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      In This Issue:
ICS Releases a Case Study and Issue Brief Examining Home Visiting and the Family-Centered Medical HomeCaseStudy
 
ICS is pleased to announce the publication of "Integration of Home Visiting and the Family-Centered Medical Home: A Case Study of Carolina Health Centers, Greenwood, SC" and a related issue brief "Comprehensive Health Care with Home Visits for New Families: Home Visitation Integration with the Family-Centered Medical Home at Carolina Health Centers." These publications provide background information on maternal and infant home visitation programs and the Family-Centered Medical Home. The integration of these two services can create a system of high-quality well-child care, with the potential to promote child health and well-being and reduce disparities in health and health care. 
 
Integration has been endorsed by the leading pediatric organizations and included in federal funding initiatives, making now a good time for the integration of the Family-Centered Medical Home and home visitation programs. ICS looked at the success that Carolina Health Centers has experienced in integrating their services for the benefit of the young children and families they serve. By looking at how Carolina Health Centers has moved through the process of integration, ICS shows how integration can be duplicated in other early childhood systems. Too often health systems are either ignored or minimally included in systems building efforts. The merging of home visitation services and primary care is an important step in creating an integrated early childhood system that our country's youngest children truly deserve.
Successful Year in the South Carolina General AssemblyPolicyRoundup

June was a busy month for early childhood legislation. South Carolina's General Assembly enacted legislation that codified and expanded the Child Early Reading Development and Education Program (Formerly CDEP), providing full-day 4k education to more communities, and it also reauthorized and reformed First Steps. We are thrilled that in the last 2 legislative years we have witnessed an almost $50 million expansion of 4 year old kindergarten for at risk children in South Carolina. At the federal level, we saw an important Pay For Success bill introduced in the House, that specifically targets early childhood as one of its issue areas. We are encouraged by the attention these policies are receiving from both the state and federal levels, and we look forward to continuing the momentum. 
ICS Hosts Universal Screening DiscussionUniversalScreening

On Monday, June 23, ICS hosted Universal Screening in the Southeast: A Regional Meeting to Discuss the Importance of Developmental and Behavioral Screening. As many as one in four children through the age of five are at risk for a developmental delay or disability. There were about 45 participants representing both South Carolina and Georgia in attendance. 
 

 

 

The session brought together Camille Smith from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Christine Johnson-Staub from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and Herman Knopf from the University of South Carolina. The conversation focused on the need for developmental and behavioral screening in the Southeast. The speakers discussed Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive!, a coordinated federal effort of eight departments to encourage healthy child development, universal development and behavioral screening for children, and support for the families and providers who care for them launched in March 2014. They also provided information on state policies and financing mechanisms that can be used to support the federal initiative. The event ended with a discussion on opportunities and challenges to applying this federal effort in our region. 
Rural Working Group UpdateRWGUpdate

The Early Childhood Opportunities and Challenges in Rural South Carolina Working Group met again in June, generously hosted by the Self Family Foundation in Greenwood. Katy Sides presented her extensive study, "Integration of Home Visiting and the Family-Centered Medical Home: A Case Study of Carolina Health Centers, Greenwood, SC" with Sally Baggett, who leads the home visiting work at Carolina Health Centers. They were preceded by Herman Knopf of the University of South Carolina, who framed a discussion about what "rural" means, where rural children receive services, and the quality of those services. This meeting was part of our ongoing efforts to develop clear guidance for how policy makers and researchers can work to build effective early childhood systems in our rural communities. The next meeting will be on September 10 in Blackville. If you are interested in joining the working group, email Emily Grubb at egrubb@instituteforchildsuccess.org. 
The Aspen Institute and ICS Host Roundtable on Pay for Success and Early Childhood EducationAspen
 
The Institute for Child Success joined The Aspen Institute's Ascend Program in co-hosting a high-level convening of early childhood and social impact finance experts for a very nuanced discussion of "Early Childhood Education and Pay for Success: From Theory to Practice" in New York City on June 17th. This session was intended to engage national early childhood content experts in the development of the early childhood PFS field, and featured a very nuanced conversation about opportunities and challenges for developing PFS projects to improve outcomes for young children and their families. Next steps include hosting future discussions with these experts on child welfare, home visiting, pre-school, and child care. 
ReadyNation and ICS Host Webinar Looking at Pay for Success State and Federal LegislationLegislativeWebinar

On June 20, ICS and ReadyNation hosted a webinar to discuss federal and state developments for Pay for Success financing for early childhood. The webinar featured: Bill Crim of Utah, Gloria Higgins of Colorado, Robert Koenig of Massachusetts, and Jaymi Light from the office of Congressman Todd Young of Indiana. They discussed proposed or enacted programs at the federal and state level, and the recordings of their remarks, as well as copies of their presentations, are available on ReadyNation's website. 
ICS Welcomes Otis Rawl to Board of DirectorsOtis
 
ICS is pleased to welcome Otis Rawl as the newest member of our Board. Otis is the President and CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and has decades of experience in South Carolina policy work both within the state government and statewide non-profits. Otis has also been a huge champion of early childhood and of ICS. Under his leadership, the South Carolina Chamber was a co-convener and sponsor of the Economic Forum of Early Childhood Investment held in Columbia in February 2013. Otis and his staff at the Chamber frequently collaborate with ICS and he has been a strong voice and ally for South Carolina's youngest children. 
ICS Welcomes Summer Research InternsVaka

ICS is also pleased to welcome our summer research interns - Caitlin Vaka and Simone Andrews. 
 
Caitlin Vaka is a senior at Furman University, who is currently pursuing a double major in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Poverty Studies. Interested in learning more about public policy and education, Caitlin is serving as the research and policy intern this summer with ICS. Caitlin is passionate about leadership and education at Furman, serving as a member of the Riley Institute Advancement team, an Emerging Public Leaders program leader, and the Assistant Director for the Shucker Leadership Institute. 
 
Simone Andrews is a graduate student in the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she majored in Communication with a minor in International Urban Development. She is specializing in Finance and Management, and expects to receive her MPA from NYU next May. She will be working with ICS Fellow Megan Golden this summer on a variety of Pay for Success related projects 
ICS Is Hiring New Team MembersHiring
 
ICS is excited to look for great talent to fill two new roles: Policy Counsel, and Director of Development. 
Please put us in touch with anyone you think might be a good fit for the work we do, and forward any inquiries to Emily Grubb (egrubb@instituteforchildsuccess.org).
ICS Receives Grant SupportThanks

ICS has been incredibly fortunate in recent weeks to receive support from a number of philanthropic foundations. We specifically wish to thank The Duke Endowment, the Mary Black Foundation, the Jolley Foundation, John I. Smith Charities, and The Graham Foundation for their generous support of ICS and our mission. We are excited about the opportunities these supporters will make possible for our state's youngest children, and we are deeply grateful to them. 
ICS Honors Representative Terry AlexanderTerryAlexander
 
Rep. Terry Alexander (D-Florence) was recently presented his 2014 ICS Legislative Champion for Children award at the State House in Columbia. Due to a prior commitment at the church he pastors, Rep. Alexander was unable to join his fellow award winners for the presentation of awards at the ICS legislative reception.

 

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