Sorry, but you do not have permission to view this content.
Welcome No user is currently logged in.!
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 2.3 Sample Action Steps
Level 1
- Assess the extent to which families are currently able to access early intervention services. Are those services available to everyone who needs them? Are families charged for these services, and if so, what options are available for families who cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket? Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C early intervention agencies should have access to these types of data.
- Are families of color and non-English-speaking families able to equitably access services that are culturally competent and responsive? Are services provided in a way that meets families’ needs? Are efforts underway to reduce the stigma of accessing services? Are efforts underway to increase education and cultural connection points to better serve families?
- Encourage collaboration between early intervention providers and child care providers so that children of working parents can receive therapeutic interventions and other needed services in the setting where they spend their days, when appropriate.
- Invest in early childhood mental health consultation so that early care and education providers can bring in a specialist to coach them in managing challenging behaviors, preventing expulsions, and identifying when a child is in need of further services and supports.
- Hold listening sessions or meet one-on-one with system-involved families, or those identified as in need of services, to find out what they want for their families and what supports they need to achieve their goals. Identify accessibility issues that could prevent reliable access to available services (such transportation, financial, cultural, or language barriers).
- Identify and begin mapping solutions to accessibility and affordability barriers preventing children and families from utilizing early intervention and prevention services to meet their needs.
Level 2
- Ensure that community navigators (or promotoras) are available to conduct outreach, organize activities in select communities and assist families in accessing needed services—in paid positions.
- Hire parent mentors who have past involvement with the child welfare system to help parents with open cases navigate the system, access resources, and understand what they can do to free themselves from child protection oversight and keep their children safe and their families together.
- Translate communication materials into all languages spoken in the community and have interpreters available during events.
- Support multilingual and non-English-speaking families in combating misinformation about multilingualism in early childhood and defending their right to speak with their children in their home languages.
- Use digital outreach—social media, websites, and apps—to raise awareness about available resources and find families who could benefit from navigation supports.
- Braid funding streams and services together to meet identified needs of the whole family, not just the child. For example, make it possible for a family support specialist at a family resource center to serve as a resource and referral specialist to help families find quality child care rather than handing them off to another entity for that support.
Level 3
- Ensure financial and language barriers are actively being addressed by public and private investments. Develop a cross-sector action plan and comprehensive timeline to specifically address barriers keeping the community’s most vulnerable families from accessing necessary services in a timely manner.
- Fund providers to use Family Team Meetings or other family-centric approaches bringing family members, service providers, and other key support people in the family’s life together to work and plan how best to meet a family’s needs.
- Empower caseworkers and care coordinators from any system to serve as an advocate and central point of contact for families, including accessing services from other systems and/or for other family members once a relationship is established.
- Establish a protocol for warm handoffs from one system to another, for example from a caseworker to a home visitor, so that a trusted provider helps a family access additional services or transition to the next appropriate service when a case is closed.
- Work with Child Find and early intervention agencies to assess current services and provide outreach to families. This is especially important for families where children are nearing the age of 3 and may transition from early intervention to special education services.
Goal 2.3 Examples of Communities in Action
Maine
The Maine Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) is a free program that provides mental health consultation to support the social-emotional needs of children from birth to age 8. ECCP offers strategies, support, and training to caregivers to enhance early childhood education and care. Developed through collaboration between Maine legislators and early childhood experts, ECCP builds on the successful Early Childhood Consultation and Outreach (ECCO) program by the Community Caring Collaborative. The program was piloted in eight counties in 2021 and then expanded statewide in 2023.
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.”