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Strengthening families and communities has never been more important than it is right now. PEI is here to help!
Our program specialists have been compiling family and caregiver resources alongside public health information for you. To review previously released resources visit our website.
Coronavirus Guidance from DSHS and the Governor is available online for all Texans as we respond to the pandemic. Information changes weekly; it's a good idea to bookmark this page for the most up-to-date, accurate information on current response efforts.
Additional COVID resources
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Help and Hope COVID-19 resource page: Visit HelpAndHope.org to find updated resources for providers and the general public.
- The Department of Family and Protective Services has updated its front page to include coronavirus information and testing resources. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/ to see all the new changes.
- The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has an interactive map of COVID-19 testing locations. Visit tdem.texas.gov to find one of the 400+ testing locations nearest you.
- The CDC has a helpful tip sheet and information for helping children cope with emergencies.
- It's hard for kids to read emotions through a mask. Here's a tip sheet on how to make it a little easier for everyone, courtesy of Challenging Behavior and National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations.
The Maternal and Child Health Division of the Texas Department of Public Health Services has published a list of cohort communities for Help Me Grow Texas 2020. The cohort will run from August 2020 to August 2021.
Help Me Grow Texas links families to resources in their community to help meet children’s needs. Community services include agencies that provide health care, quality early learning experiences, and information about healthy development.
Cohort communities were selected based on community readiness, need, capacity, and infrastructure. Each community designated a local organization to lead their communities’ efforts. The 2020 cohort participants are:
- Easter Seals of Rio Grande Valley Serving: Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy County
- My Health My Resources of Tarrant County Serving: Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise County
- North Texas Area United Way Serving: Archer, Clay, and Wichita County
- Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center Serving: El Paso County
- United Way for Greater Austin Serving: Travis and Williamson County
- United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County Serving: Bexar County
More information about Help Me Grow can be found at helpmegrownational.org.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has rolled out an enhanced postpartum care services package for eligible women enrolled in Healthy Texas Women, called HTW Plus.
Beginning in September, approximately 90,000 Healthy Texas Women clients will automatically receive this new postpartum care coverage for up to 12 months, which covers diabetes management services, heart and blood pressure treatments, asthma medications and supplies, tobacco cessation, and mental health conditions.
For more information visit the HHSC Newsroom.
 Friday Feels with Family Tree
After hearing from concerned parents dealing with their younger children as they spent the summer indoors, away from friends and group activities, the Counseling Center of Denton (CCD) and their Family Tree Program created a social-media-based literature program to support the families in their area as part of their participation in the National Family Support Network.
“We were hearing from our families that they were feeling isolated, overwhelmed and frankly, tired of constantly entertaining their children while under stay at home orders," said Sadaf Meckfessel, the Family Tree Program Director. "We wanted to provide a resource that parents and youth could utilize while social distancing that would target diversity, difference, feelings, and coping, all with an engaging activity that encouraged the viewer to discuss the reading and activity with a family member and facilitate family conversation on the subject."
At the start of summer, staff located children's stories (including bilingual versions) that talked about diversity, social and emotional understanding and ways to process feelings. A recorded reading of each story is published to the Family Tree Program Facebook pages and on Instagram for the children to view. Staff members then guide children though a creative activity that helps them process the stories, and encourages them to share their personal stories with the grownups in their home. The series, entitled "Friday Feels with Family Tree," has seen a warm response from the community they serve.
“It was fun putting together the videos and hearing the response back from our families,” said Meckfessel. “Over the eight videos and readings we posted, we had 432 views, seven shares, and 29 likes on Facebook. We also posted on Instagram. We asked that all of our subcontractors post on their organization’s Facebook page, and have made all videos available on YouTube. It has been a particularly rewarding activity to know that we are able to give to our community and through a means that they could receive it.”
A full list of the books in the Friday Feels Series includes “The Color Monster”, “I am Perfectly Designed”, “Grumpy Monkey”, “Invisible String” and “Escuchando a Mi Cuerpo”
Parkland Nurse Family Partnership Drive Thru Celebration
Parkland Nurse-Family Partnership held a drive-thru event for their clients earlier this summer, courtesy of the Fellowship Dallas Church parking lot.
A total of 23 clients participated in the in-car event, welcoming 75 family members with boxed lunches and thank you gifts to the clients for participating in the program.
The Nurse-Family Partnership offers ongoing home visits from registered nurses to low-income, first-time moms to receive the care and support needed to promote healthy pregnancies and help mothers boost their babies’ brain development and language skills.
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September 15th through October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. Why does it start on the 15th? September 15th marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The month also honors Mexico and Chile, which celebrate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.
Here's some resources to help observe and honor Americans whose roots reach back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.
The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse has requested public recommendations for mental health, substance abuse, in-home parent skill-based, and kinship navigator programs and services to be considered for systematic review.
This call is an opportunity for the public to recommend programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements.
Submission Deadline is October 5, 2020. Visit the Clearinghouse Home Page.
How to Build Buffers Against ACEs and Their Consequences
According to a recent federal report, at least five of the top 10 leading causes of death are associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The National Institute for Children's Health Quality has published an article highlighting ways that families and communities can actually create buffers that protect children from many of the negative health and life outcomes that stem from adversity.
The Healthier Texas Summit Series is offering a webinar on Strategies to Address Mental Health Needs for Children in Texas. In this session, panelists will outline some strategies and services that were developed, discuss some of the challenges and needs faced due to COVID-19, and identify ways that clinicians, coordinators, schools, and families can tap into these services. Register now.
COVID-19 Daily Webinars
Be Strong Families is hosting a series of COVID-19 related webinars in English (12:00 P.M.) and Spanish (1:30 P.M.) daily. Check out their website for topics including grieving experiences and expectations, family storytelling workshop, self-care for caregivers, financial resilience, and candid experiences of COVID-19.
Got questions about mental health and the 2020-2021 school year? Dr. Molly Lopez, director of the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health and a research associate professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, has answers in her article about building resiliency for the entire family.
Flu Season is upon us. It's more important than ever for people to be vaccinated. The CDC recommends that everyone six months of age and older get the flu vaccine every season. Bookmark and share these flu-related resources:
Is your college freshman stuck at home? Here's some survival tips for when COVID keeps college kids at home instead of in the dorm.
Does your child have their eyes on the stars? Next year NASA will launch a new telescope 100 times more powerful than the Hubble. Watch it being built. Learn how to make your own unfolding version at go.nasa.gov/32Odllg.
There's no shortage of groan-worthy kid jokes. But just in case your family's running low, here's a list of back to school jokes for kids.
Keyboard skills are more important than ever. Red Tricycle has compiled a list of online games that improve your child's typing speed and accuracy.
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