Pee-soat'eng Project Drug Elimination

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 Evaluation of the Pee’soats-eng Project For the Cedar Band of the Paiute Tribe 

Final Report
Glenna C. Boyce and Cora L. Price
Early Intervention Research Institute
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-6580

Glenda Pasmann
Southwest Behavioral Health Center
St. George, UT.

September 1, 2004

 Introductory Remarks 

I am very happy to have performed this evaluation and observe the staff of the Pee’soats-eng Project. I have been impressed with the way they have been able to coordinate programs and budgets in order to provide successful activities and events for the youth and families in the Cedar Band.  We at the Early Intervention Research Institute have worked with many community efforts to coordinate services and I personally have never observed a program with more determination, dedication, and vision of what they want to accomplish than I have with the Pee’soats-eng Project.   We have tried to provide reliable and valid outcome data and hope that the data will speak for themselves. 

Learning some about the history of the Paiutes---their loss and restoration of tribe status and lands provided us a background for the evaluation. Presently, the Cedar Band is small and members live in different areas around Cedar City and attend different schools. These situations may make it difficult for community cohesion and participation. Parents and staff talked of growing up without adequate incomes, without hope, and without pride.  When you contrast this background information with the attendance figures at the particular events and the statements made by the youth, parents, and staff in the focus groups, it appears to us that changes in individual and group behaviors and attitudes were happening because of the Pee’soats-eng Project.  I’d like to close with some examples.

• One mother indicated that with the tutoring at the after school program and the Awards Nights her daughter had moved from a resource room placement at school to the regular classroom and was receiving A grades.

• A foster mother related that when her foster son moved to her home he denied being a Native American.  She tried to inculcate pride in him about his heritage, but to no avail.  However, since he has received tutoring from adult male Native Americans and participated in the Pee’soats-eng activities his attitude changed.  After one event he came home saying he was proud to be a Paiute. 

• The children and adults reported that the guest speakers motivated the children.  One mother said that hearing about Billy Mill’s hard work, in spite of loneliness and ridicule, and his success boosted her son’s self-confidence. He was motivated to try out for the basketball team.

• An adult who completed a History Project said that for her it was a cultural awakening and led to many nights of reading and studying about her history.  

  To me it seems the activities informed and lifted the youth and adults to higher goals.  Their competence and self confidence increased and as a group they are more unified and more willing to reach out to other cultures and groups (both Native and non-Native Americans). 
Glenna C. Boyce, Ph.D.
Utah State University

 Executive Summary 

The Pee’soats-eng Project had very specific goals and activities in the areas of parent training, youth education, outreach efforts and family facilitation. Parent training was originally conceptualized as classes using a specific curriculum.  Later other methods were used to instruct parents. Youth education included supporting their performance at school as well as teaching them about their cultural heritage, and providing activities through which their feelings of self-competence could be increased.  Outreach efforts included efforts to involve Cedar Band of the Paiute Tribe of Utah members in the Pee’soats-eng and other Cedar Band activities.  Outreach efforts were also used to identify those families who could use more formalized social services to help their family or a specific child. Family facilitation activities included activities to support families as they learned about and accessed needed services. 

The goals of the evaluation were to provide outcome information for each of these areas, as well as provide ongoing feedback that could be used by the project staff in an iterative fashion to adapt activities or services to better meet the needs of the band members.  To provide this feedback monthly meetings (conference phone calls) were held to discuss data collection in relation to each project goal.  These meetings included the project director, co-director, and the evaluators.
Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used, including attendance counts, questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups.  In the following the findings in each of the four project areas are briefly summarized and discussed.

 Parent Training 

Attendance at the trainings with set curricula was low, but appeared to be pretty consistent for those who participated.

On average parents and extended family members attended 3+ of the 9 Awards Meetings (where they also received instruction).  The goal was that they would on average attend 5 of the 9.
Yet, more parents participated this year than last year and the level of participation increased.  Only two gave their permission to have their children’s grades monitored, but did not attend and one parent chose not to participate at all. 

Although parent attendance appears to be somewhat limited, it must be remembered that there are many other demands on parents’ time, such as work, school meetings, illness, etc.  Also, extended family members such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents may have not have attended as frequently. Having them participate at all is seen as a strength.

 Promoting Youth Success  

Awards Meetings

• 29 to 61 percent of the youth received awards for their grades in any month.

• 18 to 55 percent of the youth in any month received awards for attending school 100% of the time during the previous month.

• There was an increase in the number of youth who qualified for the end of the year award activity.

• Higher parent attendance at the Awards Meetings was related both to better student grades and the students earning of the end of the year award.

Quarterly Activities 

• Participation was high with 32 participating in the Talent Show; 21 in the History Fair; 64 in the Hopi Land Camp; and 59 in the Southern Utah University camp.  (These numbers include some adults.)  Attendance at the Talent Show and History Fair was also high.

• The youth in the focus group reported that that the Talent Show helped them feel more confident in their abilities; the History Fair taught them about their history and culture; the trip to Hopi Land taught them to respect other cultures; and the SUU Camp inspired them to attend college. 

• Parents in the focus group also felt the youth had benefited from the activities, in terms of self-confidence and knowledge about their history.  They felt the youth had more pride in being Native Americans.    They appreciated the fact that the activities helped draw families and the community together because all could participate.
  

Cultural Speakers 

• On average, more than 30 youth attended each of the speakers with outreach to other Native Americans and non-Native Americans.

• The questionnaires indicated that the youth thought that the speakers positively influenced how they felt about being a Native American and helped them understand how important school is.  The focus group comments supported the questionnaire findings.

• The evening presentations were attended by large groups.  Parent focus group comments indicated that they felt the performances were beneficial for the youth in terms of being proud of being a Native American and working hard to succeed.

• The goal of recruiting 5 to 8 families to participate in Pee’soats-eng and other Cedar Band activities was exceeded.  The Outreach Worker worked with 14 families and made, on average, 9.2 visits with each family. 

 Outreach 

The goal of recruiting 5 to 8 families to participate in Pee’soats-eng and other Cedar Band activities was exceeded.  The Outreach Worker worked with 14 families and made, on average, 9.2 visits with each family.

Family Facilitation 

The Family Facilitator was trained to support families in accessing services.
She made initial contacts with other service providers to work cooperatively together.
She worked with 12 families, making on average 30 home visits to each.
It appears that the work completed in Outreach and Family Facilitation provides a significant base from which other families can be helped.

 Parent Training 

Overview of Activities

Parent training occurred in many settings this year through the Pee’soats-eng project.  Parent training was included in order to educate Cedar Band members and their families about how to address certain problems in their families, including problems associated with accessing educational and social services.  One goal of the Project Director was to teach parents techniques to address a variety of problems.
           
One Family Academy with six different class modules was held in September and November, 2003; a Common Sense Parenting program was conducted twice in October; there was one session of an Indian Parenting Class led by Karen Brown from the Paiute Tribe; and several less formal sessions were held in conjunction with the Student Awards Meetings of the Parent Education and Monitoring program.  In addition, parent training was offered via an Alcoholics Anonymous class, Breast Cancer Awareness and Screening session, and cultural seminars that were led by a Native American group called Daughters of Tradition.  Research questions were developed to address only the most formal of these parent-training efforts (Common Sense Parenting and Family Academy classes) in order to minimize the paperwork burden for project staff.  (The speakers at the awards meetings and the attendance figures at these meetings are discussed in the Promoting Youth Success section of this paper.)

Research Questions

How many parents attended the Common Sense Parenting classes? 

Three parents attended the Common Sense Parenting classes that were held at the Paiute Tribal Building.  They are parents of eleven children.  No parents attended the classes that were held in the Head Start facility.

What was the average attendance at the class sessions? 

Attendance was minimal (3 parents) at all Common Sense Parenting class sessions in the Paiute Tribal Building.  However, the 3 parents attended all of the sessions, probably indicating that the classes were pertinent to their needs. 

In response to the fact that the attendance was low, project staff considered modifications.  They considered changing the title to “Life Skills” and continuing to offer classes under that name.  Instead, they developed closer working relationships with the Education Coordinator and enhanced the Parent Education and Monitoring program by offering informal parent training opportunities in that venue.

To what degree were parents satisfied with the Common Sense program? 

Parents responded to a class evaluation of the Common Sense Parenting program, however, responses will not be presented in detailed tables in this report because only three parents attended the sessions.  Respondents overwhelmingly rated different aspects of the training with a 7, which represented “Completely Satisfied” on the evaluation form (34 of 42 ratings).  Thus, it appears that the classes were taught effectively.  Parents’ comments from the evaluation forms included statements such as “We have put to practice the things we are learning and the outcomes have always been positive” and “At first I didn’t agree with the advice she gave on a particular situation, but over time, I see she was right”.  All three parents agreed that they would recommend this program to other parents.

How many parents attended each Family Academy? 

In responses to Satisfaction Questionnaires distributed during the first five modules, fourteen people described themselves as parents, two people described themselves as ‘parent and service provider’.  Other attendees described themselves as educator (2), family member (2), Assistant Supt. Coordinator (1), or service provider (3).  Overall attendance at the six modules, or classes, is shown in Table 1.   Attendance by parents for Family Academy modules one through five is shown in Table 2.  

Table 1. Overall Attendance at Each Module (Class)

Table 2.  Parent Attendance at Each Module (Class)

Although the primary emphasis of the Pee’soats-eng project is to reach and educate enrolled members of the Cedar Band of the Paiute Tribe of Utah, Family Academy classes were open to other interested parties.  The Family Academy classes welcomed a variety of persons because project staff were aware that in some cases important adults in a child’s extended family are not enrolled members of Cedar Band.   The diversity of ethnic backgrounds of persons who attended Family Academy classes is shown in Table 3.
Table 3.  Family Academy Attendance by Tribal Status

How many parents completed 6 modules (100%)?

How many parents completed at least two modules (33%)? 

Parents did not provide their names on the Family Academy rosters or Satisfaction Questionnaires.  The forms did not include names in order to provide confidentially for their responses.  Therefore, we do not have Family Academy attendance data that allows us to answer these two questions.  Common Sense students did provide their title or role on the satisfaction questionnaires.  We can report that parents attended some modules, however, we do not know if the same parent attended throughout.   One parent attended module four, thus, we can assume that one parent could have completed all six modules.   The satisfaction questionnaire for module 6 was not given to evaluators; thus we don’t know if the 11 were parents, service providers, or others.  Attendance for class module six is missing; there were 11 people overall in attendance at class module six.

To what degree were parents satisfied with the Family Academy training? 

Parents were asked a series of questions after each Family Academy training module.  Responses from modules one through five are presented in combination in Table 4.  Overall, responses were very favorable; the lone rating of “Not Helpful” was from a professional person who attended one module (“Navigating the System”) and did not plan to use the information with his/her own family.    As an additional indicator of satisfaction with the Family Academy training sessions, it should be noted that participants added comments such as “Nice to have all this information together in one place” and “good information” and “helpful” to their Family Academy evaluation forms.

Table 4.  Participants’ Evaluation of Family Academy Training Modules

How many Cedar Band parents attended the annual conference? 

Frontiers for Families holdsan annual conference for families.  Last year it was held before September 1 (i.e., before the grant activities started) and it has been decided to hold it later this fall (in October) to ensure a better attendance.  Thus, this research question cannot be answered.
Notes: The lack of participation by band families to access the parent training classes was discussed by project staff and with the evaluators.  Tracy Johnson summed up the experience by stating that we (Frontiers for Families) were trying to give the parents programs we had to offer.  Generally, they weren’t tailored to the needs or interests of the band parents.  The more “informal” training and training tied to their children’s specific educational needs that was provided at the Awards Meetings seemed to better fill parent wishes.  How to support families via training will be examined further as the staff members plan the next grant application.

 Promoting Youth Success Activities 

Parent Education and Monitoring Program: Award Meetings
Overview of Activities

Each month during the school year a Pee’soats-eng staff member facilitated a meeting for the Parent Education and Monitoring Program.  These meetings are referred to as “Award Meetings” in this report because one function of the meetings was to acknowledge Cedar Band students’ success in school through awards for attendance and/or grades.  The children in the Cedar Band live in different areas in the Cedar City area and attend different schools (including five elementary schools, a sixth grade center, a middle school and two high schools). Native American children and their parent/caregivers and interested adult extended family members were eligible to participate in this Awards Program activity. 

If a student had 100% attendance or an average grade of 80% or higher for the month, an award was presented for that month.  Those youth who met the standard of an average grade of 80% or higher for the year, or had 100% school attendance, or attended tutoring 50% of the time, participated in the end of year activity.  Elementary students who were in good standing in their classes were also eligible for awards. The Education Coordination contacted elementary students’ teachers monthly to monitor their progress, relaying the information to the students’ parents and tutors if there were any concerns.  (Grades are not marked for children in these grades.)
The Award Meetings served other functions.  Through the meetings parents were taught to monitor their children’s school performance and to advocate with the schools to support their children’s success in school. The Education Coordinator showed parents how to access their children’s school records on the computer.  She also furnished printouts of student records at each Award Meeting. If a child was having trouble in a class she and the parent accessed the records for that class.  She showed parents how to email comments, concerns, etc by email.  Parents were encouraged to check student progress at least monthly. 

This year the Parent Education and Monitoring Program brought in several speakers to inform Cedar Band parents about a variety of issues in educational services.  A Canyon View High School Counselor spoke at the September 2003 meeting about competency testing and graduation requirements.  The Paiute Indian Tribe Education Director, Robert DePoe, spoke at the October, 2003 meeting.  Mr. Depoe talked about the Education Department’s goals and program.  He also informed the parents concerning the role of the Title VII tutors in the schools.  In November 2003, Steven Stubbs, the Title VII Coordinator for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, talked about the Title VII program.  He informed the parents and students concerning the changes and the goals of the program.  The different Title VII aides from the different schools were in attendance and were introduced to the parents and students.

The December, 2003 and January, 2004 meetings did not include guest speakers, however the program’s Education Coordinator discussed the end of the quarter and the importance of making up missing assignments before the end of the quarter during the January meeting.  Emphasis was placed on the importance of having a good end of quarter grade because the grade then becomes permanent.  Grades affect future admittance to colleges and some jobs require a copy of the high school transcripts.

An additional session of the Parent Education and Monitoring Program was held in February, 2004.  Robert DePoe, the Education Director for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah spoke to Iron County School District Educators.  There were approximately twenty-five teachers in attendance, a professor of education from Southern Utah University, and the Director of the ESL program for Iron County School District also attended.  Mr. DePoe informed those in attendance concerning the programs the Tribe has to offer to enhance Paiute children’s education.  He relayed the goals and objectives of the Title VII programs.  He answered questions concerning the education of the Native American students.  The Education Coordinator asked Mr. DePoe to do this presentation because education is impacted by the child, parent, community (Tribe), and the teachers.  All of these components need to work together to facilitate the optimal education experience for the child.  By educating the teachers who teach Cedar Band children concerning special concerns and programs, the program intended to impact the students in a positive way.

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