|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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 Oakland Family Services as our Spring 2010 Children's Champion. Oakland Family Services is an Early On partner in Service Coordination and Service Delivery System. They are also the new North Oakland County Early Learning Community Hub. They offer many services for families with young children including the Father's Resource Center, the Dynamic Dad's program, Lekotek, Fussy Baby and the Children's Learning Center. They have partnered with GSC-O to be the host site for Parent Coalition meetings and were the host site for our August Press Conference. Thank you for the work you do towards making Oakland County a great place for young families to live!
|
Upcoming Advocacy Opportunities
| A Community Forum on Michigan's Budget Priorities
This forum
gives early childhood advocates an opportunity to bring public attention
to an issue that is very important to them and our community's
children. We have the evidence on our side: Opinion polls show
overwhelming public support for early childhood programs, and scientific
research shows they work. This community forum is designed to give a
compelling local voice to this evidence and give committed parents,
advocates and others a chance to be heard. Monday,
May 10, 2010 Lunch served at 11:30 am; Community Forum from 12:00
noon
to 1:00 pm. Oakland Schools, Conference Room D2111 Pontiac Lake
Rd, Waterford, MI 48328To register contact Darlene Zimny at darlene.zimny@oakland.k12.mi.us or
248-209-2588 by Wednesday, May 5,
2010.
Star Power 2010
| Please join us for Star
Power on May 19, 2010 in Lansing!!
What is Star Power?
Star Power is a day for
Michigan's early childhood community - parents, doctors, childcare
providers, educators, business leaders-and many of our youngest
learners
to gather to celebrate the importance of early childhood investment.
Why is Star Power so Important?
Michigan's budget
is getting smaller every year and that means more programs are being
cut. Last year, the Michigan legislature proposed to eliminate a large
portion of early childhood programs in Michigan. Star Power is our
opportunity to showcase strength in the early childhood advocacy
community.
What Can I Expect?
A parade
around the capitol and up to the capitol steps, meetings with
legislators to talk about early childhood, lots of family-friendly
activities!
Interested in Joining Us?
Visit www.greatstartforkids.org/star-powerto register.
For
FREE bus transportation from
Oakland County to Lansing, email darlene.zimny@oakland.k12.mi.us.
Convention 2010
Because this is an important election year
and because you care about Michigan's youngest learners, you won't want
to miss Michigan's Young Children in the Balance - An Early Childhood
Convention-Wednesday, July 14, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Join us for a rousing day of roof-raising
speeches, roaring crowds, music and exhibits targeted toward early
childhood, parents, educators, and professionals. Giveaways and
interactive crowd activities ensure fun for everyone. Michigan's
gubernatorial candidates have all been invited to speak.
Registration opens in Late April. Mark your
calendar now for the election-year event you cannot miss! Come add your voice and enthusiasm to the
thousands who will be in attendance and help spread the word about the
importance of the state's investment in early childhood.
|
Public Hearing on GS-ELAC Report
|
| Michigan's Great Start Early Learning Advisory Council will conduct a
public hearing to receive comments on the proposed Michigan Great Start Early Learning Advisory Council Strategic Report on Wednesday,
April 21, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Board Room of
the Early Childhood Investment Corporation located at 221 N. Pine
Street, Lansing, Michigan.
The Great Start Early Learning Advisory Council Strategic Report is
available online for review, and comments
may be submitted electronically, via our online form through April
20, 2010.
This strategic report outlines the priorities of the council, and
discusses increasing opportunity for participation in quality child Care
and early education programs, and implementing core elements of the
state early childhood system. Core elements such as a unified data
collection system, inclusive leadership and engagement, professional
development and high quality early learning standards, as well as
anticipated outcomes are covered in the report.
|
Upcoming Great Start Meetings
|
Click here to view the GSC-O Calendar online.
|
|
Date
|
Meeting
|
Location
| | Wednesday, April 21 | Parent Coalition Meeting | Oakland Family Services, Pontiac | Saturday, May 1
| Parenting Conference and Resource Fair
| CERC, Lake Orion
| Wednesday, May 5
| Social Emotional Subcommittee
| Easter Seals, Auburn Hills
| Monday, May 10
| Strategic Leadership Meeting
| Oakland Schools, Waterford
|
|
| Talking Points | Zero to Three releases findings from 2009 National Parent Survey.
ZERO TO THREE commissioned Hart Research Associates to conduct
a national public opinion poll of 1,615 parents of children age birth
to three years in June 2009. The survey
was designed to explore issues and challenges that parents of young
children confront today, where gaps in knowledge of early development
exist, identify what sources of information and support these parents
turn to, and what factors influence their approach
to parenting. Based on United States Census data, the sample is
representative of parents of children ages birth to three years old, as
it pertains to basic demographic characteristics such as race,
ethnicity, age, and educational attainment. Many of the survey
findings have implications for policies and programs for infants,
toddlers and families:
- Child Care Choices
- A significant portion of parents rely regularly on someone else to care for their child and most parents are satisfied with these arrangements.
- Half of parents (51%) have a regular caregiver for their child other than themselves or their spouse or partner and these parents most frequently rely on a family member to provide child care.
- 23% of parents rely on a child's grandparent
- 14% use a child care center
- 9% rely on a family member other than the child's grandparent
- 4% use in-home child care
- The economic downturn has forced millions of parents to make a change in their child care arrangements.
- According to a national survey, one in four parents (25%) are experiencing child care-related hardships that they attribute to the economic downturn.
- The most common ways in which parents reported the economic downturn affecting child care included:
- Not being able to afford child care (21%)
- A spouse who has lost a job assuming additional child care duties (11%)
- Cutting back on child care hours (10%)
- Making other child care arrangements (7%)
- The price of child care increasing (5%)
- Changing work schedules or splitting shifts to be able to care for the young child (5%)
- Social Emotional Development
- Although the majority of parents understand some important ways to promote development, their understanding of the developmental milestones related to social and emotional development is less consistent.
- While research shows that most children are capable of feeling good or bad about themselves between ages one and two, only 43% of parents think a child is capable of such feelings by age two. A majority of parents (53%) do not think a child can experience these feelings until they are older.
- Although research shows that babies as young as 6 months can experience feelings of sadness and fear, a large majority of respondents (69%) think this developmental milestone occurs later in a young child's life.
- Only 34% of parents think a young child can begin to sense whether their parents are angry or sad and can be affected by their parents' moods by the time they reach six months. Therefore, two-thirds of parents do not fully understand that babies can be affected in this critical way at such a young age.
- Between the ages of three and five most children develop the capacity to control their emotions (i.e. asking for help when frustrated rather than having a tantrum or biting). While slightly more than one in three parents hold this expectation, a significant proportion of parents expect a young child to be capable of exerting this kind of self control at a much younger age. 43% of parents believe that children can control their emotions by age three, and 20% expect this by age two.
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- We know that family history and input from professionals have a powerful influence on approaches to parenting.
- More than half of parents (53%) say the way their parents raised them has a major influence on their approach to parenting and another 30% say it has a moderate influence.
- African Americans are substantially more likely than Hispanic or white parents to identify the way they were raised as having a major influence on their approach to parenting - 61% of African-American parents report this compared with 52% of white parents and 49% of Hispanic parents.
- Parents who are single, separated, or divorced (48% say major influence), and Hispanic parents (40% major influence) are more likely than others to identify input from professionals as a major influence on parenting.
|
|
Further Information
| |
| Oakland County Resources:
Child Care Choices
Social Emotional Development
- Project Star-provides
consultations with teachers, caregivers and families to identify and
assist those children who are having behavioral and emotional challenges
- Child Care Enhancement Program (CCEP)-provides consultation to help adults promote
the social-emotional health of infants and toddlers (birth-36 months) in
their care and to prevent longer term
challenges for children later on in life
Child Abuse and Neglect
- Carehouse-advocates for the safety of all children; provides resources to prevent child abuse and to protect children through education, intervention,
treatment and research
|
| Upcoming Learning Opportunities | Please review these announcements carefully to determine which ones best meet your needs. Programs, resources and services that follow are neither specifically recommended nor endorsed by Great Start Collaborative-Oakland.
- The 17th Annual Lake Orion
Family Fun Fest-Thursday, April 15th, 2010-Community Education Resource
Center (CERC), Lake Orion-5:30pm-8:00pm. For more information on this
free event click here.
- Making Inclusion Work with Transdisciplinary Teaming-Saturday, April 17th, 2010-UM Dearborn.
- The Troy Chamber of Commerce presents the 5th Annual Nonprofit Management Conference-Thursday, April 22, 2010 from 8:00am to 4:00 pm at Walsh College in Troy. For more information visit their website.
- The Baker College Early
Childhood Education Fair-Saturday, April 24th, 2010-Baker College of
Auburn Hills, 9:00am-1:00pm. For more information on this free event
click here.
-
Parenting Conference and Resource Fair 2010; Saturday, May 1 from 9:00 am-2:00 pm at the Community Education Resource Center
(CERC) in Lake Orion. For registration information click here.
- Michigan's Great Start Child Care Resource Center at CMU in conjunction with CMU's Child Development and Learning Lab and the Mt. Pleasant Association for the Education of Young Children is pleased to announce the one day Loving Guidance: Conscious Discipline Conference on Thursday, April 29th. For more information see attached document.
|
|
|
|
|
Find Us On Facebook
|
Find us on Facebook to get the latest advocacy updates and learn more about the Great Start Collaborative-Oakland.
|
Lisa Sturges
Great Start Collaborative-Oakland
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
