aboutbabies&children newsletter aboutbabies&children

Published by Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Early Intervention Program

LocaL Interagency coordInatIng councIL NEWSLETTERAboutBabies&Children

?Questions???Do you have concerns about a child’s ability to move, see or hear? Express their needs or care for themselves?Relate to others or learn?

If the answer is Yes, call the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Early Intervention Program for a FREE evaluation. The child may be eligible for FREE Early Intervention Services, with no income guidelines or insurance involvement.

For more information: Children Birth through Two years call 570-831-7224 Children Three to Kindergarten call The Hazleton School District 570-826-0850 or 570-454-1870

LUZERNE-WYOMING COUNTIES MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES111 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 200Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701

Inquiries can be directed to:Judy Kresky, Early Intervention Servicesvia email: [email protected] orphone: 570-831-7281Visit our Website at:www.mhdslw.org Or Current Resident

“LUZERNE AND WYOMING COUNTIES SERVING YOU”

AboutBabies&Children NEWSLETTER

LocaL Interagency coordInatIng councIL

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Page 6 Summer 2018

Summer 2018

The United Nations for World Down Syndrome Day met March 21 with a global focus on employment opportunities for people with Down syndrome. The goal of the event was to "reach out to members of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and government and UN offi-cials to ensure they see how persons with Down syn-drome can and do make meaningful contributions to the community throughout their lives;' according to WebtTV un.org. Alex Lee, 10, a PA early intervention graduate and son of Cecelia Lee (co-chair of the PA State Inter-agency Coordinating Council

Alex Lee, 10, participated in UN World Down Syndrome Day in New York.

HEAD START – EARLY INTERVENTION ROUNDTABLEOn Friday, August 10, 2018, Judy Kresky from the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties EI Infant/Toddler Program, Debbie Shemansky from the HASD EI Preschool Program and Lynn Evans-Biga as well as other staff from the Luzerne County Head Start Program attended the Head Start-Early Inter-vention Roundtable event at the Woodlands Inn in Wilkes-Barre. The purpose of the Roundtable was to provide an opportunity to: increase our understanding of each other’s program and the services provided to PA children and families; hear about successes and best practices from successful PA HS/EHS and EI partner-ships and discuss barriers; discuss strategies for im-proved collaboration between PA HS/EHS and EI and develop an improvement plan with the local players. (use picture below) Pictured addressing the audience is Carl Beck, the Director of OCDEL’s Bureau of Early Intervention and Family Services. (use on front page)

NEW PROGRAM TO ADDRESS SEVERE BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN 2 – 7 YEARS OF AGEChildren’s Service Center, a Behavioral Health Orga-nization, has introduced Intensive Family Coaching, an evidence based program that is designed to pro-vide in home coaching to families with children 2 to 7 years of age with severe behavior concerns. IFC is based on the strategies of Parent Child Interaction Therapy and will assist parents in promoting a more positive relationship with their child as well as pro-vide parents with skills to manage discipline effective-ly without harsh or punitive measures. The length of service is 2 – 6 hours per week for a 6 month period and is prescribed via an evaluation with a psycholo-gist at Children’s Service Center. Medical Assistance covers this treatment and inquiries or referrals can be made to Priscilla Zorichak, PCIT Coordinator, at 570-825-6425, ext. 247.

03/20/18 LICC MEETINGThe Luzerne/Wyoming Counties EI Programs hosted an LICC meeting on Tuesday, March 20th at the MH & DS Program Office in Wilkes-Barre. 20 Individ-uals attended the event. Jeff Zimmerman from the PA Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Home-lessness Program facilitated a presentation about his programs services and supports at the meeting. For more information about the Homelessness Program, contact Mr. Zimmerman at [email protected]

(SICC) through the Office of Child De-velopment and Early Learning (OCDEL), participated in the panel discussion. Also, his "new best friend;' Jose Maria Batalla of Spain, shared a powerful speech about Alex and other individuals with Down syndrome. You may view Alex asking a question to the panel at 0:34:14 in this UN Web TV video: https://tinyurl.com/yb525ald Jose's speech can be viewed at 1:40:00.

PA CHILD SPEAKS AT WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY

GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN CONFERENCEThe 12th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchil-dren Conference is scheduled for Friday, October 19, 2018 at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The event is sponsored by the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition and the Pittston Memorial Library. There is no attendance fee for grandparents and other relative caregivers raising relative children. For more information about the Conference or for information about Grandparent Support Groups contact Howard Grossman at 570-262-3443 or [email protected]

Kristin Magnotta, Regional Director for Senator Rob-ert P. Casey, Jr. ( 3rd from left) attended

the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition meeting on June 19, 2018 at the Pittston Memorial Library to discuss the Senator’s bill

Jeff Zimmerman from the Homelessness Program



Marilee Mc-Donough, EI SC Unit Supervisor, first in the front row from the left, represent-ed the EI Program and Mary Boylan, ID Supports Coor-

dinator, 2nd from left in the front row; Amanda Everitt, ID Supports Coordinator, 3rd from left in the front row; Julia Machinshok, ID Supports Coordinator, 4th from left in the front row and Bryn Groblewski, ID Supports Coordinator, standing, represented the Intellectual Disabilities Program at the picnic. Also standing is Amanda Everitt’s son, Logan.

Summer 2018 Page 5 Summer 2018

SENATORS YUDICHAK AND BAKER HOST ROUNDTABLE

On Tuesday, February 13, 2018, Judy Kresky, Program Specialist for the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Early Inter-vention Program for Infants and Toddlers; Lynn Evans Biga, Executive Director for Luzerne County Head Start; Ann Jones, Program Manager for the Nurse-Family Part-nership Program and Shannon Hayward, the Director of WIC Administration joined other panelists at a Roundtable on Lead Exposure and Lead Testing at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre. Senators John Yudichak and Lisa Baker from Luzerne County hosted the event and were joined by Sen-ator Judy Schwank from Berks County. Last October, the PA State Senate unanimously approved a Senate Resolution 33 – a measure authored by Senator Yudichak that created a statewide Senate Lead Task Force and Advisory Committee under the direction of the Joint State Government Commis-sion. Lead exposure can cause long-term neurological and physical impairments, and children in at least 20 Pennsylva-nia cities, including Wilkes-Barre, have tested positive for el-evated lead levels. If you have concerns about lead exposure, talk to your physician about having your child tested.

PARENT TO PARENT PRESENTATION

On Tuesday, February 13, 2018, Susan Bolig, the North Central Regional Coordinator of Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania, provided a power point presentation about the program's supports and services for staff from our local EI SC Unit and the ID Children's Unit. Parent to Parent links parents and family members of children and adults with disabilities or special needs on a one-to-one basis according to condi-tions or concerns. They can also help you locate a support group or provide technical assistance to local support and mentor groups. For more information, contact 1-888-727-2706 or www.parenttoparent.org .

DIVERSITY DAY PICNICThe local chapter of the NAACP hosted their 20th Annual Diversity Day Picnic on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre. The event was free to the general public and featured games, prizes and picnic fare food. Early Intervention brochures and sippy cups were available to share with individ-uals attending the festivities.

On Sunday, April 29, 2018, Au-tism Aware-ness NEPA hosted the 11th Annu-al 5k Run, Walk & Awareness Fair at the Luzerne County Recreation Complex in Forty Fort, PA. Staff from the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services manned a table at the event and EI brochures and sippy cups were distributed to individuals who attend-ed the event.

NEW EI SERVICE COORDINATORThe Luzerne/Wyo-ming Counties EI SC Unit is happy to wel-come Nicole Thom-as on board as the newest member of our local staff. Nicole previously worked at the local Area Agen-cy on Aging.

EI PROVIDER ROUNDTABLE TRAININGOn Friday, July 27, 2018 the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties EI Infant/Toddler Program hosted the Annual EI Provider Round-table Training for our local EI SC Unit and EI Provider Network. The event, which was held at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre was attended by more than 40 individ-uals. Training topics included but was not limited to: Cultural Competency; Universal Health Procedure and Precautions, Transition; and Procedural Safeguards.

TRANSITION STARTS AT AGE TWOThe local EI Infant/Toddler Program hosted “Transi-tion Starts at Two” for the families of children who will be turning three within the next year and will be eligible for the EI Preschool Program. The event was held on Thursday, April 12th at the Super Bounce in Wyoming, PA. Debbie Shemansky from Hazleton Area School District’s EI Preschool Program facili-tated a presentation on transition and provided packets of information about EI Preschool services for the families in attendance. Parents and family members were afforded the oppor-tunity to ask questions about what EI Pre-school might look like for their children. Over 40 individuals attended the event.

TASD KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATIONThe Early Intervention Program participated in the Tunkhannock Area School District’s Kindergarten Regis-tration event which occurred March 19th through the 23rd at the Roslund Elementary School in Tunkhannock. Community resources and agencies were in-vited to share information about their supports and services with the families enrolling a child for Kindergarten this Fall.

Lauren Pavlick, from ID Supports Coordination at the event

Local EI staff that attended the training

Nicole with her supervisor, Marilee McDonough

Ashley Upright, Family Worker, who represent-ed Head Start/Early Head Start at the event.

Panelists from the 02/13/18 Roundtable

Susan Bolig from Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania

PA SPECIAL NEEDS EXPOBrighter Journeys is hosting their Inaugural PA Special Needs Expo on Friday, September 28, 2018 from 11AM to 6PM. The “Connecting the Dots” event will be held at the Mohegan Sun Pocono and will have resources to share, seminars and speakers for individuals of all ages with all sorts of disabilities. For more information, contact Lisa Urbanski at 570-814-6606 or e-mail [email protected] .

11th ANNUAL 5K RUN, WALK & AWARENESS FAIR

Debbie Shemansky pre-senting at the event



Summer 2018 Page 4 Summer 2018

FAMILY COACHING IMPLEMENTER’S CONFERENCEStaff from the Luzerne/Wyo-ming Counties infant/Tod-dler Provid-er Network facilitated a presentation at the Fami-ly Coaching Implementer’s Conference at State College on Th ursday, March 22, 2018. “Coaching, Why and How? No Need to Re-invent the Wheel!” was presented by Liz Kuschke, Colleen Kutchkus and Lori Elston, all veteran coaches from Luzerne/Wyoming Counties. Participates at the ses-sion were guided through the why and how these coaches came to practice “coaching” and successful components of coaching were highlighted through video clips. Th e Lu-zerne/Wyoming Counties EI Infant/Toddler Program is in the third year of implementing the “Coaching” Model of service delivery with the assistance of funding made avail-able through an OCDEL Evidence Based Grant.

ANNUAL EI LICC RETREATTh e Annual LICC Retreat in Luzerne/Wyoming Counties was held on Friday, June 1, 2018 at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center in Wil-kes-Barre. Jennifer Billig and Lynn Elko facilitated a pre-sentation on Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and Kelly Bryk, our Local LICC Parent Co-Chair provided an over-view on the services available at the Serendipity Th erapeu-tic Riding Program, located in Harveys Lake. 2018/2019 goals identifi ed on our local Quality Enhance-ment Plan (QEP) were also reviewed with the group. 24 individuals attended the event.

Kristine Nicito, coachee; Colleen Kutch-kus, coach and presenter; Lori Elston, coach and presenter; Kathy Paranich, coachee; Karen Atkinson, coachee; and Liz Kuschke, coach and presenter

Kelly Bryk, LICC Parent Co-Chair presenting on Ser-endipity Th erapeu-tic Riding Program

Lynn Elko and Jennifer Billig presenting on Corti-cal Visual Impairment

Rake leaves for a “Falling for Fall” activity! Rake up piles of leaves and then allow your toddler or preschooler to fall into the leaves. You can sing a song while they play in the leaves.

WELCOME TO THE LICC MEETINGSTh e ABC LICC is hosting Welcoming events for the families and professionals that reside in both Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. On Wednesday, September 12th beginning at 5PM, folks will meet at the MH & DS Program Offi ce in Wilkes-Barre and on Th ursday September 20th beginning at 5PM, the event will occur at the Wyoming County Family Center at their new location of 1687 Scottsville Road, Mehoopany.

SAFE IS HOSTING A 5K RUNSAFE ( Supporting Autism & Families Every-where) is hosting a 5K Run and a Autism & Wellness Community Resource Fair on Saturday September 29, 2018 at Frances Slocum State Park on Mt. Olivet Road in Wyoming. Th ere will be food, raffl es and activities for the whole fami-ly. Registration for the 5K begins at 8AM and the Resource Fair begins at 10:30AM. For more information call 570-822-7259 or e-mail [email protected] .

LUZERNE COUNTY CARES COMMUNITY EXPO 2018Luzerne County Human Services in partnership with the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties System of Care is hosting the Luzerne County Cares Community Expo 2018 on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at the Woodlands Inn & Resort in Wilkes-Barre from 1PM to 9PM. Darryl Straw-berry, Sam Webb and Luke Foster are all scheduled as keynote speakers. Th ere will be breakout sessions through-out the day and community agencies and resources will man tables to share information about their supports and services. A Bar-B-Q Dinner will be available between 4:30 and 6 and Music/Sundae Bar/Chocolate Fountain will be available during networking between 8 and 9. All Luzerne County residents are welcome. For more information or to register ( the event is FREE), please visit: https://lwsoc.org/expo2018/

Th e meetings provide opportunities for families to meet other family members and professionals in the EI System. Everyone is welcome to share their insights concerns and ideas. Refreshments will be served. You can RSVP by e-mailing [email protected] . For more information or directions contact your EI Service Coordinator.

FALL ACTIVITIES

Visit a local pumpkin patch with the whole family. Don’t forget your camera on your baby’s fi rst trip to the pumpkin patch! There are so many adorable photo ops!

Have a Fall Feast! Pre-pare a fall-themed meal with baby and toddler friendly foods ( think applesauce, pumpkin bread, roasted veggies, or soups).

Take baby along on a trip to an apple orchard. Enjoy a beautiful day outdoors at an apple orchard. It’s a classic autumn activity that the whole family will love!

Cheer on your favorite team at a football tailgate! Dress your little one in school colors and stop by the tailgate party! Your baby will love being the center of atten-tion….that is, until kickoff time!

Create a leaf collage. Crafting with a toddler can be so much fun. Take a walk on a crisp autumn day and collect leaves of different shapes, colors and sizes. With a little help, your child can make a great collage for grandma!

Take a trip to the library. Visit the library with your preschooler and fi nd books about the change of seasons.

Make vegetable stamps. Make stamps from apples, beets, squash or any other fall vegetable and have your child create a masterpiece with fi nger paints.

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