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Each year the Annie E. Casey Foundation funds a national survey of child well-being. The new report was recently released. Montana is again ranked 28th, same as last year.The data is analyzed in four different categories: education, economic well-being, family and community and health.Montana was above average in three of the four categories, but finished 50th in child health.The report shows that Montana improved in economic well-being, up to 15th from 20th last year. We held steady on education at 13th. We declined a bit on family and community, down to 14th from 13th.But it’s the child health numbers that seem to be the greatest cause for concern.If you dig into the health numbers, Montana did improve over last year’s report in having fewer uninsured kids — down to 12 percent — and fewer teens abusing alcohol and drugs — down to 10 percent. However, we have increased our percentage of children with low birth weights — 7.5 percent — and increased the number of child and teen deaths per 100,000 — 45.How do we make sense of this data? It’s hard because for many of us these kinds of statistics don’t mean a lot when you pull them apart. As a state, Montana’s 28th place ranking is the lowest in the region. North Dakota ranks sixth, Wyoming ranks 15th, South Dakota ranks 18th, and Idaho ranks 20th.What the report tells us about child health is we have more work to do. It may seem like 88 percent of children being covered by health insurance is pretty good, but we’re average for the region. Similar to Idaho and Wyoming, but lower than both Dakotas.For teen death rates, we’re highest in the region at 45 per 100,000. Idaho is at 28, Wyoming at 32, North Dakota at 34 and South Dakota 39.In general what this means is in Montana we can do a better job, in this areas, of improving the health of our kids. The good news is that health continues to be a priority of the Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration, which launched an initiative last week called “A Healthier Montana: A Plan to Improve the Health of Montanans.”Bullock’s plan focuses on six areas: Preventing, identifying and managing chronic diseases; promoting the health of mothers, infants and children; preventing, identifying and controlling communicable disease, preventing injuries and reducing exposure to environmental health hazards; improving mental health and reducing substance abuse; and, strengthening Montana’s public health and health care system.Reports like Kids Count, are one of many analyzing different aspects of health in Montana and around the country, said Jon Ebelt, spokesman for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Typically, those reports only tell part of the story. And though the state takes the Kids Count report seriously, it fit into the broader look of health in Montana now outlined in Bullock’s initiative.“We’ve done a lot of work the last year to set the priorities on where we can make the most difference,” Ebelt said.At Lewis and Clark County, county health officer Melanie Reynolds is also focused on local work.The county has been working for a number of months on their community health improvement plan and is looking to unveil soon.So while the news from Kids Count was mixed, we’re pleased the state and local governments are continuing their efforts to support better health for Montanans. We anticipate these efforts will show themselves with an improved report next year.

We felt terrible for the school team. And we felt bad for the family, too; we heard that they had been banned from the school. One thing we knew for sure—we would never be the kind of parents who would go to due process. We were not lawsuit people and didn’t even know any lawyers. If we ever had differences, we would find a way to work them out. Due process for us? No way!

What:Research provides strong evidence that organizations with a high degree of trust among employees are far more likely to make and sustain the kinds of changes that help them reach their goals and outcomes – than those organizations where there is little or no trust among staff. This session will describe both empirical and conceptual research related to trust types. We will explore the various types of trust as they relate to social and organizational life. In addition, we will make connections between trust, trust types, relationship, communication and increased effectiveness in mediation and ADR outcomes.  About Dr. Cathy Fromme: Dr. Fromme began her journey as an educator 32 years ago, as a first grade teacher in California. She is currently the Principal of TrustWorks. Prior to establishing TrustWorks she held district, regional ESD and state department positions in Washington. While at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction she developed Washington’s statewide Special Education Mediation System, chaired the statewide Commission on Student Learning Accommodations and Alternate Assessment committees.Cathy was also the Diversity Manager for the Washington Department of Natural Resources where she facilitated, positive/inclusive working relationships and diversity in the workplace for 1,300 DNR employees. She has consulted, written and presented extensively in the areas of trust, change management and work force diversity in schools and organizations. She received her B.S. from UCLA, M.S. from San Jose State University, and doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Washington. Though, her proudest achievements in life are her two grown sons. The youngest is an EMT in the US Air Force and the oldest is the owner/operator of a courier business in San Francisco.Meeting Details: To participate in this webinar you must call in and log in from your computer. Conference Number(s):  1-888-447-7153 Participant Code: 473502 To join the meeting, please click on the link below and enter as guest: http://tadnet.adobeconnect.com/cadre/When:March 14, 201212:00 pm - 1:15 pm MTContact:Marshall Peter, Director CADRE (541) 686-5060 (v) (541) 686-5063 (f) mpeter@directionservice.org www.directionservice.org/cadre

We go to George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, Va., which participates in the NHD competition. This year, the theme is “Rights and Responsibilities.” We chose the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as our topic for several reasons. We were inspired by “Including Samuel,” a video about a boy with disabilities and his struggles and successes of inclusion, told by his father. Between the three of us we have three relatives who are involved with special education, but we realized many people have no idea what the IDEA stands for and what it does (even us!). We also realized that though civil rights and women’s rights are taught in school, the rights of people with disabilities are mostly left out.

When parents like me talk about our kids with disabilities and intense support needs, we have to be thoughtful. We need to make it quite clear that our kids are much-loved and very awesome human beings. We should never, ever state or imply that any challenges we face as a parent are our children's fault. We need to handle their privacy with delicacy. And we shouldn't accidentally enable disrespect towards children who are already too-frequent magnets for morbid fascination, and pity.

I started Hopeful Parents, a grassroots community where parents who understand what it's like having a child with special needs can connect. Consider it a pit-stop in the marathon -- where we can go for attention to our wounds, where we can re-energize our way back on track, where we can look right and look left to see others running too, where we can hear the roar of the crowds cheering us on. Hopeful Parents is a place of common ground. We'll introduce you to our diverse pool of talented, thoughtful writers who will share their stories, their feelings, their ups and their downs. You'll meet parents raising children with physical, psychological, emotional, neurological, sensory, behavioral, social, genetic, and developmental disabilities. Some parents are single, some are married. Some grieve the loss of their child; some grieve the loss of their spouse. You'll also meet healers -- the "medics" who help us through our run. People we can turn to in our pain; people who can help provide some relief.

Click here to register!What:The focus of this year's conference is to explore school mental health work within a 3-tiered context; we will take a strategic look at how our work can be understood as a multi-tiered system of support.  We will examine how existing support structures such as High-Fidelity Wraparound, Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI), Montana School Counseling Program, and Comprehensive School and Community Treatment, framed within the three tiers, could provide a continuum of academic and positive behavior supports.  Nationally recognized speakers Dr. Lucille Eber and Dr. John VanDenBerg will share their expertise.If you are interested in sharing your good work at the state conference, please apply to present!  Three 75-minute presentations will be selected and showcased during the second day of the conference.  We are looking for presentations that address the mental health needs of students within the 3-tiers and/or focuses on meeting student need within one specific tier.Click here if you are interested in presenting!Whether you can attend the conference or not, we ask you to contribute to this work by taking this brief survey about the provision of mental health services in your school.  This survey has been given each year and we use the data to inform statewide planning concerning school mental health.  Your perspective is critical, so please take this survey and pass it on to others in your school community who may offer additional insights.  Thank you for taking this survey today. Click here to take the survey!When:March 1-2, 2012Where:Red Lion Colonial Hotel Helena, MTContact:Susan Bailey-AndersonPhone: 406-444-2046Email: sbanderson@mt.govWebsite: www.opi.mt.gov

Need a little help at a great price to get where you are going in Montana? The owners of Rimrock Trailways are making a trip across the state to listen to input from riders and potential riders of their buses. "We really want to hear from bus riders across the state - specifically what they like about our service and what we can do to improve," said Eric Forseth, owner of Rimrock Trailways. "In the process of holding workshops in Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman, Helena, Billings and Miles City over the next couple of weeks we hope to learn how to better serve students and other riders. Everyone wins in the end, we get people where they want to go, and we provide the services that are truly needed."

Click here to download the latest registration forms Here are the dates and the registration forms for campers/families and volunteers for Camp No Limits 2011! We have an exciting year ahead of us so sign up soon!  As always Maine camp fills up fast and to make sure we have room PLEASE get your forms in ASAP!   As you will notice the registration forms have been condensed so I hope that you appreciate it!  We DO NEED ALL FORMS SIGNED!  PLEASE make every effort to fill the forms out and return them as soon as possible so we do not have to hunt you down at camp to sign forms!  If you are attending more than one camp please circle all locations you plan to attend and then you will not have to fill out new forms at each camp! Please let me know if you have questions and we will plan to see you in 2011! www.nolimitsfoundation.org