YoungStar Micro-Grants at Work

Kids at First Child Care Center in Rice Lake was excited to recently receive their second micro-grant as a YoungStar participating program. Karin Lindau, the Director, worked closely with the program’s Technical Consultant, Lisa Cottrell, on planning how to best use the micro-grant funds to add onto their outdoor play area.

“Planning how to use the micro-grant was a lot of fun,” said Karin. “Lisa was great about helping.”

Together, Karin, a co-worker and Lisa planned what activity areas to add to the outdoor area, and made a list of materials that could be purchased using the micro-grant funds to create those areas. From there, Karin and Lisa worked with Supporting Families Together Association Micro-Grant Program Specialists to purchase or receive reimbursement for the needed materials.

Karin emphasized that being able to buy locally and receive reimbursement, an option that the SFTA Micro-Grant Program has brought to the forefront in the last year, really allowed her to make the most of her funding.

“The grant made it possible to be able to do all of it in one swoop instead of just little chunks,” stated Karin. “It just feels like we are dreaming when we get $1,000 for a grant.”

Using creativity, micro-grant funds and donated time from parishioners at the church where the program is housed, they bought lumber and built gardening beds for the kids to plant, harvest and sample seasonal vegetables. High school students volunteered to paint colorful murals on the back of the church shed that faces the playground and the micro-grant funds covered the paint.

Lisa and Karin worked together to build a water play area using a lattice and purchased attachments so that kids could funnel, dump and play with water outdoors. A sound wall with various materials and instruments was built for kids to experiment with sound, and a large weaving loom was constructed and woven through with scarves and fabric for sensory and gross motor play. Finally, they added a shaded area for kids to go to read or have quiet time. All of the new outdoor activities were in place for several months before cold weather hit, allowing children and staff to put the areas to use this past summer and fall.

“The new activities just give the kids a lot more choices,” said Karin, “and it just seems like it’s less chaos.”

The Micro-Grant Program housed at Supporting Families Together Association grants funding to support the Quality Improvement Plans (QIPs) developed by child care providers in collaboration with their Technical Consultants, who guide providers in implementing their QIP as part of the YoungStar technical assistance process. Learn more on the Micro-Grant Program webpage.

(This article was originally published in Supporting Families Together Association’s Q4 2017 newsletter. View all of our past newsletters on our website, or sign up to receive quarterly newsletters).

Welcome Baby: Family Connections, Inc.

In a Sheboygan hospital, first-time parents welcome a daughter. Before leaving for home, they receive a visit from a Welcome Baby Resource Specialist, who offers community resources and child development information related to their needs as parents. At the time, the parents decline home visiting from a Family Resource Center of Sheboygan County Parent Educator, and head home with their newborn. When a Parent Educator calls them in a few weeks to follow up, the parents are thrilled to hear from them. Since leaving the hospital, they have questions about their baby’s development, breast-feeding, safe sleep, and a myriad of related topics. The family is provided with additional resources, and decide to participate in Parents as Teachers to receive regular home visits, as well as post-partum screenings for the mom and developmental screenings for their daughter. These parents are now connected to needed resources and support that they may not have been aware of otherwise, that will support them in their roles as new parents.

This is one example of the Welcome Baby program in action, which SFTA member Child Care Resource & Referral agency Family Connections, Inc. has been a part of since its inception last November.

“Family Connections has always provided resources to child care providers and parents in our community,” said Family Connections Welcome Baby Resource Specialist Karen Apitz. “Participating in Welcome Baby was the next step, so that we are there for parents in a new way.”

Welcome Baby came about as a program of the Sheboygan County Community Partnership for Children (SCCPC), which was created in January of 2016 through the leadership of United Way of Sheboygan County (UWSC), following community conversations about how to promote and strengthen existing early childhood supports for Sheboygan County parents. UWSC is the backbone of the initiative and continues to lead collaborative efforts with more than 15 community partners to implement the project, including Family Connections.

The basic function of Welcome Baby is to provide visits from Resource Specialists to new parents, and to parents with infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to offer them resources and supports based on their needs. Aurora Memorial Medical Center and St. Nicholas Hospital have mothers checking in to give birth complete a brief screening to determine their needs, then fax the screening results over to Family Connections, Inc., who conducts an immediate Welcome Baby visit. A Resource Specialist or Parent Educator follows up with each family within a month of the visit. The initial goal of the program was to complete at least 200 Welcome Baby visits in their first year. As of early September 2017, over 300 visits were completed, exceeding the initial goal a few months before Welcome Baby’s 1-year anniversary.

“It is a really exciting time, seeing how this type of program can grow so quickly,” said Corrissa Frank, SCCPC Coordinator from United Way of Sheboygan County. “It has been amazing to see us all come together and to be able to develop this great initiative. Perhaps the most important innovative feature of the program is our commitment to letting the community lead.”

United Way of Sheboygan County works with participating Welcome Baby agencies such as Family Connections, Inc. to track data collected through Welcome Baby visits that will help determine future directions for this program, by identifying common needs and trends that arise from visits to be more responsive to parents.  Future goals also include expanding to provide visits for all parents of newborns, and even prenatal services, to serve more families in the Sheboygan area. Additional funding resources are currently being explored to continue moving the Welcome Baby program forward.

Stay tuned to the SCCPC site for a fall 2017 video release featuring the Welcome Baby program!

Farm to Early Care and Education: The Parenting Place

In June of 2016 The Parenting Place, a Child Care Resource & Referral agency in La Crosse, WI, was awarded funding through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to implement Farm to Early Care and Education (Farm to ECE) practices with local child care programs in La Crosse County. The Parenting Place is working collaboratively on implementation with Community GroundWorks and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. Wisconsin is one of four states working with the Kellogg Foundation as part of a larger project on behalf of Farm to ECE aimed at children ages 0-5, to increase access to fresh and local food options for children in early care and education, and to build children and families’ knowledge about healthy eating in care and at home.

“Right now, our obesity rate is so high in children and they have lost the connection of where their food comes from,” said Farm to Early Care & Education Program Coordinator Emily Doblar, adding that the accessibility and low cost of fast food means some children don’t even frequent grocery stores often. Farm to ECE is “really just giving them a sense of community and excitement about healthy food while educating and engaging families makes a huge impact.”

This project is intended to run for 2 years, and The Parenting Place has chosen five child care sites for initial implementation of this project through a detailed application process. Emily currently works with these five sites. In the second year of the project another five sites will be chosen through a similar application process.

Emily not only works closely with the five participating child care programs but with local farmers, Master Gardeners, greenhouses and trainers like Community Groundworks to build lasting connections for these programs to access fresh, local food and provide hands-on experiences for children in care, such as field trips to local farms or having a garden onsite.

“Relationships are an important part of this work in so many aspects,” explained Emily. “We learn from our grant partners, child care sites and from the local farmers and growers that are working together to make this program a success.”

Each child care program has completed a Farm to ECE self-assessment identifying potential for growth in areas including purchasing and serving fresh and local food, family engagement, onsite gardens, and hands-on learning. From these self-assessments, programs have worked with Emily to create a Farm to ECE Action Plan, identifying steps to take and materials they need to meet their Farm to ECE goals, including ways to sustain those changes after the project with The Parenting Place is completed. The concept for both the self-assessments and the Action Plans are loosely based on similar tools used in YoungStar, Wisconsin’s Child Care Quality Rating & Improvement System. The Parenting Place provides partial funding for programs to meet their goals in a sustainable manner, such as child-sized gardening implements, tools to prepare local produce, field trips to farms or farmer’s markets, resources to host family engagement events, or gardening workshops for child care providers.

The connections Emily is building between early educators and local farming/gardening experts, has helped to overcome some of the unique challenges that ECE programs face in building Farm to ECE into their daily routines. Unlike many WI K-12 schools, child care programs are far more varied in the number of children they have at one time, making it difficult to meet minimum ordering requirements for farms and other fresh food vendors. Some child care programs have very limited budgets to work with, are in areas where it may be unsafe to leave for field trips, or have very little green space or light exposure for a garden. Each program also has their own philosophy that guides the care of the children and may affect how they approach Farm to ECE implementation. Furthermore, there is the need to consider cultural diversity across programs and families and how the Farm to ECE approach might look a little different to meet the varied needs of family and program cultures. For instance, Emily is working with a Hmong preschool teacher familiar with Farm to ECE to engage with Hmong farmers and is working with Community Groundworks to revise the Farm to ECE materials and approach to be a better fit for this purpose. Emily has been able to work with each program from where they are starting and what they need, getting local farmers and other resources in place to support program efforts.

“A lot of [the farmers] are really excited,” said Emily, noting successes like one local beef farmer who is on the board of a Farmer’s Market and would like to offer a family night with a petting zoo. Other organic growers have offered to send e-mails every few weeks to program sites to let them know when food is available at a reduced cost. Several farmers are open to having programs out for field trips, and a few have even offered to bring learning opportunities from the farm onsite for programs that are unable to travel from their building. Participating providers are also enthusiastic and have started to meet and discuss ideas and resources amongst themselves, a collaboration they plan to continue.

The end goal of this 2-year project (which concludes in May of 2018) is to impact approximately 250 children through the selected 10 child care program sites, by creating lasting changes in how these children and child care programs approach and understand healthy, local eating. Programs will be working to have sustainability plans in place so that they can continue integrating Farm to ECE into their daily routine beyond this project. Lessons learned from this project and the methodology used can then serve as a model for other ECE sites nationally, and could be used to inform future regulations, quality rating criteria or accreditation standards.

This story was originally published in the SFTA Q2 2017 newsletter. Access the full newsletter here, or sign up to receive our quarterly newsletters.

Governor’s “Wisconsin Works for Everyone” Proposal Through the Lens of Early Childhood

 

(https://magic.piktochart.com/output/20638466-current-wi-shares-income-requirements)

The WI Governor recently announced that a component of his “Wisconsin Works for Everyone” proposal, which is a part of his 2017-19 budget, integrates a focus on “strengthening families.” This includes two measures in particular, which could give early childhood a positive boost: (Below taken from the Governor’s initial press releases and Wisconsin Works for Everyone announcement).

“Eliminating the Child Care Cliff

• For some families, the childcare subsidy program contains a large benefit cliff at 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL). At the cliff, a family may lose far more subsidies than they gain from working more hours or taking a raise. This discourages work.
• Reforms would eliminate the cliff by establishing a phase-out structure. Instead of losing all subsidies at once, working families would see co-payments increased by $1 for every $3 that a family earns over the 200 FPL threshold until the family’s contribution reaches full cost of care. Under our reforms, taking a raise would always pay for the purposes of childcare subsidies.”

“Invest an additional $3.9 million into the Family Foundations Home Visiting (FFHV) program. The FFHV focuses on six areas:

• Improved maternal and child health
• Prevention of child injuries, child abuse, neglect and maltreatment
• Increased school readiness and achievement
• Reduced domestic violence
• Improved family economic self-sufficiency
• Greater coordination and referrals for other community resources and support”

Let’s break down what these measures mean for early childhood and for families, and what they look like in action.

The first measure, an effort to eliminate the “child care cliff” addresses the issue that some families have participating in WI Shares, which provides child care subsidies to help lower-income families pay for quality child care. The “child care cliff” refers to the effect that occurs when a family goes from being initially eligible, (the family’s gross monthly income must be equal to or less than 185% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for their corresponding group/family size), until their monthly income reaches 200% FPL, making them ineligible for subsidies. This means that if a family receiving subsidies has an increase in income—say that a parent gets a raise for instance, and their income reaches that 200% FPL, in the current system this family would no longer qualify for child care subsidies and could not receive assistance in paying for child care. This is problematic since many families still struggle to pay for child care even after they have reached that threshold. The cost they take on for child care as a result of losing those subsidies may be far greater than their increase in income.

This sets up a system that could discourage parents from seeking salary raises and promotions, and puts them in the position of having to choose between receiving child care subsidies they need now, and working towards upward mobility in their jobs, which may lead to long-term, sustainable income in the future that will eventually empower them to disengage from child care assistance and other forms of assistance. In some cases, if families lose this subsidy it could mean they can no longer afford child care, which leaves them with no care for their children and could put their job in jeopardy if they must take time off work to find a solution. The proposed change would modify this cliff to be a more gradual slope, by incrementally increasing the portion parents pay towards child care ($1 for every $3 earned over 200% FPL) while gradually decreasing the amount that subsidies cover, instead of taking all of the subsidies away at once. This gives parents the opportunity to better their work position and pay without having to worry about losing their child care subsidies until their income allows them to meet the full cost of paying for child care. Allowing this continued accessibility to quality care for families is incredibly important given the positive impact that quality early care and education programs have been shown to have for our youngest children, providing a developmentally supportive environment during a time when their brain is most rapidly developing.

The second measure, to invest an additional $3.9 million into the Family Foundations Home Visiting (FFHV) program, is equally encouraging. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website, FFHV currently serves more than 1,000 families statewide. Like quality early care and education programs, FFHV has been shown to have highly positive effects on the life-long outcomes of young children and their families. The FFHV program specifically seeks improved outcomes in at-risk families in the six focus areas identified in the Governor’s proposal, and does so through evidence-based home visiting that involves working with parents and children in their home environments. FFHV programming supports pregnant women and parents of children from birth to age five in engaging with resources that empower them with the knowledge to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and ready to learn. The Governor’s own Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) included home visiting in their recommendations for investment, noting that home visiting shows several promising outcomes including:

• Reductions in the number of low-birth weight babies
• Reductions in child abuse and neglect rates by 50 percent
• Improvements in school achievement
• Increased graduation rates
• A return of up to $5.70 for every dollar invested in home visiting, due to reduced costs of child welfare, special education, grade retention, and juvenile justice.

(Above outcomes taken from ECAC report: https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/files/ecac/2015-ecac-annrpt.pdf)

This increase in funding for FFHV is a positive step for at-risk children and families who benefit from this program, but it is important to keep in mind that this state level increase comes after a significant 20% cut in federal funding to WI home visiting last year, from over $12 million to $10.4 million. This proposed state level increase would fill in this funding gap with a little over the previous federal funds, but still more funding is needed to support and expand the FFHV program beyond where it is now. Zero to Three provides resources and tools you can use in helping policymakers and professionals understand the importance of investing in home visiting: https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/series/home-visiting-supporting-parents-and-child-development.

Both of these measures were included in the Governor’s 2017-19 Budget proposal, which is currently going through the legislative budget process. Keep an eye out for the finalized budget that should be effective this year at the beginning of July, in line with the state budgetary cycle.

For further detail regarding these measures and the  Wisconsin Works for Everyone proposal, watch the 2017 Budget Address: https://walker.wi.gov/wiworking

(This article was originally published in the SFTA Q1 2017 Newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter).

Supporting Refugee & Immigrant Families in Family Support and Early Education Services

“I am writing to ask for your help, please. I want to know if you know of some books so that I can explain to my children that their dad and I are immigrants. It is difficult at their age to understand what is happening now. My daughter suffered racism from a friend at school. I felt unable to explain and find the right words for her without her being afraid for us. I hope you can help me or guide me to where I can find this information and explain to my children what is happening.”

This mother’s request is not unique, and highlights an issue that we cannot ignore. Negative sentiment towards families who are refugees or have immigrated for other reasons to the United States has always persisted. As early childhood professionals, and in our own personal lives, this is a reality that many of us have seen and dealt with firsthand. These sentiments, or at least the public expression of them, seem to have risen due to recent policy changes affecting some of the children and families we serve, who came to the U.S. from another country. With the rise of these sentiments and the news and discussions that surround them, fear and worry are also on the rise for many children and families.

This fear—of harm, of deportation, or of not knowing how recent changes will affect their families—is on a level akin to trauma, and as such it is something that as early childhood professionals we simply cannot ignore if we are to deliver effective services. Politics completely aside, it is our job as early childhood professionals to create safe, supportive environments for all children and their families that we come across in our work. It is intrinsic to what we do every day, and to the foundation of our work. With that in mind, please use the following resources to guide you in supporting children and their families who have been most affected by recent policy changes.

RESEARCH & RESOURCES

Wisconsin Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Refugee Resources: This webpage offers Wisconsin-specific and national links to resources, programs and agencies supporting refugee children and families.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS)

Trauma-Informed Care- Resources: These resources will help you to build a foundation of understanding and knowledge to implement trauma-informed care in your work.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Voices of Immigrant Parents in Preschool Settings: This article from Young Child discusses insight from the “Children Crossing Borders” project, where more than 100 immigrant parents in five US cities, shared their ideas, hopes and concerns for how their children’s early educators would interact and engage with their children.

What can you do to support and advocate for children, families and educators?: This blog post looks at some of the simple, concrete actions you can take to support and advocate for the children and families that you serve.

Exploration of the Status of Services for Immigrant Families in Early Childhood Education Programs: This report examines the services available to immigrant families in early education and offers guidelines for next steps, to create more supportive, inclusive early education environments.

The Gifts of the Stranger; Learning From Others’ Differences: This article from Young Child looks at how early educators can learn from the differences in the children and families in their care, and by viewing diversity as a strength, become more effective educators.

Teaching Tolerance (A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff: This resource offers basic information to guide your understanding of federal law as it applies to educators sharing information about children and families who are immigrants, and the restrictions surrounding immigration raids, as well as what educators and communities can so to support affected students and families.

Family Preparedness Plan (Plan De Preparacion Familiar): This resource, available in English and Spanish, can be used with immigrant and refugee families so they can feel prepared, and have a plan in place for their family, should something unexpected occur with the parents’ or other family members’ immigration status.

Child Trends

Moving Beyond Trauma: Child Migrants and Refugees in the United States: This report offers a look at some of the traumas child migrants/refugees face, and provides recommendations for policy and practice to better support these children in dealing with this trauma.

Supporting refugee and immigrant children: This blog post provides ways that those supporting children can mitigate childhood trauma that may arise from issues surrounding refugee and immigrant children and their families. As a bonus, this post has an embedded podcast for more information, Episode 1: Three Angles on the Child Refugee Crisis.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

Refugee Trauma Web Page: This page contains multiple resources, tools and guidance for supporting those who deal with trauma related to being a refugee.

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Parental Resilience Web Page: This page offers ideas for supporting children and families to build resilience in the face of trauma and other difficulties.

Helping Immigrant Families Overcome Challenges: This page has a variety of issue-specific resources for working with immigrant children and their families.

Zero to Three

Building Resilience: This resource specifically explores supporting infants and toddlers facing adversity.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Know Your Rights: Check out these resources from the ACLU that cover a variety of topics relevant to immigrant and refugee families.

Latino Support Network

Key Resource Guide for The Latino Community, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin
(Guía de Recursos Claves para la Comunidad Latina, Madison, Condado de Dane, Wisconsin): This guide offers resources specific to those in Madison and/or Dane County, looking for supports and information regarding immigration and related issues.

Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Conozca Sus Derechos Guía sobre sus derechos en relación a contacto con oficiales de inmigración o la policía: This Spanish guide provides basic information about immigrant rights when confronted by immigration or law enforcement, as well as preparedness strategies for immigrant families.

Marquette University

Stress Related to Immigration Status in Students: A Brief Guide for Schools: This brief written by Marquette University staff looks at ways immigration can affect students in the classroom, and how staff can support those students and their families.

TRAINING & EVENTS

Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA)

YoungStar Annual Training Calendar (Updated Monthly): This regularly updated list of trainings, primarily focused on early educators, offers various trainings on topics such as resiliency, cultural competency and trauma-informed care, that would be helpful in supporting immigrant and refugee children and families.

Centro Hispano

Immigration Services: Visit or call Centro Hispano in Madison, Wisconsin regarding immigration related consultation, naturalization, permanent residence, DACA (Deferred Action) and family services.

Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

Trauma-Informed Contacts (Training): This list offers several contact options in Wisconsin for setting up or participating in a trauma-informed training.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Cultural Competency for Working with Immigrant Populations (Webinar): Webinar recording and transcript available.

Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health (WI-AIMH)

2017 Wisconsin Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Conference: This annual conference offers speakers and sessions promoting social and emotional development in everyday activities for infants, young children, and their families, as well as early intervention and treatment strategies. The 2017 conference will be held June 12-14, 2017 at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, WI.

These are only a few of many resources out there. Every child and family we serve is deserving of our unbiased support, compassion and understanding. Let us remember that at the core of how we approach each child, is our collective aim as early childhood professionals to meet them where they are at and support them and their family in whatever way we can to make their early, formative years the best that they can be.

(This article was originally published in the SFTA Q1 2017 Newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter).

CCR&R Innovations in Provider Training

Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (and SFTA members), 4C for Children and The Parenting Place were awarded a combined $10,000 by the SFTA Professional Development (PD) Department to create and implement innovative trainings for child care providers. The funding, made possible through the Department of Children and Families, was offered to increase the amount of PD opportunities for child care providers and to support training development at the CCR&R level.

“We wanted to draw on the expertise of trainers and TCs at CCR&Rs who are working closely with providers and are hearing what their needs are,” said Abbe Braun, SFTA Professional Development Manager.

The selected agencies were two of four CCR&R agencies that applied for funding back in June of 2016. After undergoing a review process their proposals were chosen and they were awarded the funding in August. Both are now in the process of getting their trainings up and running.

4C for Children is using their funding to develop a single 3 to 4-hour training, (which will be available to providers in both English and Spanish by December 2016), that delves deeper into The Teaching Cycle, breaking down its components for providers to implement in their child care programs. This training, Individual Learning: Planning Experiences and Documenting Development, is a continuation of The Teaching Cycle process as identified in the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards training. The Teaching Cycle (pictured) can be used as a framework for applying the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards in early care and education settings, to better support early development.

“The training will cover practice-related content that will help providers looking to implement individually-orientated learning,” said Terryl Wheelock, Early Head Start Coordinator at 4C for Children. “A variety of hands-on activities will help the participants in making connections between provider practices and the Teaching Cycle.”

The Parenting Place will use their funding for a series of three 1-hour workshops that focus on how school-age environments can effectively support children’s social emotional development. The idea behind these shorter trainings is that they can be incorporated during a staff meeting so that programs do not need to schedule additional time for PD.

“The goal of this training is to help after-school care providers set up their programs with the developmental needs of school-age children in mind,” explained Betsy Halama, Training Coordinator at The Parenting Place. “School-age care programs are unique in many ways; this training aims to support some of school age providers’ unique needs.”

Although these trainings are geared towards after-school programs, anyone serving school-age children could benefit from attending. This series will roll out in February of 2017.

Both the 4C for Children and The Parenting Place trainings will be made available to all WI CCR&Rs through a train the trainer, so that CCR&R staff have the tools to administer these trainings to providers statewide. Success of these trainings will be measured by the number of participants and participant feedback. Stay tuned to the SFTA website for future RFP opportunities from the SFTA PD Department for our core member agencies, to support innovation in provider training.

Learn more about our core members here.

This article was originally published in the SFTA Q4 2016 newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletters and other e-publications here.

Introducing the YoungStar Micro-Grant Program & the Latest News in Micro-Grants

There are some new names and faces behind the YoungStar Micro-Grant team as Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) takes on the management of YoungStar micro-grants. Micro-Grant funding is available to programs that are participating in the YoungStar program and who have requested and are receiving technical assistance. These funds can be spent on materials, resources, and professional development opportunities that directly relate to a child care program’s Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). All purchase requests for micro-grants are processed and coordinated by the Micro-Grant Department: (*Reference the YoungStar regional map).

For general information questions about orders, timelines, or changes to a purchase plan:

• Gloria Campos, Micro-Grant Purchasing Specialist and micro-grant contact for providers in the Southeastern and Milwaukee regions, offers Spanish language support for all regions. (gloria@supportingfamiliestogether.org).
• Amanda Rose, Micro-Grant Purchasing Specialist and micro-grant contact for providers in the Northeastern, Western and Southern regions. (amanda@supportingfamiliestogether.org)
• Chanel Ly, SFTA Office Manager, Hmong language support and micro-grant contact for providers in the Northern region (chanel@supportingfamiliestogether.org).

For questions about returns or reimbursements:

Sarah Ross Berry, Micro-Grant Financial Specialist (sarah@supportingfamiliestogether.org).

For questions about policies and administration of the YoungStar Micro-Grant Program:

Sherri Underwood, Micro-Grant Manager (sherri@supportingfamiliestogether.org).

Assigning a specific Micro-Grant staff member to each YoungStar region for providers to contact has already noticeably decreased e-mails sent to the general micro-grant e-mail, showing providers are engaging more directly with the individuals serving their regions to obtain the information they need. This is not the only update the Micro-Grant Program has seen. Changes are being made to the YoungStar micro-grant process that you may have noticed if you are a provider receiving a micro-grant:

• Reimbursements have gone out weekly to providers since SFTA took over the Micro-Grant Program in July of 2016. This allows providers to receive their money more quickly.
• Programs will soon also be receiving their micro-grant materials faster, thanks to extra staff support that is being added to the micro-grant purchasing process (Chanel Ly).
• The Micro-Grant Program is continuing to work to ensure that there is equal access to micro-grant materials and resources by working to translate materials into Spanish, and ensuring that Gloria is available to provide Spanish language support and Chanel is available to provide Hmong language support, as needed.
• A focused effort is being made by the entire Micro-Grant Program to increase communications with Technical Consultants (TCs) regarding micro-grants. This means sharing micro-grant information on regular TC calls, including TCs on micro-grant e-mails to the providers they serve, weekly e-blasts to TCs and Micro-Grant staff taking more detailed notes regarding micro-grant interactions with providers that TCs can review. This gives providers the option to talk to their TC, who they know and trust, about their micro-grant.
• Providers can access current micro-grant handbooks through their local YoungStar office by request (See the YoungStar Regional Map).
• The Micro-Grant Program recently added a new vendor that providers can order discounted materials from, “S&S Worldwide,” to better meet the needs of school-age programs.

It is the Micro-Grant Program’s goal to make navigating the Micro-Grant Program simpler and more straight-forward for providers, and recent changes are a step in that direction. What all of this translates to out in the field is that child care programs are getting high quality materials and supports more quickly and efficiently to further their QIPs, which builds more developmentally supportive child care environments for children and their families. The Micro-Grant Program Staff are a crucial link in ensuring providers can use their micro-grants in a timely manner to support the quality of their programs and the children they serve.

Check out SFTA’s newest website addition, the Micro-Grant Program page for more information and resources on micro-grants.

This article was originally published in the SFTA Q4 2016 newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletters and other e-publications here.

4-C Literacy Backpack Series: “Literature as a Way to Support Social Emotional Growth”

When Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) funded 20 staff from their member agencies to attend the “Training of Facilitators for Positive Solutions for Families” in April, 4-C Referral Specialist Ruth DeNure from Madison was one of them. The training, a 6 to 8-week parenting curriculum, guided attendees in how to support children’s social emotional growth, and provided free social emotional themed children’s books to participants. Ruth left with the books, but also with an idea to use them in guiding parents at 4-C Play & Learns to better support their children’s social emotional growth.

“I wanted to use literature as a way to support social emotional growth, and to not just think of a book all by itself but as an avenue to start discussions,” said Ruth. “A book can actually be a conduit for that.”

With the ideas and materials from the training, and support from the SFTA Family Engagement Specialist, Ruth created a series of Literacy Backpacks that parents participating in 4-C Play & Learns can check out and take home to use with their children. Each backpack contains activities and ideas focused around a children’s book that addresses social emotional issues. The handout included in each backpack reads,

“Parents/caregivers who read to their children every day and talk about what they are reading together promote a joy of reading and literacy achievement. Literacy Backpacks encourage reading at home and support the role of parents as educators.”

Ruth has currently completed eight literacy backpacks, so that the program can officially kick off in September with four backpacks for each of the two teams of teachers at the 11 different 4-C Play & Learn sites. Creating the backpacks and their content has proven fairly cost-effective, since Ruth primarily used the books from the training and materials from the 4-C Resource Room and Play & Learns. As the program moves forward Ruth plans on evaluating and expanding the program based on its reach and feedback from participants.

What’s Inside a Literacy Backpack?

Each backpack contains a book, 4-5 story extender ideas for parents/caregivers to do with their child, and a folder with additional story extender ideas and materials explaining the importance of early literacy and the purpose of the Literacy Backpacks.

Sample story extender activities from the “David Gets in Trouble” Backpack:

• “How does David feel?” activity: Pictures of David from the book are provided with different facial expressions. Children can match his expressions to the correct emotion, then parents can ask children questions about that emotion in their life (a.k.a. When was a time you felt happy? How do you feel today?)
• Feelings Bingo: Bingo cards offer children different situations where children have to guess what emotions that situation would cause. For example, how might a girl getting a surprise party feel? Children can place a Bingo piece on the emotion listed on their game card that they think fits the situation.
• “The things I can do” activity: Children work with their parents to identify ways they can help around the house. For instance, feeding the fish or putting away their things.
• “Faces show feelings” activity: The object of this game is to have fun while learning about feelings and facial expressions. The child and parent each choose a marker.  Each player rolls the die and the person with the largest number goes first.  For younger children:  When the child lands on a face, they must make a face like the one they land on and tell about what makes them feel that way.  For older children:  When the child lands on a face, they must tell about a specific time when they felt that way.  The first person to the finish line is the winner.
• Auditory Discrimination: Parents can read the book in a happy, sad or other emotionally charged tone. Children can share the differences in how they felt about the story when it was read through different emotions. Parents and children can talk about how our tone can reflect our feelings, and how that can affect others.

Stay tuned to the 4-C website for more information on this program and other services that 4-C provides.

PIWI Grant Awards

Three SFTA member agencies were recently chosen to receive funding to implement Parents Interacting With Infants (PIWI) in their regions, through Race to the Top funds distributed by the Pyramid Model State Leadership Team. PIWI is an approach involving parents and their babies, meant to strengthen the child/parent bond and understanding while also building parents’ confidence and knowledge as caregivers. The agencies awarded these funds—Family Resource Center of Eau Claire County, Northwest Connection Family Resources, and Family Connections of Southwest Wisconsin – each have a unique take on the implementation of PIWI in their regions.

Family Resource Center of Eau Claire County

Kari Stroede, Executive Director of the Family Resource Center of Eau Claire County, stated that her agency is taking a four-part approach to implementing PIWI.

“Along came this grant opportunity and we thought, wow, we can really blend multiple things here,” said Kari.

The funding will primarily be used to offer “Baby Cafés;” a six-part series for infants and their parents incorporating PIWI methodology. These cafés will take place for an hour and a half once a week from April through May of 2016. Cafés are currently still in the planning stages in terms of what the structure will look like, but recruitment is already in the works. The agency plans to take café invitations directly into birthing centers at local hospitals, so that new parents can easily access this opportunity. Parents will receive yet-to-be-determined incentives for attending all six cafés.

“We are very intentional in terms of how we plan the Baby Cafés,” stressed Kari. “It’s a support place for parents…focused on where they are at.”

Family Resource Center of Eau Claire County is partnering with Child Care Partnership (the local Child Care Resource & Referral agency and SFTA member), who will provide a PIWI certified trainer for the Baby Cafés. Northwest Breastfeeding Network is also a partner in planning, and may offer the opportunity for Baby Cafés to extend beyond the funded period, as a continuing monthly or bi-monthly event, where a lactation specialist would be available.

In addition to Baby Cafés, the agency’s PIWI funding will be used to create ten “Play with Me” bags—with mobile and non-mobile infants in mind—for families to check out for up to a month. The bags will contain items such as washable toys and other materials focused on different developmental periods, to support child development and parent-child interactions. Kari recently submitted a grant to an area community foundation to create 20 more bags focused on preschool -aged children, to expand this effort beyond infants.

The agency has also budgeted to build an infant-toddler library containing high-quality materials that can be used to support PIWI implementation. The libraries are housed within latched transport tubs for easy mobility, so that if another agency wants to create and support a PIWI play group or Baby Café, they have materials to get them started.

Finally, a portion of the PIWI funding will be used to support child care programs with 2 or 3 Star ratings in YoungStar, Wisconsin’s Child Care Quality Rating & Improvement System, in understanding and implementing PIWI. Family Resource Center of Eau Claire County has connected with two child care programs in Eau Claire that have large infant populations. Together they plan to offer a PIWI coaching clinic in the fall where providers from other programs will be invited. The clinic will be followed by triadic coaching in the classrooms to teach providers how to implement PIWI into their program on a regular basis.

“Our desired outcome would be that we continue the collaboration, the partnerships that we have created through this,” said Kari. “We are all in this together. We are really very tickled with the collaborative piece of this.”

Family Connections of Southwest Wisconsin

Funding received by Family Connections of Southwest Wisconsin (Child Care Resource & Referral agency and SFTA member), will be focused in Lafayette County, according to Executive Director Sabrina Earl. The agency has already built community connections in this county through the Parent Cafés they are currently hosting, and this area has been identified as having higher Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scores compared to the rest of the agency’s service delivery area. A higher ACE score indicates an individual is at a greater risk for physical and mental health issues, and poorer overall outcomes. PIWI funding directed where these higher risks exist will target those who need it most.

“So often our families are not connecting anymore,” said Sabrina. “I really think families need that connection.”

Family Connections of SWWI, true to its name, is creating an opportunity for families to connect through their PIWI funding. Three families from a local 2 Star child care program and three families from Head Start will be chosen based on need, to meet at the Darlington Community Center starting in September. They will meet weekly for an hour and a half to 2 hours, for 6 weeks. Families will take part in guided activities centered on PIWI, facilitated by Sabrina and a family resource center staff member. Head Start and child care program staff will shadow the sessions in order to learn effective PIWI implementation. Participating families will also be encouraged to participate in Parent Cafés to continue to build supports and connect with parents in other venues. After the initial 6-week period funded by this grant, Head Start plans to continue monthly meetings with families in their services in a similar fashion, while the child care provider will use PIWI to support continuing family engagement in their program.

Northwest Connection Family Resources

Northwest Connection Family Resources is working with multiple community partners to implement their PIWI funding, including UW Extension Educator, Indianhead Community Action Agency Head Start, Sawyer County Birth to 3, Hayward Community Schools, the Mino Maajiswein Home Visitation Program and Star Bright Daycare.  Two planning meetings have taken place thus far, to outline community needs, partnership roles and anticipated outcomes. These meetings also involved discussions about recruitment and how to support parent/child pairs in expanding on their current strengths to reach higher levels of engagement and learning.

Up to eight parent/child pairs will attend a 6-week PIWI-focused series.  Community partners will identify two families they would like to invite to the first series, which will begin Thursday, April 21^st from 9:30 to 11 am at Northwest Connection Family Resources. Because social emotional competency is the foundation of early childhood development, the series covers related topic areas including:  What Makes Me Laugh and Why I Need You.  Participants will be encouraged to attend every session through weekly incentives, and a completion certificate and incentive given to each family.  Child care will be offered for siblings in order to effectively support the participating parent/child pairs during the PIWI program.

“In every session, through a variety of activities, songs and books, parents will learn about their child’s development, temperament, and interests while having fun together in developmentally supportive environments,” said Northwest Connection Family Resources Co-Director, Kathy Mullally.

Northwest Connections Family Resources will continue to gain valuable insight from partners and parents through this first series, which will help guide the planning for the next PIWI series to be held in the fall.

Stay tuned to our social media and partner agency websites for updates on these awesome efforts!

*This article was originally published in SFTA’s Q1 2016 newsletter. View the full newsletter here, and access previous newsletters through our publication archives.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) & Child Care

One of the 2016 YoungStar Evaluation Criteria changes now being implemented in child care programs statewide is the recently added optional point for Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) (Learning Environment and Curriculum, B.1.3), which replaced the Additional Work on a Quality Improvement Plan. YoungStar Technical Consultants (TCs) are working with providers to incorporate this point into their daily practice, or identify what they already have in their program that meets the requirements. The point requirements read as follows, and all 5 must be met to earn the point:

1. Written program philosophy includes a statement regarding how the program believes children learn AND how teachers teach, reflecting developmentally appropriate practice. The program philosophy is available to families and staff in the parent handbook and employee handbook.
2. Staff provides care that is engaging, comforting, culturally sensitive and compassionate. Interactions must be positive or neutral at best. Teachers use language that the children understand and help children communicate appropriately. Teachers foster relationship building between, teachers and children, and peer to peer.
3. Exploration and play for children is supported by the environment. Learning occurs best when opportunities are created in natural and authentic contexts.
4. Children have routines and consistent schedules. Teachers adapt schedules and experiences to individual children’s needs within the group setting.
5. Reciprocal relationships with families exist between program and families. Programs must make an effort to get to know children’s families.

(*Taken from DCF site, PowerPoint Overview of 2016 Evaluation Criteria)

Mary Sue Voights, a trainer & YoungStar TC with Child Care Resource & Referral, Inc., has already worked with both group and family child care programs on earning the DAP point.

“It’s interesting because I find that family programs have less difficulty with this one,” said Mary Sue, referencing her own experience with DAP thus far. “Family providers work with mixed age groups so they are already used to making the materials and activities available to varying ages and abilities.”

Mary Sue has found ways to make this point more accessible to both group and family programs. She tailored a DAP training to be a one-on-one consultation tool to support individual programs in meeting the specifics of the point, has compiled handouts on DAP and what she calls “DIP” (Developmentally Inappropriate Practices), and uses a video clip about DAP from NAEYC to show providers how they can effectively implement DAP.

An example of this is supporting group centers in incorporating enough free play. Mary Sue reviews the schedule with them and shows them where they might eliminate some of the whole group play activities, instead, “setting up experiences and materials in the centers and then just going through them with the children, playing with them to support their development.”

“Everybody really wants to do the right thing [by incorporating DAP],” noted Mary Sue, “but we have lost sight of what DAP are for children, which is putting play back in and being there, guiding that play with them.”

In working with infants and toddlers, said Mary Sue, this means bringing content back to what is DAP for an age range where children, especially toddlers, appear to be more capable than they actually are emotionally. Understanding DAP means providers know what to expect for typical behavior from the children in their care, and use that to better support each child’s needs.

Carrie J. Steinke, Quality Improvement Specialist at Childcaring, Inc., said that TCs at her agency are also in full swing to support programs in earning the DAP point.

“We are talking about both the DAP and the Family Engagement (FE) points early and often in our work with programs,” said Carrie. “We are encouraging providers and programs to engage with those points by the second TC visit, if at all possible, if they are planning to earn them, because we really need to have a good amount of time to cover all of the details of those points—both in consultation and at rating time.”

Carrie said they are asking programs to look carefully at their current practices to see where changes to policies or procedures could be made to meet the requirements of the point, while still meeting the philosophy of the program and the needs of the children.

“These points; [DAP and FE], are both a nice opportunity to talk with programs about best practice in a new way,” added Carrie.

For more resources on DAP

SFTA:
Developmentally Appropriate Practice Pinterest Board
NAEYC:
Recommended Professional Development Library for DAP
Q&A with the editors of Developmentally Appropriate Practice
DAP Frequently Asked Questions
10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies
The Activity Idea Place:
Developmentally Appropriate Practices with Young Children

(*This article was originally published in SFTA’s Q1 2016 newsletter. View the full publication here. Sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter here).