Hello from Western MA

Thanks Howie, Amanda, Karen & Sylvia for developing this Northeast ACT blog. What a great idea!

We are currently more than half-way through a Parents Raising Safe Kids group. We have 8 consistent participants, including two couples. The group meets weekly in an empty classroom here at the early childhood program. Childcare is held in a separate part of the room, with two paraprofessionals from our program. This is the first time we have held childcare in the same room and have actually found it to be beneficial. There are several very young children who are able to separate to play as long as parents are in sight, but wouldn't have separated if childcare was in a different room.

This has been a wonderful group. The parents have really bonded as a group and attendance has been excellent. They have been very receptive to the ACT materials.

Keep up the good word everyone, and I look forward to reading the blog regularly!

Mary Huth
Westfield Public Schools
Westfieldl, MA


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ACT training

Claudia and I trained 22 members of our community in the Parents Raising Safe Kids program on April 1 &2. The training went very well. There are definite plans for some of the attendees to take the program to their agencies and offer the series to their clients. The response was overwhelmingly positive.