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The Early Learning Nation Collective is thrilled that you have decided to embark on a journey to become or grow an Early Learning Community.

Before you start, we recommend watching this informational video to help guide you as you use the Tool. You may also want to read through some key terms before you begin the Assessment.

Goal 1.4 Sample Action Steps

Level 1

Conduct a needs assessment and landscape analysis at the neighborhood and district level, asking residents whether they feel supported by their community and have informal supports to help meet their needs.
Ask community and cultural organizations with strong ties to the community for their insight into opportunities, gaps, and barriers for families to build strong social connections.
Invite parents and caregivers to give their input on needs and opportunities to reduce social isolation through surveys, focus groups, or going door to door asking residents what is standing in the way of them getting support from (and giving support to) others in their community.
Create a community map of safe places where families can and do gather.
If there are places where families could gather but don’t—such as an unused playground in a neighborhood park or rarely used spaces at the local library—engage residents to find out what is keeping them from utilizing them, and what could be done to promote gathering in those spaces.

Level 2

Ask residents what kind of opportunities they would like to see to build social connections, and engage them in co-creating those opportunities.
Find out specifically what the barriers are to informal supports and how to overcome them for families with low incomes and those living in areas of concentrated poverty, families of color, pregnant and parenting youth, families with child welfare involvement, immigrant and refugee families, and families that include children or adults with disabilities, chronic conditions, and LGBTQ identities.
Co-develop a meeting space for residents to gather, learn about, and discuss opportunities to address community needs. Community meeting spaces can be at parks, community gardens or buildings, or other available spaces welcoming to community members.
Use a “snowball” approach where each parent who participates agrees to bring at least one more parent to the next meeting or event.
Provide community “mini-grants” for neighborhood groups or community-based organizations to carry out community-building and engagement efforts.
Facilitate connections and information sharing by organizing local groups on social media platforms, online tools, or group-messaging programs.

Level 3

Create groups for parents of infants and toddlers to come together for support.
Establish dad groups to engage fathers in the early development of their children and form connections with other dads in their community.
Convene parent advisory groups made up of a variety of parents and caregivers from different neighborhoods, racial/ethnic backgrounds, and different lived experiences. These are the groups that should determine what activities are carried out in their neighborhoods to best engage more isolated parents.
Provide funding to community groups to facilitate mutual aid networks within neighborhoods or across the whole community. While these groups are informal by definition, funding can help them to, for example, staff their efforts, do more outreach, or translate requests and offers into other languages.
Support community-based groups to host a series of Parent Cafes or Community Cafes, with residents facilitating the conversation. Parents engaged in planning and facilitating cafes are the best ambassadors to recruit isolated families to join in.
Establish Family Resource Centers to provide opportunities for parents and caregivers to come together. Consider co-locating such centers with other services including early care and education.

Goal 1.4 Examples of Communities in Action

Parents build connections in Washington, D.C.

The Early Childhood Innovation Network (ECIN) partnered with Be Strong Families in Spring 2021 to provide parents and caregivers in Washington, D.C. with parent-led spaces for connection and peer support. Through regular Parent Cafés—a model for guided conversations about the protective factors that keep families strong—parents and caregivers come together for conversation, peer-to-peer support, and reflection. Parents have the opportunity through free Parent Cafés to build social connections, strengthen their parenting and leadership skills, and receive follow-up referrals to community resources, for those in need of concrete support.

Levels

Level 1
Level 1 describes the starting point and is the first thing a community will want to establish on their path to reaching that goal. In many cases, the first level involves assessing the current situation in order to identify strengths and areas of need.

Level 2
Level 2 describes a community that is taking proactive steps and making some progress toward the goal. This may include communities where progress has been made in pockets, but those efforts are not benefiting the whole community yet.

Level 3
Finally, Level 3 indicates that a community has invested time, energy, and resources toward reaching this goal and is integrating its efforts across the early childhood system and with other sectors.

Not Started
If you or your organization have not begun assessing or considering a goal, please mark your level as “Not Started.”