Moms are so important and Mother’s Day in May pays tribute to all moms everywhere.  At the Dexter Community Regional Healthcare Foundation (DCRHF) located in Dexter, MO (Stoddard County), mothers are celebrated every day of every month through their Mother-to-Mother program funded in part by the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF).

Mother-to-Mother is an incentive based mentoring program that pairs young mothers with experienced mothers.  Services support at-risk pregnant and parenting families through home visitation, parent education and training, peer and social support, and community resources.  The program is for young women, no older than 21 1/2, who have or are pregnant with their first child. We spoke with Yvonne Hall, DCRHF Interim Executive Director about the program and how it works to give young mothers the skills they need to be good parents and responsible community members.

AUDIO: Yvonne Hall talks about the mentoring and incentives that young mothers receive.

Hall says there are many agencies that assist in making the Mother-to-Mother program a success.

AUDIO: Yvonne Hall talking about the community resources that enhance the program

The Mother-to-Mother program works to enhance the lives of young women for the long term. Part of that mission is placing a focus on education.

AUDIO: Yvonne Hall talking about how the Mother-to-Mother program assists in Education

Hall says funding assistance is a key to being able to offer all of the services available with Mother-to-Mother.

AUDIO: Yvonne Hall explains why CTF funds are so important to the program.

Children’s Trust Fund provides a grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri for the organization’s Amachi program.  Amachi serves at-risk children of current and former prisoners, who research suggests are at higher risk of entering the corrections system themselves.  The program utilizes a training manual to provide quarterly training sessions that address the importance of healthy parenting and  implementing protective factors known to reduce child abuse and neglect.  Kristen Slaghter, Senior Vice President of Accountability and Kate Dopuch, Senior Vice President of Quality Assurance spoke with us about the impact the program has on families in the region they serve, and why they focus on these children.

AUDIO: Kristen Slaughter talks about what sparked interest in the Amachi program.

Slaughter and Dopuch point out that the funding Big Brothers Big Sisters receives from CTF is used to focus on prevention of child abuse and neglect.

AUDIO: Kristen Slaughter and Kate Dopuch talk about how they use CTF funding.

The Amachi program often deals with sensitive subject matter.  By using the resources of area agencies with expertise in the care of children of prisoners Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri is better able to address the specific needs of each child and their family.

AUDIO: Kate Dopuch talks about some of the key partners involved with the program.

This month we’re featuring CTF prevention partner Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri, Columbia, for their efforts in providing training to parents of at-risk children to be the primary role model in their child’s life.  Additionally, children are matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister who will be a secondary support to the child. Together the child and their mentor can go out in the community and participate in activities that offer new experiences, expand existing interests or just simply spend quality time together. The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has been operating nationally for more than 100 years, and for 44 years in Columbia.  Many of the children involved in the program come from single parent homes, are children of parents who are incarcerated, or are being raised by grandparents.  We spoke with Sara Echternach, Community Based Coordinator and Georgalu Swoboda, Executive Director about the program.

AUDIO: Echternach talks about the recruiting process for finding kids for the program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri works from the Search Institute’s Asset Building program.  Grant money from the Children’s Trust Fund helps the program provide education to parents in the home as well as build relationships in the schools.

AUDIO: Swoboda and Echternach talk about the added benefit CTF gives their program in homes and schools.

Swoboda says there are many ways the program has been proven successful. She says national research shows that children involved in the program statistically have lower drug use, do better academically, have an easier time socially, and are less likely to become pregnant than their peers who are at risk and not involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters.  Additional research shows program alumni are more likely to have college degrees, make more money, have stronger relationships, and become more involved in their community as volunteers or leaders.

AUDIO: Echternach and Swoboda discuss long-term involvement in the program.