Pee-soat'eng Project Drug Elimination

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 Pee’soats-eng, Page Four  

Research Questions

Did at least 30 youth attend each of the four Cultural Speakers? 

Well over 30 youth attended the Billy Mills and James Bilagody presentations.  Details of student attendance are presented in Table 11.  In addition, approximately 24 Paiute students attended the Canyon View High School Billy Mills session after traveling from Millard or Washington Counties, those students are not included in Table 11.  There were 160 students, 4th through 12th grades, who attended the James Bilagody presentation in Bryce Valley, 12 were Native American.  In Escalante there were 137 students, 4th through 12th grades, including a boarding school; eight students were Native American.  Those students are not reflected in Table 11.  The Jana presentation was held at one school in Cedar City and students were bussed there.  Some additional students from Richfield, Utah attended the Jana presentation at Cedar Middle School.  The presentation was given during a testing time and some youth could not attend.   Thus, the attendance was less than at the other presentations.  The Jana presentation was also presented to 148 children at Bryce Valley School.  Native American youth from Escalante High School and a boarding school in Escalante were bussed to the presentation.

Table 11.  Attendance at Cedar City Cultural Seminars by Youths’ Tribal Status

Did at least 15 families attend each of the four of the evening cultural speakers?

More than 15 families attended each of the evening Cultural Speakers events.  About 220 people attended the evening program with Billy Mills.  There were about 100 people at the evening session held with James Bilagody.  There were 260 people at the evening presentation by Jana. This presentation was held at the Heritage Center in Cedar City. Non-Native Americans also attended. The back-up dancers for Jana were Cedar Band Youth. 

Did the students feel the Cultural Speakers influenced their lives?  What did students identify as the best and worst aspects of the Cultural Speakers? 

Students responded to short, written surveys immediately after the presentations.  The survey data do not represent any one school.  Survey results are shown separately for the Cultural Speakers in Charts 1, 2, and 3.

In addition, youth discussed the Cultural Speakers while participating in the focus group.  One youth described her reactions to hearing successful people who are Native American.  She related that she did not know any nationally successful Native Americans before the seminars.  One youth mentioned that hearing about all the challenges Billy Mills overcame was very helpful to them personally.  The Billy Mills presentation contained themes that are consistent with the Drug Elimination Program.  One youth in the focus group mentioned his messages to both stay away from drugs and to "follow your dreams".  Another youth was enthusiastic about Jana's presentation and said that Jana made this youth want to sing.

What were the adult perceptions about the Cultural Speakers?

Evening presentations by the Cultural Speakers involved larger crowds than the presentations at the schools.  The evening presentations were intended to allow families to have relaxed, informal time together in positive activities.  Written satisfaction questionnaires were not used at the evening sessions.  However, adults in the focus group held in August discussed their perceptions about the Cultural Speakers and their impact on the community.  

One mother described how her son connected with the speech by Billy Mills because her son has been teased in school about being Native American.  Her son learned that he was not the only Native American child to go through things like that.  She described him as being "proud of himself" and very happy that he won an award from the Pee'soats-eng project.  Her son's self-confidence was increased to the extent that he was motivated to play with the basketball team.  Another parent noted that the community of the Cedar Band shows support by attending the Cultural Seminars in addition to traditional activities like the pow-wows.  Another parent said that younger girls enjoyed the presentation by Jana because the girls could look up to Jana.

From another focus group that was held with Pee'soats-eng staff and staff from partnering agencies, one Navajo participant's comments can be paraphrased as:

One of the most touching things to see was to see these kids grasp their culture, be proud of being Indian, and internalize that.  There are kids out there in the community who didn't have hope before these activities... having someone who cares to listen to them, being able to learn from the speakers.  This program has made me more curious to find out about my own culture.  That shows the need for programs like this, not only here but elsewhere.

Did the level of participation at the Cultural Speakers Programs stay the same or increase this year when compared to the expert’s ratings of participation last year?

This question cannot be addressed because of insufficient data.

 Outreach Worker 

Overview of Activities

The Outreach Worker regularly visited with families and reported to the Pee’soats-eng project team about their progress.  She informed families about available services in the community and the progress of their youth in school.  She contacted Social Services when appropriate for further assistance.  The Outreach Worker assisted with other Pee’soats-eng cultural and educational activities, such as helping with arrangements for the History Fair Project.  The Outreach Worker also coordinated the Drug Elimination Program.  In this way she was able to support the Pee-soats-eng activities in the after school program. 

Research Questions

How many families did the Outreach Worker work with?  

The goal set for the Outreach Worker was to recruit 5 to 8 families who belong to the Cedar Band who have not participated in the Drug Elimination Program, Award Meetings, and other band activities that focus on youth and who appear to need services.  The Outreach Worker worked with 14 families from November 2003 through July 2004.

How many home visits and contacts were made with each family? 

The Outreach Worker recorded dates of home visits.  The Outreach Worker documented a total of 129 home visits.  The mean, or average, number of home visits per family was 9.2 visits; the range in number of home visits per family was from one to 18 home visits.  One goal set for the Outreach Worker was to make at least monthly contact with all families who were initially contacted.  Nine of the 14 families were contacted at least monthly following their initial contact. 

She was to note other contacts made with each family, including phone calls, chance meetings, etc.  She reported that it was not possible to keep an accurate account of these contacts. 

How many families were referred to the Family Facilitator?

The goal set for the Outreach Worker was to successfully enroll 3 to 5 families with the Family Facilitator.  According to Outreach Worker, 14 families were referred to the Family Facilitator.

What was the type and frequency of contacts with each family?

Based on the home visit information described above there were 129 home visits, with an average of 9.2 visits per family.  Information as to what was discussed, plans, etc. was not given to the evaluators.  The outreach worker and the family facilitator reported that they focused on becoming friends with the families so that the families would see them as a resource. They also reported that they needed more training to get past the friendship and have the families realize that they could help them access needed services. They also want more training in how to use paperwork to support the provision of services.  They also informed families about the coming activities.

 Family Facilitation 

Overview of Activities

The goal for the Family Facilitator was to work with 3 to 5 targeted families.  Target families identified by the Outreach Worker were those who could use support in helping their children do better in school and participate more with the Cedar Band activities.  The Family Facilitator also assisted with cultural and educational activities in the Pee’soats-eng project.  She was active in preparing and implementing the trip to Hopi Land, for example.  She also helped notify families about upcoming events through in-person contacts and by distributing flyers.

Research Questions

What strengths were identified in the families?  What needs were identified in the families? 

These questions cannot be addressed.  The Family Facilitator found that families were suspicious of questionnaires and paperwork. The decision was made that for this year the SIP forms would not be used. 

What agencies and groups were approached to help families meet their needs?

Staff meeting minutes for February thru May 2004 weresubmitted.  Reports written by the Family Facilitator for August thru December 2003 and for June 2004 were also submitted and reviewed for answers to this research question.

Staff meeting minutes document that the Family Facilitator approached Social Services and Behavioral Health about working together.  She also reviewed rules of the Drug Elimination Program with parents of children who disrupted the tutoring sessions so that their children could be allowed to continue in the program.  She became a Certified Case Manager and attended ADHD training during the project year.  Staff meeting minutes also note that the Family Facilitator involved interested families in the educational program Daughters of Tradition. 

Reports from the Family Facilitator mention approaching several agencies and groups to help families meet their needs.  Agencies and groups mentioned include: leaders of parenting classes, Alcoholics Anonymous, foster parents, trackers, Vocational Rehabilitation, Division of Child and Family Services, Southwest Center Behavioral Health, NAMI, NIMH, SAMSA, Title VII, Division of Juvenile Justice Services for youth in a detention center, a college intern who helped tutor in a school, Education, the Phoenix Alliance, and multiple Native American clubs in the area schools.

How many home visits and contacts were made with each family? 

The Family Facilitator recorded dates of home visits made October 2003 through June 2004.  The Family Facilitator documented a total of 358 home visits, working with 12 families.  The mean, or average, number of home visits per family was 29.8 visits; the range in number of home visits per family was from one to 44 home visits.  She was to note other contacts made with each family, including phone calls, chance meetings, etc.  She reported that it was not possible to keep an accurate account of these contacts. 

Who attended Family Team Meetings?  How did families and Family Team Members rate each Family Team Meeting?  How did families rate the performance and helpfulness of the Family Facilitator?

The Evaluators received a Family Team Roster and Family Team Meeting Satisfaction Surveys for one meeting that was held this year.  Again, the formalized family team approach (using rating sheets) did not seem feasible this year.  These questions cannot be addressed.

Research Question Added to the Evaluation Plan:

What were the overall perceptions about the Pee'soats-eng project?

Participation in the August 2004 focus groups was good.  Eleven parents and adult extended family members attended one session.  Ten persons who were part of the Pee'soats-eng staff or staff of a partnering agency (e.g., New Frontiers for Families, Title VII, 4-H) attended a different focus group so that paid staff members did not influence family members' opinions.  Some of the staff and partner staff also have children who participated in Pee'soats-eng activities.

Several adults discussed the positive changes in Cedar Band youth and others as a result of the youth's participation in Pee'soats-eng activities.  For example, with the opportunity to "show off" at the Talent Show, some youth demonstrated skills that the adults had not seen before in them.  Another girl who is not Paiute took part in the History Fair Project with a display.  Focus group participants agreed that the young girl was very proud of her work and was "glowing".  There was a good deal of agreement that the History Fair provided many opportunities to share information among families and sparked further conversations as families shared their stories with one another.   The SUU camp allowed the children to have concrete references for what college life could be like for them.  According to one foster mother, the SUU camp and actually visiting the college campus and dormitories made the idea of attending college tangible to her son for the first time.

Several adults in each focus group discussed the benefits that they perceived from the co-sponsored Parent Education and Monitoring Program and after school tutoring sessions.  Both the positive interactions while at the tutoring sessions and the incentive of the end of year award trip served to motivate children to complete their homework and perform better in school, according to these parents.  One parent described how her son was apathetic about learning and keeping pace with his peers in school before the after school tutoring sessions.  After being involved in the program, however, he became enthusiastic about working towards the goal of attending the year end award trip by getting better grades and attending school regularly.  Two other parents described their children as receiving either C's or D and F grades before participating in Pee'soats-eng.  One daughter improved to all A's; the other daughter improved to A and B grades.  According to parents at the focus group, the Parent Education and Monitoring Program supported parents in their efforts to encourage their children's' academic success.  The Education Coordinator also helped parents through printouts of their child's progress if the parent was unable to attend the monthly meeting.

One parent specifically mentioned both the Outreach Worker and the Family Facilitator as persons who helped her daughter.  This mother stated that her daughter is now working at grade-level and performing better in school than before receiving the help from Pee'soats-eng staff.

In addition to the improved confidence and motivation of their youth, adults in both focus group sessions mentioned that the Pee'soats-eng activities had positive effects on the Cedar Band community.  In fact, one focus group participant noted that some families who have not gotten along with others "put their feelings aside because the activities are for the children".  She also said that the Pee'soats-eng activities brought people together to help children and the children were give opportunities to see adults working together as good role models.

As discussed earlier, a focus group was held in August, 2004 with youth who had participated in Pee’soats-eng activities.  Eleven youth ranging in age from third grade to tenth grade participated in the focus group.  Their comments are reported in relation to the Quarterly Activities and the Cultural Seminars portions of this report.  Several youth also mentioned that they felt they had worked harder at school this year because of their participation in the after school tutoring and the possibility of earning an end of year award.  While the youth expressed very positive feelings about the Pee'soats-eng staff and project opportunities, they did not discuss their feelings overall in the same was as did the adults.

Reference

Parashonts, L. (2003).  Strengths of Native American Culture. Unpublished Master’s Thesis.  Cedar City, UT:  Southern Utah University