Abstract:
Poor parenting among families in the Tri-County Area is a problem. The TriCounty
Area includes Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull Counties, Ohio. The purpose
of this study is to examine parenting skills by addressing mental health issues and
substance abuse issues. The ultimate aim of this research is to provide parents a resource
tool with the goal of improving the continuum of wellness in behavioral health, in the form
of a parent handbook. It is the researcher's goal to make the material in this handbook
available to families in these communities following the extensive research of related
topics.
Researchers have indicated that contributing factors to poor parenting can include,
but are not limited to, poverty, single parent families, and minimal educational levels. The
Tri-County Area has a moderate amount of people who have these risk factors. In
addition, researchers have shown that the social environment of an individual impacts his
or her overall health status, and that the success of a society depends on what happens in
the home. Therefore, this research will focus on the areas of home and family structure,
social and emotional development, violence, grief, suicide, sexuality, and children with
special needs.
Stakeholders of the Tri-County Area contracted with the Lewin Group, Inc. to
perform an in-depth study of the health care status of residents in the Tri-County Area.
This study served as a catalyst by providing information needed to reach a consensus on an
agenda for a health system change. The statistics used for this research were based on the
factbook compiled by the Lewin Group (1999) for the Community Health Initiative of the
Tri-County Area.
The researcher has shown that a Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Subcommittee of Community Health Initiative can stimulate effective networking of a
variety of existing but independent services to children. The enthusiastic participation of
concerned professionals from all three counties was justification of this assumption. The
members are an exemplary example of a community effort designed to meet the needs of
families in the target population.
In addition, the researcher has shown that a Community Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Subcommittee of Community Health Initiative can promote improvement
of parenting styles through support and guidance of community professionals to develop
and implement a comprehensive and integrated mental health and substance abuse
prevention and education program, in the form of a standardized parent resource handbook.
The members successfully worked together to select outcomes, create the evaluation
mechanism, and implement and make necessary revisions, showing the enormous success
of the entire process. Their belief that this initiative will become a model for
comprehensive wellness plans throughout Ohio was proven in the completion of the
standardized parent resource handbook, which is due to be printed in early 2003, the
planned target date.
The parent handbook will be used as a final tool by parents and professionals in the
Tri-County Area to attempt to break the cycle of mental health disorders and alcohol and
drug abuse.