OCDEL 
February 11, 2014
     
The OCDEL Family Engagement Pilot Project eNews

Keeping you up-to-date with what's happening in regards to the OCDEL Family Engagement Pilot Project--upcoming opportunities, accomplishments, and resources you can use! 
  
Of Interest   
  
This time of year provides opportunities to engage families when they register their child for Kindergarten. Schools in your area may be hosting Kindergarten Registration and Transition activities. Community partners, like libraries, local businesses, and early learning providers, may begin to promote to and engage families in Kindergarten Readiness activities.
  
What is your early learning group doing to support families and their children during this time? Find these helpful resources for ways to engage families during this time.

 

Do you have Kindergarten registration or transition resources you'd like to share? Email them to Mary Hall at marhal@berksiu.org.
  

Resources

 

Building Powerful Family Partnerships  


A new collaboration between Frank Porter Graham's Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge (CONNECT) and Quality Assist, Inc. offers continuing education courses in the form of free, self-guided, self-paced, online CONNECT Courses for CEU for early childhood teachers.


The newest release is Building Powerful Family Partnerships. This 2.5-hour course shows how to build trusting family-professional partnerships when working with families of young children. Partnership-oriented practices encompass both child and family focuses. They include enhanced communication, high expectations, respect, commitment, equality, and advocacy.


Find out more on the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute website.

 

 

Promote Family Engagement


CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care's, Promote Family Engagement, provides information on making the case, a bibliography, policy ideas and online resources around promoting family engagement and partnerships between families with infants and toddlers and their child care providers and caregivers.


One of the listed online resources includes The Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework: Promoting Family Engagement and School Readiness, from Prenatal to Age 8. Find out how you can use this information in your outreach to engage families. Visit the CLASP website.

 

 

One Number, One Resource


 2-1-1 is a FREE, accessible, 3-digit telephone number available to everyone. All residents have easy access to customized health, housing and human services information in one place.


Every hour of every day, someone in Pennsylvania searches for services, from substance abuse treatment to care for a child or an aging parent. By simply dialing 2-1-1, trained information specialists can help by answering questions and connecting callers to thousands of health and human service programs.


2-1-1 is a one-stop resource to get information about community services: no more guessing or unnecessary calls. Visit the 2-1-1 website and find resources in your community.


Thank you!

Thank you to Butler County Early Care and Education Council and Elwyn Chester SEEDS Preschool Early Intervention Program for hosting a Child Care Selection Family Focus Group in their community.
  
The focus groups are key components of a project by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Key and the Build Initiative. The feedback received from the families in these focus group will provide information about what families face when they are looking for child care and what would make the search a little easier.

Questions about the OCDEL Family Engagement Pilot Project? Contact us!
  
Sarah Holland at saholland@pa.gov
 or 717.787.8691
Christine Behm at cbehm@pa.gov
or 717.214.5704
Mary Hall at marhal@berksiu.org
or 717.213.2077