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November 29, 2009

‘Smart steps’ to help children

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — A new counseling program aimed at children dealing with a family divorce or the death of a parent is coming to Cullman early next year.

Called Smart Steps, the new initiative is sponsored by the Cullman County office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and funded by a $17,834 grant from the Cullman County Partnership for Children.

The program is set to begin on Jan. 1, 2010.

Elaine Cole, with the cooperative extension system, said this program should be a great help for the community.

“I’ve had so many parents call me and say their kids need help,” she said. “This program will help children who have gone through the grief of a divorce or the loss of a parent.”

Cole said the project will focus specifically on elementary and middle school age students for counseling.

“We’ll have informal activities letting them look at their lives,” she said. “We’ll be helping them work through the different life they’ll be facing.”

A major aim of the project is to improve the affected children’s performance in school, Cole said.

“Many children who face these things see drops in their school scores, because they’re dealing with so much in their life,” she said. “Hopefully, the point of this program is to help with that.”

The target goal is for the program to help approximately 100 children next year.

“If we can do more, that’d be great,” Cole said.

Cullman County district court Judge Greg Nicholas said hopefully next year’s pilot program will continue after 2010.

“It’s pretty traumatic for children to go through these types of things, so we’re hoping this will be seed money to get this started,” he said.

District court judge Kim Chaney said the program should provide “extra help” for children.

“We’re very pleased to provide this and hopefully it will continue,” he said.

Throughout the year, Cole said the program will be evaluated to determine its effectiveness.

“We’ll be keeping tabs on it, to make sure it is having an affect,” she said.

More information about the program can be found by calling the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at (256) 737-9386.



Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.

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