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Great Start Collaborative-Oakland
The
purpose of the GSC-O is to assure a coordinated system of community resources
and support whereby ALL Oakland County families have knowledge of and access to
the services they need which will result in their children being prepared and
eager to learn.
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It's Their Future; It's Our Responsibility!
Thank you for your continued interest and support in building our Great Start System in Oakland County.
Great Start Collaborative-Oakland would like to recognize Nancy Ely, Director of Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education Programs at Farmington Public Schools as our May and June Children's Champion. Thank you for your partnering with the GSC-O and for hosting the Parent Conference and Resource Fair. You truly are a model for community collaboration!!
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Star Power 2009 |
Join us Thursday, May 21st at the State Capitol for Star Power 2009!
Michigan's early childhood community-parents, doctors, child care workers, educators, business leaders and others-will celebrate the importance of early childhood investment and recognize champions who are making a difference in our work. Come meet with state legislators to talk about the importance of early childhood programs and services for all of Michigan's children. Be there--because early childhood is the smartest investment in Michigan! Online registration is open at www.ecic4kids.org.
Free transportation!! Great Start Collaborative-Oakland has chartered a bus that will depart from Oakland Schools at 7:30 a.m. and return at 4:30 p.m. from the east parking lot. To reserve transportation, please e-mail Darlene Zimny or call (248) 209-2588 and let us know the number of adults and children that will be riding with us.
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Upcoming Great Start Meetings
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Click here to view the GSC-O Calendar Online.
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Date
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Event/Meeting
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Location
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Monday,
May 11
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Strategic Leadership
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Oakland Schools, Waterford
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Thursday, May 14
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Basic Needs Subcommittee Meeting
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Oakland County Child Care Council, Bloomfield Hills
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Thursday, May 21
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Star Power 2009
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State Capitol, Lansing
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Thursday, May 28
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Parenting
Education & Family Support Subcommittee Meeting |
Carehouse,
Pontiac |
Monday, June 1
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Community Engagement Workgroup Meeting |
Oakland
Schools, Waterford
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Tuesday, June 2
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Early Care and Education Subcommittee Meeting |
Oakland Schools, Waterford |
Wednesday, June 3
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Social & Emotional Health Subcommittee Meeting |
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Tuesday, June 9
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Parent Coalition
| Oakland Family Services, Pontiac
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If
you are interested in participating in one of the above events/meetings, please
contact Darlene Zimny at darlene.zimny@oakland.k12.mi.us
or 248.209.2588.
Looking
for ways to get involved in the Great Start Collaborative-Oakland? Click here to sign up for one of the three new workgroups or one of the five
existing subcommittees.
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| Talking Points |
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Oakland County is committed to addressing young children's growth and development so that they enter school safe, healthy and ready to succeed. Families with young children in Oakland County have many evidenced-based programs and practices available to them. Over the next few months we will use the talking points section to look at some of these programs.
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- There are three intensive home based parent education programs that are long standing partners in Oakland County's prevention efforts to enhance parenting skills and promote the healthy development of young children.
- Healthy Families America (Healthy Start Healthy Families Oakland), operated by Trinity Health Organization, provides intensive in home services to at-risk families of young children. Healthy Start is based on the theory that the earliest years of a child's life lay the foundation for all that follows and that positive parenting practices can be supported and nurtured before patterns are established. Program goals are to: promote positive parenting; enhance child health and development and prevent child abuse and neglect. Extensive local research and an evaluation of Healthy Start Oakland by Oakland University found children enrolled in Healthy Start had significantly fewer incidences of child abuse and neglect and significantly higher rates of immunization than similar children not enrolled in the program.
- Nurse Family Partnership is an infant mortality prevention program operated through the Oakland County Health Division. One hundred Pontiac mothers are served by this critical program whose goal are to teach parenting skills, improve child health and development and improve family economic self sufficiency.
- Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) is an innovative, research-based early literacy program serving families challenged by poverty, language barriers, and low levels of education. PCHP emphasizes the parent-child verbal and social interactions. More than two decades of research shows that parents in this program increased their verbal interaction with their children by 50% and led to higher scores on math and reading. Home visitors in the Parent Child Home Program are most frequently former clients who have developed high quality parenting skills and received additional specialized training to prepare them to work with other families from their home communities, thus creating a potential model for workforce development.
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Recent Research and Resources
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- The Social Emotional Health Advisory Committee from ECIC has developed a new resource: Social-Emotional Health and School Readiness: A Guide for Parents with Children Birth to Age 5. It is a basic guide for parents who want to help their young children
(birth to age five) to be socially and emotionally healthy so they can
succeed in school and life. The guide addresses the following
questions: What is social-emotional health? How does it affect school
readiness? How can I tell if my child is socially and emotionally
healthy? What can I do to support my child's social-emotional health?
How does discipline affect social-emotional health? What if I have
concerns about my child's social-emotional health? Where can I learn
more about social-emotional health?
- Crain's Detroit Business news recently had an article regarding the importance of investing in Early Childhood Education. View the article and send a letter to the editor!
- The "Learn the Signs. Act Early" campaign from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a series of resources to help educate parents, health care providers, and early childhood
educators about early warning signs of autism and other developmental
disorders, and encourages developmental screening and intervention. on the full range of child development. The site includes materials, milestone checklists and many other resources.
- The RAND Corporation produced a set of policy briefs that address five key education priorities for the Obama administration and the 111th Congress. Each brief summarizes the current research on the topic and the implications for federal policymakers. Promoting effective preschool programs is one of those five priorities.
- Every Child Matters wants to make children a national political priority. Their website includes an illustrated history of important social legislation signed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike in order to remind us of the central role past presidents have played in improving child well-being. There is also information on what the president's budget means for children for our children as well as a link to the President's Blueprint for Change.
- A great parenting resource from the University of Wisconsin contains links to aged-based parenting newsletters in a very accessible format. Resources available for both parents and parent educators!
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| Upcoming Learning Opportunities |
- OCAP and NAMI-Metro present a free seminar, "Navigating the Maze of Children's Mental Health Services" on Thursday, May 21, 2009 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at Oakland Schools. To register email koivuj@oakgov.com.
- How
does poverty impact learning, work habits and decision-making? People
in poverty face challenges virtually unknown to those in middle class
or wealth - challenges from both obvious and hidden sources. The
reality of being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns
attention away from opportunities taken for granted for everyone else.
If you work with people in poverty, some understanding of how different
their world is from yours will be invaluable. Whether you're an
educator - or a social, health or human services professional - this
breakthrough program gives you practical, real-world support and
guidance to improve your effectiveness in working with people from all
socioeconomic backgrounds. The Great Start Collaborative-Oakland is pleased to host a Ruby Payne Training: A Framework for Understanding Poverty. This free training will be offered on Friday, May 29 from 8:30-2:30-breakfast and lunch is included. Visit the GSC-O website to view the brochure and registration information.
- The Oakland County Child Care Council (4C) has released their Spring 2009 training calendar with many great free or low cost learning opportunities for both parents and providers. The calendar highlights trainings offered in April, May and June. In addition, the newsletter announces the 8th annual Provider Appreciation Brunch on Saturday, May 16th at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy. This year's key note speaker-Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of The Last Lecture. The cost is $15 if registration is received by May 11th.
- Oakland Schools will be sponsoring a training on "Diversity and the Young Child" on August 18 and 19, held at the Oakland County Child Care Council office. This training will focus on relevant practices that support diverse cultures and learners in programs for children birth to five years of age. Participants will learn about theories and strategies to help children, families and teachers understand and work towards a supportive and positive climate for all culture and learning styles. Visit the Oakland Schools website for more information.
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Lisa Sturges
Great Start Collaborative-Oakland
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