MAKING CONNECTIONS:

1
MAKING CONNECTIONS

• ENSURING THAT CHILDREN
• ARE HEALTHY
• AND
• PREPARED TO SUCCEED
• IN SCHOOL

2
As We Start

• Our goal healthy children, prepared to succeed
  in school
• Our measures aligning with a growing
  state/national consensus
• Ingredients of a plan
• Supports for the work
• Aims for this meeting

3
Why Early Development Matters

• The Early Years Count
• There is overwhelming evidence that the care,
  support, and environment children experience in
  their earliest years significantly impact healthy
  development, success in school and in life

4
Why Early Development Matters

• Families Can Make the Difference
• Helping families to support the full and healthy
  development of their young children is Step 1 in
  assuring that all children reach their fullest
  potential

5
A Working Definition of Children Healthy and
Prepared for School

• As children enter school, they are in good health
  and have the social/emotional, cognitive and
  language skills they need to succeed.
• Families have had the information, supports, and
  resources they need to be effective caretakers
  and advocates for their children in the early
  years.
• Schools are ready and able to provide ALL
  children the opportunity to learn.
• Neighborhoods provide experiences, support and
  services that maximize success for children,
  families, and schools.

6
In other words,

• Ready families
• Ready schools
• Ready communities
• Ready services (health, early care and education)
  
• Optimal development, healthy children, and
  children prepared to succeed in school

7
The Making Connections Connection

• Helping young children grow up healthy and
  prepared to succeed in school is linked to all
  three major areas of the Making Connections
  theory of change
• Family economic success
• Quality services and supports
• Development of Social networks

8
Links to Family Economic Success

• Sufficient family income is crucial to enable
  families to provide what children need for
  optimal early childhood development.
• Access to affordable child care is often a key
  factor in allowing parents to work 61 of
  mothers with children under six work full year,
  full time.
• Child care is the fastest growing business
  opportunity for women nationally, especially for
  mothers with young children.

9
Links to High Quality Services and Supports

• Helping young children develop requires
  connections among many services families need
  health, mental health, schools, child care, etc.
• Good early childhood programs link families to
  other services they need, such as GED and other
  education, jobs, domestic violence assistance, or
  mental health services.
• Empowered residents can and should demand higher
  quality services and supports.

10
Links to Social Networks

• Parents knowledge, skills and action to support
  their children in their early years is most
  influenced by their families and friends.
• Activities for young children (e.g. libraries,
  parks, family resource centers) create
  opportunities for their families to congregate,
  create social capital, and participate in the
  community.
• Research shows that children of parents with
  strong, diverse social networks are more prepared
  for school.

11
Making Connections Six Core Results

• 1. Families have increased earnings and income.
• 2. Families have increased levels of assets.
• 3. Families and youth increase their civic
  participation.
• 4. Families have strong supports and networks.
• 5. Families have access to services that work for
  them.
• 6. Children are healthy and ready to succeed in
  school.

12
Indicators of Success

• Initial Making Connections indicators
• A broader menu of indicators, based on national
  consensus
• Streamlined indicators for the Casey Trustees

13
Initial Making Connections Indicators for Result
6

• Pregnant women receive prenatal care in the first
  trimester.
• All children have access to health insurance.
• More children enter school with the strengths,
  skills and good health that enable them to learn.
• More children have developmentally appropriate
  preschool experience.
• More parents are involved in their childrens
  school.

14
A Broader Menu from Which Sites Can Choose

• Ready Children
• Ready Families
• Ready Communities
• Ready Services
• Health
• Early Care and Education
• (Everyone has a complete list in their folders)

15
Streamlined Indicators

• Data on four key indicators across all sites
  will be reported to the Casey Trustees
• Percent of children participating in preschool
• Improvement in kindergarten assessments
• School attendance in early grades
• Third grade reading scores

16
Suspected Ingredients in a Good Plan

• READY CHILDREN
• Experiences that develop physical health,
  exploration and play, and social emotional,
  cognitive and language skills.
• READY FAMILIES
• A plan for every family to receive and act on
  information and resources to support their
  childs development, with special attention to
  isolated families and those in particularly
  vulnerable situations.

17
Suspected Ingredients, cont.

• READY COMMUNITIES
• Opportunities for economic success for families
• Safe, healthy environment
• READY SERVICES
• Action to increase availability, affordability,
  accessibility of high quality preschool
  experiences for all children, including support
  for family, friend and neighbor caregivers.
• Action to provide adequate health resources for
  families with young children.
• READY SCHOOLS
• Schools that welcome their families and support
  school success for ALL children

18
Joining With Other Partners

• Achieving the goal requires partners
• Most sites have collaborative efforts under way

19
What Making Connections Can Contribute

• A focus on children in some of the most
  vulnerable neighborhoods
• A commitment to reach every family in our
  neighborhoods
• A commitment to close the gap
• Parents as leaders, building on the social
  networks that parents have

20
Support for School Readiness Strategies in Sites

• Investments from site funds
• Hands on technical assistance people,
  resources, peer visits to other communities
  provided through the Technical Assistance
  Resource Center
• Information and TA from Foundation grantees
• Program on Families with Young Children
• Education Reform
• Health and Mental Health

21
Learning Across Sites

• Learning network for School Readiness
  Coordinators from all sites
• Monthly phone calls
• Ongoing information exchange
• July meeting
• 2 cross site strategy meetings (Mar. 30-31 and
  Oct. 20-21)
• Local Coordinators, School Readiness
  Coordinators, plus partners in each site

22
2005 Seed Grants to Sites

• To build neighborhood capacity and create
  strategic partnerships (example neighborhood
  messengers, Family Friend and Neighbor caregiver
  support, ready schools.
• Requires match with local co-investor
• 75,000 maximum for each grant (500,000 pool)
• Other great ideas will be considered!

23
Results for this Meeting

• Develop greater clarity about the Making
  Connections framework for ensuring that children
  are healthy and prepared to succeed in school
• Gain insight about using data and developing
  strategies that are powerful enough to achieve
  targets
• Learn about promising programs, policies, and
  strategies and resources available
• Leave the meeting with consensus on next steps
  and shared expectation in 2005

24
Setting Targets

• All sites have identified specific targets they
  intend to reach over time to close gaps between
  children in the Making Connections neighborhood
  and children in the larger metro area or to reach
  a community goal.

25
Hitting the Target Key Questions for Each target

• What do we know or need to know? Relevant data
  on children, families and neighborhood and gaps
  to be filled
• Whos doing something now? Potential partners to
  support
• What are our options? Strategies taken together
  that are powerful enough to hit the target
• What can Making Connections add?
• What is our approach? Sequence of investments
  and action to support strategies, in partnership
  with others

26
Working It Out
27
MAKING CONNECTIONS

• ENSURING THAT CHILDREN
• ARE HEALTHY
• AND
• PREPARED TO SUCCEED
• IN SCHOOL