Take the Online Father-Involvement Course Today

The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) is pleased to announce the release of the first online course on father-involvement. Two additional courses will be released at a later time. The courses provide continuing education credits, and after taking all three, you will be issued a certificate of completion of training in father-involvement.

NFPN is offering the first course during the month of December to our customers and supporters. We are inviting your feedback after taking the course. NFPN wants to ensure that the father-involvement courses are engaging, informative, skill-building, and immediately applicable to your work with fathers and families. After taking the course, please complete the brief survey by clicking on the link at the end of this News Notes.

NFPN is partnering with Essential Learning in offering this online training. The courses are set up on a separate Web site (CE Quick) hosted by Essential Learning. Technical support is also provided by Essential Learning.

To take the first course, visit http://www.cequick.com/nfpn and follow the instructions below:

1. Select an accreditation organization (select the organization that provides CEUs for your agency). For assistance in selecting, click the Accreditation Information tab. If you don't having an accrediting organization, select "generic completion."
2. Select All Subjects.
3. Click "Next."
4. Click to put a checkmark by "Engaging Fathers in Children's Lives: Part 1."
5. Click "Add Courses to Chart and Checkout."
6. The course price has already been discounted, so click "Checkout" and proceed with payment.
   

If you experience any technical difficulties, please see the FAQ tab on the CEQuick site or click on "Contact Our Support Team" (right side on home page) for links to Essential Learning Troubleshooter, Knowledge Base, and Submit Support Ticket.

Since developing the research-based father-involvement curricula, NFPN has been contacted by many agencies that do not have a funding source to pay for the training packages. In response, NFPN is offering the lowest-cost option available for comprehensive training that closely follows our fatherhood curricula. The discounted price of $17 per course means that you're getting three workshops for the cost of one!


After taking the course, please take a few minutes to complete the online survey to provide feedback at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFQT2MW

Father-Involvement Curriculum is Going Online

The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) is launching a new online training website called CEQuick. The online training curriculum "Father-Involvement" will be offered in three courses.

The CEQuick website is hosted by Essential Learning, and the curriculum is designed for busy professionals who want to find a convenient way to increase their knowledge and skills on father-involvement at low cost and no interference with other responsibilities. The no-hassle online training will also include continuing education credits!

For those of you familiar with taking courses online, you're ready to go. For others who are less familiar with online courses, here's a quick overview:

1. First go to the CEQuick site (the website is coming soon)
2. Sign up for Course 1 (more courses available in January)
3. Pay online by credit card
4. Take the first course

It's that simple!

If you would like more information about online training, please visit:
http://essentiallearning.com/elearning_research_solution.htm

The first of the three courses is in the final stages of completion and will be released next week. The next NFPN News Notes will include the website link to the CEQuick site.

Benefits of Online Training -- Easy access anytime and anywhere.
If you're interrupted or don't have time to complete a course in one session, you can return to it at a later time.

After you have reviewed all of the materials for the course, you will take a post-test. With a passing score of 80%, you will be issued continuing education credits. Then, watch for the release of the next course.

When you take all three courses for the total cost of about $50, you will be issued a certificate of completion for training in father-involvement.

Here are some other benefits of taking this curriculum online:

• Many agencies want to offer their workers group training on father-involvement but cannot prioritize or fund it during this economic recession. Individualized training is a low-cost alternative. Check to see if your agency would reimburse the cost.
• The online curriculum is based on NFPN's Fatherhood Training Curriculum, which is research-based and has been field-tested in a successful demonstration project.
• NFPN's fatherhood materials are unique for training workers and are the most comprehensive available.
• NFPN will continue to offer the Basic and Advanced fatherhood curricula training packages for group training and will apply a credit towards agency purchase of online training for individuals.

Free Shipping and Discounts before December 22
NFPN's fall sale continues with a 20% discount on orders above $500 and free shipping on every order! Place your order today by visiting:
http://nfpn.org/products--shop

If you have a question about the online father-involvement course or about ordering a product, please contact Priscilla Martens, Executive Director, director@nfpn.org.

Hope, Encouragement, Assistance

Many family-serving agencies are struggling during this economic downturn. It’s tough to keep the doors open while simultaneously trying to meet the increased needs of families.

Although the National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) shares these challenges, we’ve decided to try to focus our time and energy on hope, encouragement, and assistance.

Let’s Begin With Hope
I’ve heard two seemingly contradictory messages from my pastor in the past few months: The hard times will come to an end and this is no time to be stingy! How do those two fit together? Shouldn’t we be hunkering down while waiting for the hard times to end? The answer to that is a resounding no! The more generous we are in our personal and professional lives during these hard times, the more we help other people to make it through, and that contributes to ending the hard times!

How about some encouragement?
If we believe that the hard times will come to an end, then we need to be prepared! At NFPN we are planning new initiatives that include harnessing technology (blog, online courses, webinars) to reach more people more efficiently. We’re seeking new sources of revenue (sponsorships) that will enable us to get our resources more broadly distributed, both in the USA and in other countries, and to fund our initiatives to build best practice. Of course all of us, NFPN included, must deal with the daily pressure of limited finances but we also need to position ourselves for a brighter future!

And Now For Some Assistance
NFPN recognizes that many agencies are holding off on making purchasing decisions. Yet the need for resources to aid workers in helping families is only increasing. NFPN offers resources and assistance to family-serving agencies in order that families can be helped more effectively. We believe that the best way right now to get our resources into your hands is by offering all of our products at reduced cost.

In case you haven’t visited the Web site recently, here’s a list of NFPN’s products:

• 4 Assessment Tools with comprehensive Training Packages (NCFAS, NCFAS-R, NCFAS-G, NCFAS-G+R)
  
  
• 3 Spanish-version assessment tools/training packages (NCFAS, NCFAS-R, NCFAS-G)
  
  
• 4 Database CDs for Windows PCs (NCFAS, NCFAS-R, NCFAS-G, NCFAS-G+R). These are self-contained Access runtime databases and do not require any additional software to run. They are only available to licensed users of the corresponding training packages.
  
  
• Basic Fatherhood Training Curriculum Package. Includes training manual that can also be purchased separately, training script, PowerPoint presentation, handouts, resources for workers, activities for dads and children, message for moms, video.
  
  
• Advanced Fatherhood Training Curriculum Package. Includes training manual, training guide, how to communicate with fathers, case examples with coaching on engaging fathers, video with best practice.
  

Other products:

• IFPS ToolKit
  
  
• CD-ROM Webinar demonstrating how to use the NCFAS-G+R database

Starting today, shipping and handling costs will be waived on all product purchases. For purchases of $500 and above, NFPN is offering a 20% discount. This is the largest price reduction that NFPN has ever offered, so please take advantage of it by visiting our store at: http://www.nfpn.org/products--shop/

To receive your discount, orders must be placed/paid by December 22, 2009, when the sale ends.

If you have questions regarding products or discounts, please contact Priscilla Martens, Executive Director at director@nfpn.org.

Harnessing Technology

With this issue of NFPN News Notes, the National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) is increasingly harnessing technology in order to expand readership and to provide a forum for feedback. Subscribers will continue to receive the newsletter by e-mail, but it will also be posted on NFPN’s new blog (http://nfpnnewsnotes.blogspot.com). The blog offers you an opportunity to give immediate feedback on issues and to hear what others have to say.

In addition to the blog, NFPN is harnessing technology for training and technical assistance (T/TA). NFPN just completed its first webinar, a T/TA on the NCFAS-G+R database for Alaska social services providers. NFPN recorded the webinar, so now anyone can access it for the low price of $5. It is applicable to all the assessment tools (NCFAS, NCFAS-R, NCFAS-G, NCFAS-G+R) and demonstrates how easy it is to use the database. If your agency is not currently using an assessment tool, or is using a paper-only tool, this webinar is a great overview of NFPN's data entry system. To register and get immediate access to the webinar, visit http://tinyurl.com/nfpn-product-id-28.

Still another technological tool that NFPN will be harnessing soon is online courses. NFPN is partnering with Essential Learning to develop an online course for the Basic Fatherhood Training Curriculum. The online course will allow workers to increase their knowledge and skill level on father-involvement and to receive CEUs, all at a low cost. The course is expected to be available by the end of October—more details will follow.

NFPN will also be looking at other ways to harness technology. The word harness is used intentionally based on the dictionary definition “to control so as to use the power of,” as opposed to being controlled by the power of something else since it’s easy to be controlled by technology! I just completed a week of learning the intricacies of setting up a webinar, including hours spent on technical glitches. Harnessing technology requires time that has to be taken from other tasks and responsibilities. With one full-time staff, NFPN needs to constantly strive to make the optimal use of time, so don’t plan to hear from me any time soon on what I’m eating for breakfast!

Harnessing technology also requires having the right equipment. Fast and faster are better! Unfortunately, fast is not compatible with my five-year-old computer. NFPN’s webinar host politely asked me how my computer kept up with the presentation. “Only a few seconds behind,” I replied cheerfully, but of course, that won’t be sustainable for much longer.

The goal for harnessing technology is to improve NFPN’s products and services. In order to achieve this goal, NFPN needs your input and assistance. Here’s what I’m requesting from you: On NFPN’s blog, please post constructive comments that deal with issues, not personalities.

If you have a heart for family preservation and love technology, NFPN would welcome volunteers to help out with further developing our blog and other social media. When you find good examples of the use of social media, please pass them along.

If you know of a funding source for technology (computers, software, printers, technical assistance), please e-mail the information to director@nfpn.org.

How does your agency harness technology?