Our 2006 Annual Report is now available online!
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Dear Friends,                                                                          

All of us at Heartland Family Service found 2006 to be an exciting year of achievement, due to unprecedented donor support. We are pleased to report that the essential capital improvements we needed throughout our service area are now taking shape, both as individual projects and as collaborations with others. Read more about these developments in Sarpy County, Council Bluffs, and Fremont, Nebraska.

As part of our Best Practices research in 2006, we adopted the Matrix Model of outpatient treatment for our addictions programs. This therapeutic model has earned a “model program” status from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), indicating that research has established its effectiveness, especially for methamphetamine addicts. It provides an individualized, structured treatment plan tailored to address the unique factors of addiction each of our clients face. With a focus on relapse prevention, family inclusion and peer mentoring, this model has demonstrated statistically significant results over the past ten years, challenging the myth that “meth addicts can’t be helped.”

On the prevention side, the Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO) program expanded to serve child care providers in Southwest Iowa, including those who care for children of bilingual families. HALO is a substance abuse prevention program for young children, designed to educate and build life skills while emphasizing the importance of growing in healthy ways. Most exciting is the formal research being conducted on the HALO program to assist in obtaining SAMHSA model program status, the nationally–recognized designation that is awarded for effective programs.

The Kid Squad Program was established through a local collaboration among several human service agencies to provide consultation, training and support to child care providers who are coping with an increase in preschool-age kids with behavior problems. The program addresses an increasing need for earlier interventions to address mental health needs in children, often in non-traditional settings. Professional therapists help the providers develop skills to intervene with children in their care, and teach them how to advise parents of techniques to redirect and correct problem behaviors. The goal of the program is to provide a foundation for social functioning as the child matures, preparing the child to cope with his or her problems and function appropriately in the larger society. Kid Squad—free to child care providers—is available through the generous support of the Alegent Community Benefit Trust.

The Assertive Community Treatment Program (ACT) was established in Council Bluffs to provide comprehensive, community-based treatment to persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses. The ACT advantage is that interdisciplinary mental health clinicians are organized as an accountable mental health team that coordinates treatment, rehabilitation and support services; so that persons with severe mental illness can live successfully in the community.

We are grateful for all the support we receive from our guild, the Heartland Family Service Friends. These outstanding women are responsible for organizing our annual fundraisers as well as volunteering in dozens of placements throughout our agency. We are truly fortunate to have them as our “Friends.”

To you—our donors—we promise that we will continue to tackle the tough problems that vulnerable children and families in our community face daily. We will continue to search for the Best Practices that provide effective outcomes for our clients. And we pledge responsible stewardship of your “broad community support.”

Sincerely,

Peter Tulipana, ACSW, MPA
President & CEO

Dan K. Gomez , President
Board of Directors