Page 19 - BTC Yearbook 2016

IMPACT OF TOUCHPOINTS

History of Touchpoints in Onslow County

The Onslow County Partnership for Children initial training team of 4 completed the Touchpoints
individual and community level training in 2004. Since that time, our training team has grown to 12 people
and we have conducted a total of 14 trainings with a total of 225 participants. Training is targeted to child
care providers as well as other professionals in the community who work with children and families. Our

goal is to conduct 4 trainings per year. All training groups have a plan for follow up mentoring with a
Touchpoints trainer.

DIRECT IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

The 225 individuals who have completed Touchpoints training represent a multitude of professional
experiences and a variety of disciplines. The professions represented in Touchpoints trainings include child
care center directors, teachers, family home providers, educators, pediatricians, social workers, private
mental health practitioners, speech pathologists, nurses, human services agency administrators, and other
professionals who specialize in working to improve the quality of regulated child care.

The combined influence of the Touchpoints trainees, since Touchpoints was brought to Onslow County in

2004, is estimated to be:
Children Directly Impacted: 6,143 Families Directly Impacted: 4,985

A few quotes from individuals at the completion of their Touchpoints training summarizes the impact of
Touchpoints on them as individuals and how they envision Touchpoints influencing the children and

families they work with:

“I have been using the information I learned in Touchpoints since the first night of class. I learned it is
normal for a child to regress in an area when trying to master a new skill. I have also been reminded that
parents want and need my positive encouragement.”
“I learned to value parents as being the experts of their child. We can use the behavior of the child as our
language to illustrate their expertise.”

“Knowing that the parent is the expert of his/her child will enable me to better support the family unit.”
“I learned that we should listen more and that will help us to better understand what the parents and
children are experiencing in that moment.”
“I feel more confident about talking to the parents about their children because I now know other ways to
approach them without making them feel like I am trying to tell them how to raise their children.”
“I will go back to work and focus on the strengths of those I interact with, not weaknesses.”

July 2016