if they don't agree with you immediately?
Matt Timm
jpm, I believe strongly in the essential importance of building positive relationships before having to address a child's problem behavior.
First, program staff can do so much by working to build positive relationships with family members in simple, everyday ways. Smiles, compliments, taking the time to learn (and use) a few words in the family's first language, contacting the family to share information about successes instead of just problems, and getting in touch with families sooner rather than later when there are concerns about the child, are just a few.
stef 26
What are some strategies used in order to get parents involved? It's hard on classroom staff when a child has a challenging behavior and the parent refuses to assist.
Matt Timm
stef 26, programs must be able to present accurate information to families about their child's behavior patterns over time, about different efforts the program has made to address problem behavior, and about the results of each effort. In other words, collect and use valid data instead of relying on personal observations and opinions to make decisions and communicate with each other.
One lesson we've had to learn over the years is that not all family members are interested in becoming involved in the same ways. It's interesting that so many of us do excellent jobs in individualizing for children but not always as well for families. Not all family members have the time, transportation, or inclination to become deeply involved. I recommend that programs develop as lengthy a menu of involvement options as possible and invite parents to choose those that are most appealing.
Erica
Response to stef: Maybe a local university could help if they are doing research projects. I have several in my community that are doing such.
CSEFELmoderator
Chat participants, as you've all arrived safely in the CSEFEL Chat room, on your way here you have undoubtedly passed through the CSEFEL Web site: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/.
We encourage you to also visit CSEFEL's sister project, the Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior, at the University of South Florida. That Center's Web site can be found at: http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/index.html. The Center's mission is to promote the use of evidence-based practice to meet the needs of young children who have, or are at risk for, problem behavior.
jpm
Can you say a bit more about ways in which the parents/adult family members function as primary teachers and therapists? And does play therapy have a role in their interactions?
Matt Timm
jpm, families attend the center-based sessions a minimum of two days per week, up to three hours per visit. They receive training immediately in basic interaction skills with their own child. They also begin working in the classroom settings as assisting teachers with other people's children.
Throughout the 4- to 6-month enrollment period, each visit is divided between work on specific family objectives and assumption of jobs that help keep the program operating on a daily basis. Families also work with the small professional resource staff to develop and implement home programs. So, they are therapists for their own children in the direct sense of the word.
The program does not employ classical play therapy approaches. But it does use structured interaction and social skills development sessions facilitated by the parents.
Erica
In my question regarding programs you have been involved with, you mentioned the RIP. Is there a Web site where we can learn more information? If not, how could I gain more information?
Matt Timm
Erica, here's a good Web site: http://www.ripnetwork.org/.
stef 26
Most of the time a relationship has been established but when the parent learns there is a concern with their child, they become defensive. There have been times where the children have been a threat to staff as well as other children (i.e. throwing things, biting and hitting).
What type of partnerships do you develop with the families?
Matt Timm
stef, there are many potential barriers between program and family. Some examples are:
- Family members can be reluctant to reveal information about the family;
- Program staff have differences of opinion among themselves about what to do with the child;
- Family members have suspicions about the competence of the staff and program;
- Program staff feel they can't maintain the child at the expense of other children in the program;
- Family members have incomplete knowledge of child development;
- Program staff feel as if they have little or no control over what the family does with the child;
- Families are having a hard time acknowledging that their child has more serious problems; and,
- Program staff don't like being the bearer of bad news.
Perhaps the greatest barrier of all arises when program staff appear to be blaming the family for the child's challenging behavior. The partnerships in RIP programs rely upon the parents to actually operate key components in the program as well as work with their own children. We don't work together just because it's a nice idea. If the parents weren't key partners there would not be a program.
CSEFELmoderator
As was mentioned earlier, Dr. Timm is the Early Childhood Research Director for Tennessee Voices for Children.
He is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Early Childhood Intervention Study (1997-2003) and of the Sustained Community Use of Research-Based Intervention Practices Study (2004-2007), Tennessee Voices for Children and the University of Colorado at Denver. He also serves as Faculty Member in the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning at the University of Illinois; and as a Faculty Member in the national Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Timm is Director Emeritus (1974-1997), Regional Intervention Program (RIP), Nashville, Tennessee, an internationally recognized parent-implemented model for the treatment of families of young children with behavioral disorders. Since 1974, certified RIP programs have been established in 23 communities in Tennessee, Kentucky, Connecticut, Ohio, Washington, Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Dr. Timm is the author or co-author of 14 book chapters and articles, and he has presented to more than 400 international, national, regional, state, and local workshops and conferences. Dr. Timm received a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; an M.A. degree in Special Education from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University; and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Special Education from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.
CSEFELmoderator
As just noted, Dr. Timm is the Early Childhood Research Director for Tennessee Voices for Children, Inc., which is a statewide, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization of families, professionals, business and community leaders, and government representatives committed to improving and expanding services related to the emotional and behavioral well-being of children. You can visit the Web site of Tennessee Voices for Children at: http://www.tnvoices.org/index.htm.
Annie
We always talk about the importance of structure and routine in a child's life. What are some ways that parents can develop more routine and structure in the home?
Matt Timm
Annie, I want to choose my words very carefully here. I don't endorse inconsistency as a valued practice in any setting when it comes to young children. But I do recognize the fact that life inside a program and life inside a family are going to be different. And ultimately, a child's ability to discriminate varying expectations, requirements, and acceptable behaviors across settings has a lot to do with the ability to succeed across settings.
So, absolute duplication of practices between home and program is not only impossible, it is also not an especially desirable objective. Having said that, the program has an obligation to provide a supportive and reasonably consistent environment for the child within the program. And hopefully, the program will be able to offer clear evidence to the family that these arrangements and practices actually work with their child.
At that point conversations with the family about making some changes in structure and routine at home begin to feel a whole lot more like a collaborative partnership and a whole lot less like interference and imposition of subjective values. Most parents I've worked with over the years are willing to try something different if there's evidence it can be effective. One last thought - I strongly believe that parents who have already made positive changes in their own families are the absolute best sources of encouragement for other parents.
Erica
Sometimes funding is hard to find for home-based programs. Essentially, my position is grant based. Do you have any resources for grants or other funding sources that we may be able to look at, to continue to find funding for the program in which I am employed?
Matt Timm
Erica, I don't have any specific, promising news about funding options for home-based programs. As many of us know, we seem to be entering another challenging period in which local, state, and federal dollars are becoming scarce for young children's programs.
We will be providing a number of Web site addresses in the transcript of tonight's chat that may provide some additional directions in which you might look.
CSEFEL Editor
Here are the additional Web sites that Dr. Timm has provided:
Erica
Since you are the Director of Research, please direct us to any Web sites you know of that we can look at, that are specific to early childhood/mental health.
Matt Timm
Erica, we will be providing website addresses in the transcript for some organizations that include mental health issues within the broader scope of early childhood concerns. Two particularly helpful sites in that regard have been created by the sponsors of tonight’s chat–CSEFEL and CEBP. In addition, the National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development and the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University continue to serve as tremendously valuable resources to children, families, professionals, and policy makers throughout the United States. Their respective addresses are:
th
You mentioned time, transportation, and inclination as barriers to communication with parents. How do the families find the time and resources to be involved at the level you describe?
Matt Timm
th, desperation is a strong motivator. Most of the families in RIP programs have just about reached the end of their rope. The child has been expelled from two, three or even more child care settings. Family life is increasingly chaotic. We offer transportation and both evening and morning session options to make participation more possible. But the honest truth is that it takes time and effort to change embedded patterns of behavior that have been in place in families for years and sometimes for generations. We don't promise that it will be easy. But there's an enormous amount of encouragement, support, and hope.
Erica
Do you recommend parent support groups who have a facilitator or parent support groups who are entirely run by the parents?
Matt Timm
Erica, that's an excellent question. I don't presume to offer the final word. I know from firsthand experience that either arrangement can work. If I were to choose, I would opt for parent support groups facilitated by experienced, skilled parents.
CSEFELmoderator
Dr. Timm, here's a follow-up from Erica concerning your response to her question about parent support groups.
Erica
So you would prefer the support group being facilitated by a skilled parent rather than a skilled professional?
Matt Timm
Erica, I believe the single most valuable resource for family members of young children with problem behavior is other parents and family members with similar experiences. Teachers and program staff are important factors in a child's social-emotional development. But the value of talking and working with someone who truly knows what it is like to live with a young child with challenging behavior can be priceless.
Erica
Describe the referral process for the families. What requirements are there, if any? Age range of child, family income, etc.?
Matt Timm
Erica, the primary child must be below age six. At least one adult from the family must be able and willing to participate two sessions per week. However, professional referral sources are not required. Approximately one-third of all families contact the program based on word of mouth referral from a friend, relative, or neighbor.
Finally, no one pays in money regardless of family income or economic status. But all families must agree to a payback commitment in which at least one adult family member becomes an unpaid staff member for the same number of visits that the family received direct treatment services.
CSEFELmoderator
Please note that many of the resources on the CSEFEL Web site are available not only in English but also in Spanish. For example, for English and Spanish versions of the CSEFEL Training Modules, see the page: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/modules.html. For publications in the "What Works Briefs" series, see the page: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/whatworks.html.
Erica
Have any of you heard of the Success By Six program?
Matt Timm
Erica,
at Tennessee Voices for Children
we work closely with the local and state Success by Six programs here in Nashville and throughout Tennessee.
CSEFELmoderator
You can find additional information about Success by Six on their Web site at: http://national.unitedway.org/sb6/.
CSEFELmoderator
Remember that you may send a question at any time to the CSEFEL staff. Just email your question to: csefel@uiuc.edu. You can also phone in a question to 877-275-3227. CSEFEL staff are usually available between 8-12 and 1-5 (Central Time) on business days.
Erica
Do you know of any legislative body, or contact person, in which we could lobby for more funds for early childhood programs?
Matt Timm
Erica, there are a number and I don't want to leave any of the key organizations off the list. Some that we work with especially closely
at Tennessee Voices for Children
are Stand for Children, Children's Defense Fund, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Black Child Development Institute,
the Division for Early Childhood, and Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health.
We will have additional Web site addresses in the transcript.
CSEFEL Editor
Here’s is an additional list of URLs provided by Dr. Timm:
stef 26
I still think it's the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to assist with the child's behavior. And if transportation is a problem, or work schedule conflict, that can be worked out.
Matt Timm
stef, I agree in principle. I also know that some parents and guardians are more ready than others to get involved.
Here's the thing. If you believe that parents and other family members are at the absolute center of a young child's life; and you know that the most demonstrably effective approaches to addressing many developmental concerns, including challenging behavior, are those that closely involve the family; then the challenge to programs is to be as creative, committed, encouraging, and persistent as necessary to support active partnerships with families.
Two key questions. What if we assume that the family is to blame, act accordingly, and are wrong? And even when family factors do appear to be contributing directly to the child's problem, doesn't it make good sense to make every effort to provide information, skills, and support to the adult family members as positive change agents for the family?
CSEFELmoderator
As mentioned earlier, tonight's Chat session is the third event in the CEBP / CSEFEL Chat series for the 2004-2005 academic year. The first chat was held on September 29. In that chat, Lise Fox of the University of South Florida addressed the topic of "What to Do When Children Say 'NO!'".
The transcript of that chat is available in English at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/chat/fox-trans.html. The Spanish version of the transcript, "Pasos a dar cuando los niños dicen ¡NO!," can also be found at http://csefel.uiuc.edu/chat/fox-trans-sp.html.
CSEFELmoderator
The second online Chat in the CEBP / CSEFEL series was presented on November 18 by Micki Ostrosky and Tweety Yates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The topic was "Classroom Environments That Work: Preventing Problem Behavior." The transcript of this chat is available on the CSEFEL Web site at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/chat/ostrosky-yates-trans.html.
The Spanish version of this chat is also available. "Ambientes exitosos. La prevención de comportamientos problemáticos en el aula" can be viewed at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/chat/ostrosky-yates-trans-sp.html.
Erica
Are any of your families involved in family preservation practices or involved in the foster care system? Do your families participate voluntarily, or are some of them mandated?
Matt Timm
Erica, historically, we have not had great success working with families in which the child or children are not currently living in the home. We are willing to enroll a family and a foster family
involved in the reunification process
but recognize the special challenges. A small number of families are ordered to participate in the program by juvenile court judges or child protective services. They are also among the most likely to leave the program prematurely.
Nikki
What are some strategies that current research supports for addressing challenging behaviors?
Matt Timm
Nikki, that's an excellent question. My best response, given limits of time, is again to assure you that we will provide information regarding materials and resources in the transcript.
I do encourage you to visit the CSEFEL web site and the Center on Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior already mentioned earlier by the Moderator.
CSEFELmoderator
As mentioned, the Chat we're participating in right now is the third in the CEBP / CSEFEL series. The fourth event in the series is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30, 2005. The topic will be "Leadership Strategies for Supporting Children's Social and Emotional Development and Addressing Challenging Behavior." In this chat, guest Barbara Smith, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado at Denver, will discuss strategies, tools, and resources available for administrators to use in their efforts to help early care providers support children's social and emotional development and address challenging behavior.
Please note that the time for this online Chat is different from the usual time (8 pm ET) for other CEBP / CSEFEL chats. The Wednesday, March 30 chat will be held from 2-3 pm ET. That's 1-2 pm CT, 12 noon-1 pm MT, and 11 am-12 noon PT.
stef 26
What is your suggestion when all the classroom behavior management strategies have been exhausted and the parents still want intervene?
Matt Timm
stef, those situations are real. I have two responses. The program has an especially important responsibility to provide as nurturing and supportive an environment as possible during the time the child is there. We can't control the family's behavior. We can control our own behavior.
Second, the fact is that in most instances, parents and other family members are the most important people in the child's life for the longest period of time. If we view them primarily as obstacles or disinterested parties, we are likely send them to the sidelines while we work with the child. And long after we are out of the picture, they are still the most important people in that child's life.
stef 26
What are your suggestions when you have done all that you can do and they won't respond and other parents are becoming upset because their child is being hit?
Matt Timm
Stef, also an excellent, reality-based question. One of the barriers between program and home is that the program can't ignore the safety and other rightful needs of the remaining children and families.
I don't have a simple solution. I do, however, believe strongly that programs should be willing to try as many alternative strategies as possible including shadowing, assistance in making transitions, graduated integration into full group and full schedule participation, and social skills training before deciding to
expel the young child and family.
I've seen so many programs that jumped to the expulsion response way too soon, and short-circuited some of the best opportunities for creative teaching and behavior management as a result.
Erica
Do you know of any other live chats we can participate in on this topic? This is a WONDERFUL learning and networking opportunity!!!
CSEFELmoderator
Erica, there is another CSEFEL chat scheduled for March 30. You can check out the details at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/chat.html#schedule.
That chat is with Barbara Smith and the topic is "Leadership Strategies for Supporting Children's Social and Emotional Development and Addressing Challenging Behavior."
You might also consider some of the chats sponsored by the Illinois Early Learning Project, which might be somewhat related. You can find the IEL project at: http://www.illinoisearlylearning.org and their chat information at: http://www.illinoisearlylearning.org/chat.htm. Their new schedule of chats should be added soon to that Web page soon.
stef 26
What has been the success of the collaboration?
Matt Timm
stef, are you referring specifically to the RIP programs?
stef 26
Yes.
Matt Timm
stef, good. We are now in the seventh year of a series of longitudinal follow-up studies of former RIP children and parents. We are obtaining multiple measures of what has happened with some 400 families over a period of up to 30 years. In other words, some of the children who entered the RIP program at age four are now age 34. We will provide information regarding research findings to date in the transcript.
CSEFELmoderator
Chat participants may be interested in the series of five Training Modules prepared by the CSEFEL staff. The modules were designed to help administrators, educators, and family members address the social-emotional needs of young children. The content of the modules is consistent with evidence-based practices identified through a thorough review of the literature.
Module 1 deals with Classroom Preventive Practices. Module 2 discusses Social-Emotional Teaching Strategies. Modules 3A and 3B consider Individualized Intensive Interventions. Module 4 presents Leadership Strategies. These modules are available in full text, in both English and Spanish, on the CSEFEL Web site. See the Training Modules page at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/modules.html.
Erica
Can you recommend any books on this topic?
Matt Timm
Erica, we will add a rather extensive bibliography to the transcript.
CSEFEL Editor: See the related bibliography page for the list of books that Dr. Timm has provided.
CSEFELmoderator
The CEBP and CSEFEL staffs would like to thank all of you who participated in tonight's online Chat. Thanks for sending your questions to our guest, Dr. Matt Timm, and thanks–not least of all–for being so patient in waiting for responses.
You're all invited to join us once again for the next Chat in the CEBP / CSEFEL online Chat series. To repeat, our next Chat is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30, 2005. At that time, Dr. Barbara Smith of the University of Colorado at Denver will discuss "Leadership Strategies for Supporting Children's Social and Emotional Development and Addressing Challenging Behavior."
Remember also that the time for this next online Chat is different from the usual CEBP / CSEFEL online Chat time (i.e., 8 pm ET). Barbara Smith's chat will be held from 2-3 pm ET. That's 1-2 pm CT, 12 noon-1 pm MT, and 11 am-12 noon PT.
And of course, thank you very much, Dr. Matt Timm, for participating in the CEBP / CSEFEL Chat series and for sharing your insights with us this evening.
Matt Timm
Thanks to each of you for the very lively exchange. I hope no one feels as if the important contributions of teachers, social workers, therapists, and other professionals were being minimized in tonight's conversation. We have information, skills, experiences, and ideas of potentially great value to children and families.
Having said that, I'd like to close with this thought. I've witnessed firsthand the power of families working with each other literally thousands of times. I've seen that parents and family members tend to have more immediate credibility than most professionals; that they can often express themselves in ways that are more readily understood than many professionals; and that family members can often speak to each other more candidly than they do to professionals.
I believe that encouraging and facilitating family-to-family contact should be a priority for most programs serving families with young children. Programs can help arrange a variety of opportunities for family-to-family contact through discussion groups, special topic meetings, side-by-side activities in the program, mentoring relationships, and informed referrals to community-based family support and advocacy groups.
CSEFELmoderator
Thanks again, Chat Participants. Enjoy the evening, and the rest of the winter in the hills of Tennessee or the cornfields of Illinois or wherever else your present journey has taken you.
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