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Sisters children's program faces ax
By Jim Cornelius

Together for Children has served more than 140 children in Sisters over the past 14 years. Now the parenting program is on the chopping block as the state legislature tries to find a way out of an $800 million budget shortfall.

The program currently receives $162,000 in state funding for Central Oregon ($300,000 total). If budget cuts go as deep as they might, that money will be gone.

According to director Edie Jones, losing state funding would also mean the program would have no funding base to use in seeking grants and private financial help.

It would essentially mean the end of the program.

Jones is hoping that the legislature will fund the program at least enough to give it a chance of surviving through grant funds and donations.

State Representative Ben Westlund offered supporters of the program some encouraging news. Westlund said a bipartisan budget proposal he helped to craft leaves the program's entire funding intact.

The legislature is to go into special session on February 8 to resolve the budget crisis.

"It's still a very fluid process, but I'm confident that the Together for Children dollars will remain in the budget," Westlund said.

Together for Children is designed to "help make children ready for school," Jones said. Families that sign up receive 90 hours of service over 36 weeks. Trained facilitators lead interactive activities with children and parents and offer parent education.

That education includes alternative discipline techniques and information on child development. The program also helps connect parents with a variety of community services.

"We don't have any place to learn to be parents," Jones said.

Together for Children seeks to provide that place for learning.

The program is partially funded through tuition, though the program is available to all, regardless of income.

"The families that can afford it do pay," Jones said.

Sisters families have indeed found the program beneficial.

Shelly Cristiano had two children in the program. Cristiano learned useful parenting techniques, but more than that, found support there when she needed it.

"It's the best thing that could happen to a parent with toddlers," she said.

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