Sessions focused on topics such as whole family mental health, understanding the differences between challenging behaviors and mental health disorders and self-care in stressful professions.
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Great Start Kent Completes New 3-Year Strategic Plan
First Steps and the Great Start Collaborative in Kent County, Michigan, an EC-LINC member, recently released their three-year Strategic Plan and Action Agenda to assess the needs of young children and families in their communities, identify community assets for addressing those needs and plan for systemic change.
The Plan is informed by years of experience, statistical and demographic data from multiple sources, parent perspectives, community surveys and much more. The priorities include: promote healthy beginnings, nurture strong families, promote quality early learning and build infrastructure to support the early childhood system.
Great Start Kent is actively working to involve the entire community in the execution of the 2015-16 Action Agenda, in particular. They plan to include parents, caregivers and community members to serve on community workgroups that will develop plans for success in the established priority areas.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Four Pillars of Public Policy Needed to Reduce Child Poverty
In early October, CLASP executive director Olivia Golden published an op-ed in the Washington Monthly outlining four public policy steps to reduce child poverty. Golden based her analysis on the recent U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty, income and health insurance. "The bad news," she writes, "is persistently high poverty for children and youth, especially for those of color. The good news...is that ambitious public policies are proving effective." Golden notes that these successes point the way for a bold public policy agenda to stem the devastating consequences of child poverty.
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