Smoke Signals
Child Care for Children with Special Needs
Grand Ronde discussions lead to new project
6
Finding quality child care can be
a challenge for any family.
When a child has special needs it
can be even more difficult to find
suitable care. Three years ago the
Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of
Siletz, and the Oregon Child Care
Division brought together parents,
child care providers, and community
advocates to discuss child care for
families of children with disabilities.
A report with their recommenda
tions, which was shared with tribes
throughout the country, helped lead
to a new effort called the Inclusive
Child Care Pilot Project.
The new project will help pay for
extra support a child needs to be in
child care. For example, a provider
may need more staffing at certain
times of the day to appropriately
care for child. The project could help
pay for the added staff. The subsidy
amount will be different for each
child, depending on the child's
needs. Care can be provided by fam
ily child care providers, group child
care homes, or child care centers.
The project will serve Grand Ronde
members throughout the Tribe's ser
vice area. Other families living in
north Marion and Yamhill counties
will also be served. To be eligible for
the subsidy, a family's income must
be less than 85 of Oregon's median
income. (This is currently around
$39,300 for a family of four.) The
child with a disability can be up to
18 years of age.
Along with subsidies, the project
will offer small grants to child care
providers. The grants will be used
to increase access to care for school
age children with special needs.
These funds can be used to pay for
training to child care providers.
They can also be used to help make
a child care setting more accessible
(for example, by building a wheel
chair ramp).
The Inclusive Child Care Project
is administered by the Oregon De
velopmental Disabilities Council.
Parents, child care providers and
others can get more information or
make referrals by contacting:
Terry Butler
Child Care Coordinator
Oregon Developmental
Disabilities Council
(503) 570-1115, ext. 231
1-800-292-4154
entail: Terry.ButlerOCDC.net.
Zero down loans
for rural home buyers
Oregon Housing and Community Service Department (OHCSD) and
the Rural Housing Services announced recently that they have teamed
up to offer rural Oregonians home loans with exceptional terms. RHS
is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The team is currently offering 100 percent financing at an interest
rate of 5.95 for first time rural home buyers. To qualify borrowers'
household annual income must not exceed $45,000 statewide and
$52,400 for Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington
or Yamhill counties. They must also be purchasing a home in a rural
community with a population not exceeding 10,000-20,000.
For more information call (503) 986-2015 or www.hcs.state.or.us.
A call for Elder environmentalists
The Senior Volunteer Environ
ment Information Network is a na
tional project providing environmen
tal information to senior volunteers
throughout the country who will
work with community members to
assess, understand, communicate
and address environmental issues
facing their community and the na
tion. Information on how you and oth
ers could help to improve the envi
ronment through your personal ac
tions will be provide by the Network.
Volunteers agree to receive and
review information and share it with
others in their area. They assist with
evaluation and provide feedback on
the type of information needed in
their communities.
Some of the volunteers will iden
tify opportunities to establish envi
ronmental volunteer projects in their
own communities.
For more information contact:
Environmental Alliance
For Senior Involvement (EASI)
8733 Old Dumfries Road
Catlett, Virginia 22019
(540) 788-9301 or www.easi.org
Great success continues with small business class
By Kim Mueller
As many of you know, the
Tribe's Small Business Develop
ment (SBD) department and
ONABEN offer the Starting a
Successful Business class four
times a year. It has proven to be
very successful and popular with
local residents interested in start
ing their own business. Some
people have taken the class more
than once.
Starting a Successful Business
is designed to guide participants
through writing a business plan.
"The best part is that the SBD
business consultants are at every
class with them, through every
step," says Elaine Moore, SBD
Manager. "This has made a real
difference. Even after the 10
week class, participants can work
with the consultants on their busi
ness needs or questions."
Graduation was held on April 23
at the Community Center. The
graduates who completed this ses
sion were Michael and Orene
Price, Shawn Hostler, Joanne
Beeks, and Debbie Milroy. Also
participating were Darrel
Lawrence and Shirley Nauman.
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Starting a Successful Business Spring Graduation
From left: Perri McDaniel, SBD Business Consultant; Elaine Moore, SBD Manager; Shelley Hanson, class
instructor; Shirley Nauman; Michael and Orene Price; Eddie and Joanne Beeks; Shawn Hostler; Debbie
and Cameron Milroy; and Sheila Herber, SBD Business Consultant.