The Arkansas Department of Human Services has announced grant funding totaling almost $5 million to establish a Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP) through MidSOUTH, the community service unit of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Social Work.

The initial $1,229,802 funds, effective January 2015, will help MidSouth establish a parenting education program for Arkansas families with an active in-home protective services case. The total for the four-year grant comes to $4,919,208.

The program provides a competency-based curriculum with built-in assessments throughout the parent education process to track success in learning new parenting skills. Fifteen new employees will be hired to train parents and conduct training sessions for their children, MidSOUTH officials say.

The lessons are especially effective in cases where child abuse and neglect are present or at risk of occurring, according to MidSOUTH Executive Director Gigi Peters. If substance abuse is identified, the parent or caregiver engage in treatment before a referral to program services will be accepted.

Substance abuse in parents is another of the top reasons children are removed and placed in foster homes, according to Peters.

“The short-term goals of increasing learned, positive parenting techniques will enhance the longer term goal of reducing the number of children entering foster care,” Peters said.

The initiative is one of several announced by Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services last year. A June 2014 report by the division showed a total of 18,469 children entered the foster care system in Arkansas from July 2007 through June 2012.

MidSOUTH provides leadership, training, and product support in the areas of addiction, child welfare, technology, distance learning, and organizational development.

For more information about MidSOUTH’s programs and services, call 501.569.3067.

Get the latest news sent directly to your email inbox.