FRIENDS National Center is pleased to announce the release of a joint brief, Selecting a Family Support and Strengthening Program Assessment Tool: An Overview for Program Leaders and Funders.  This brief was produced in collaboration with the FRIENDS National Center, The Center for the Study of Social Policy and The National Network of Family Support and Strengthening Networks.  The intent is to inform the work of various community-based programs in selecting an appropriate program assessment tool.  The brief provides an overview of the tools available from each organization and provides insight into various areas such as:

1)Tool cost

2)Training available

3)Time to complete the tool

4)Technical Assistance available

5)Data tracking support

6)Contact information for the tool developers

In addition to the information provided in the brief, The FRIENDS web site also provides additional, in-depth supporting materials at www.friendsnrc.org/program-assessment.   Those materials include fact sheets on each tool, a matrix on understanding the approach of each tool, an overview of Why Program Assessment Matters to both community programs and funders as well as scenarios that help organizations make decisions about the best tool for them. 

Introducing a Compendium of Evidenced-Based Parenting Interventions

Please join ACF for a webinar Introducing a Compendium of Evidenced-Based Parenting Interventions on December 8^rd at 3:00 pm EST. .

Strong parent-child relationships set the stage for children’s success in school and in life. Discover ways to partner with families to strengthen these relationships with the help of this compilation of evidenced-based parenting interventions for children ages birth to 5. Research has shown that the parenting interventions in this guide support children’s learning and development.

Who Should Watch, Listen, and Participate?

• ·        Parents and other stakeholders interested in supporting the well-being of young children and their families
• ·        State Child Care administrators, school principals, educators and school and community leaders
• ·         Head Start and Child care directors and staff

Presenters

Linda Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Education, HHS

Joshua Sparrow, MD, Director, Brazelton Touchpoints Center

Catherine Ayoub, RN, EdD, Director, Research and Evaluation, Brazleton Touchpoints Center

Register here:

https://brazelton.adobeconnect.com/introcpi/event/registration.html

Learn more about this:

Introducing a Compendium of Evidenced-Based Parenting Interventions by Shantel E. Meek, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor, Early Childhood Development

See new resources that can inform early childhood programs, networks, and States in their work to partner with and support families with young children using evidence-informed approaches.

·        Compendium of Parenting Interventions  

·        Intervention Implementation Guide

·        Tracking Progress in Early Care and Education: Program, Staff, and Family Measurement Tools

Sign up to receive the Early Childhood Development Newsletter

Working Together: Successful Strategies to Build Strong Collaborations across Early Childhood Programs

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015

3–4:30 p.m. EDT

Register Online Now!

Please join senior leadership of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Linda Smith, Rachel Schumacher, and Blanca Enriquez, for a special webcast on October 15, 2015, 3–4:30 p.m. EDT. Working Together: Successful Strategies Build Strong Collaborations across Early Childhood Programs will highlight lessons learned and promising practices from the Tribal Early Learning Initiative.

Topics for this webinar include:

•        Exploring strategies to support increased early childhood program collaboration with the aim of developing seamless services for children and families and increasing program quality

•        Discussing the importance of effective cross-program partnerships as a foundation for early childhood system development

•        Sharing examples of successful collaboration within the Tribal Early Learning Initiative (TELI), an ACF-sponsored effort to support partnerships across Head Start and Early Head Start, child care, and home visiting programs in tribal communities

Who Should Participate?

This webinar will benefit an array of audiences, including: Head Start and Early Head Start family services and health staff, directors, and managers; home visiting state, territory, and tribal administrators; child care state, territory, and tribal administrators; T/TA staff; professional development providers and consultants; Head Start State Collaboration Offices; and other state and local community stakeholders interested in supporting strong early childhood systems.

How to Register

Select this link to register for the webinar: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1076701

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Child Care

This week the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education released a policy statement highlighting the importance of making sure that all young children with disabilities have access to inclusive high-quality early childhood programs. The policy statement sets a vision for States, local education agencies, schools, and public and private early childhood programs to strengthen and increase the number of inclusive high-quality early childhood programs nationwide. As the country continues to move forward on the critical task of expanding access to high-quality early childhood programs for all young children, it is imperative that children with disabilities be included in these efforts.

You can find more information about the policy statement here and can read the full policy statement attached. The policy statement and executive summary will also be posted on the Early Childhood Development Web site.

OCC heart logo.

 

Office of Child Care

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Aerospace Building, Fifth Floor East

370 L’Enfant Promenade, S.W.

Washington, DC  20447

General office number: (202) 690-6782

Fax: (202) 690-5600

General e-mail: occ@acf.hhs.gov

Web site: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ

 

KIDS COUNT News

Kids of color will represent a majority of children in the United States by 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections. The latest data from the KIDS COUNT Data Center show that since 2000, the largest increases in the population were seen among children who identified as two or more races (a 100% increase), Asians or Pacific Islanders (up 67%) and Latinos (up 41%). Explore new demographic data available for the nation, states and the District of Columbia

The Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund Board is seeking a self-motivated, dynamic, proven, visionary leader to facilitate child abuse and neglect prevention programs for the State of Louisiana as Executive Director of the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund.

For the full job announcement, click here.

Deadline to apply is June 30, 2015.

The focus of this month is to promote and encourage positive family relationships. A positive family is more likely to have healthy, confident children. Spending time together is a key component in promoting family bonding. The facts prove that a family that eats together communicate better and have fewer conflicts. Remember how important it is to spend time with your children and tell them how much you love and support them. Click here to read more and find a list of 15 fun family activities.

Publicly funded preschools across the country are largely segregated by race and income, and poor children are typically enrolled in the lowest quality programs, according to a new report released Wednesday by researchers at the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University. While states more than doubled their investments in preschool between 2003 and 2013, when 1.3 million three- and four-year-olds were enrolled at a cost of $5.4 billion, most classrooms were economically segregated, the researchers found. Click to read the full article.

Get Ready for National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Each year in April, time is spent acknowledging the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families.  To help you plan for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, you can access:

• The Protective Factors in Practice interactive tool, and use different scenarios to educate yourself on how multiple factors support and strengthen families, and share what you’ve learned with families and your community
• Three new tip sheets to share with families and caregivers —in English and Spanish— and access to over a dozen more that can be distributed to parents and caregivers. The three new tip sheets this year are "Feeding Your Family," "Human Trafficking: Protecting Our Youth," and "Support after an Adoption"
• Three activity calendars to help plan and engage with families through events—one each for prevention programs, parents, and community partners

Bookmark the 2015 National Child Abuse Prevention Month website, and check back in April!

Partnering for Prevention

Please join us for a meeting to discuss ways in which to strengthen families, prevent child abuse and improve the outcomes for children in your region of   the state.  

 O Discuss needs in your community,

O Hear how to stay connected during the upcoming legislative session,

O Get information and materials that you can use in your program,

O Meet and network with others working on behalf of children  and families, and 

O Learn how you can be a part of the COLOR a Brighter Tomorrow for Children Project!

We hope that you will attend the event in your area!

 

This event is co-sponsored by the Louisiana Partnership for Children & Families and the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund.

Dates and locations of the meetings:

March 9 - Northeast Louisiana Region in Monroe

March 10 - Northwest Louisiana Region in Shreveport

March 10 - Central Louisiana Region in Alexandria

March 13 - Southeast Louisiana Region in New Orleans

March 16 - Florida Parishes Region in Mandeville

March 23 - Bayou Parishes Region in Gray (Houma)

March 25 - Acadiana Parishes Region in Lafayette

March 26 - Southwest Louisiana Region in Lake Charles

March 30 - Capitol Parishes Region in Baton Rouge

Download  a statewide flyer or go to the Louisiana Partnership's Calendar of Upcoming Events for more information