Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – The Mini-Pride Foster Parent Education Program team, comprised of nine members, has received a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Superior Service Award in the team category.
The award was presented Jan. 6 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference held at Texas A&M University in College Station. Six of the team members are in based AgriLife Extension offices in five north central counties, one at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas, and two in College Station.
Superior Service Awards recognize AgriLife Extension faculty and staff members who provide outstanding performance in Extension education or other outstanding service to the organization and to Texans.
The team members are: Tanica Bell, administrative assistant, Tarrant County; Carrie Brazeal, family and consumer sciences agent in Collin County; Margaret Jover, family and consumer sciences agent in Denton County; Angel Neu, family and consumer sciences agent in Cooke County; Jeff Owens, maintenance worker at the Dallas center; Dr. Rick Peterson, AgriLife Extension parenting specialist, College Station; Marian Ross, family and consumer sciences agent in Tarrant County; Joyce White, family and consumer sciences agent in Grayson County; and Patti Wunneburger, administrative assistant in College Station.
By filling an “urgent need” for qualified staff to teach parenting education classes, the Mini-Pride Parent Education Project Team has aided the Texas Department of Family Protective Services to serve a growing population of children placed in court-ordered protective custody of relatives, according to the award documentation.
The Mini-Pride program trains foster families “in the importance of protecting and nurturing children, meeting children’s developmental needs, addressing their developmental delays, and supporting relationships between children and their families,” the documentation states “Having reached a diverse audience that had not been exposed to AgriLife Extension programs, the team members work hard to show respect for each participant’s unique situation and beliefs.”
Since its inception in 2010, the Mini-Pride program has educated 908 caregivers benefiting more than 1,700 children.
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