Greetings!
As Invest in Kids has adapted, evolved, and grown, we've started the fall continuing to deeply support nurses, teachers, children, and families across the state. One of Colorado's Nurse-Family Partnership® nurses recently won a prestigious award for all her hard work and dedication serving families, The Incredible Years® team is back training and coaching in-person in many locations, and Child First® is going through the process of on-boarding eligible families into the program. Thank you for joining us along the way.
|
|
Save the Date - Jane-A-Thon 2022
Good news for all Jane-A-Thon fanatics! You can now mark your calendars for THE ski event of the year. The 2022 Jane-A-Thon will be Friday, March 4th, and Saturday, March 5th. Stay tuned for more details about how you can register and be a part of our JAT community!
In the meantime, join us Wednesday, November 10th as we kickoff the season at Christy Sports with our exclusive Invest in Kids shopping event from 6-8pm. RSVP to join in the fun at bit.ly/JATKickoff22
Questions? Interested in becoming a sponsor? Email Development Manager Krista Mortensen at kmortensen@iik.org.
|
|
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)®
Wonderful news - Julie Ackerman, a Colorado NFP nurse who has served more than 4,000 clients in Boulder County over the last 7 years, was recently awarded the prestigious Tenacious Caregiver Award from the NFP National Service Office! Each year, the award is given to one nurse who exemplifies an extraordinary commitment to delivering the NFP model and achieving positive outcomes for families.
When asked if she had a most memorable client, Julie replied, "Nurse-Family Partnership is relationship based so the connection with each client is unique and precious. I have witnessed and shared joys and challenges with every family and I am honored that they have entrusted me with their personal stories. Every client has impacted me, and I can only liken it to completing a big, colorful jigsaw puzzle where every piece matters. In the end it’s simply about showing up with love and respect and being present for every family, every visit."
Thanks to Julie and the entire NFP team for your dedication to improving the health and well-being of families and communities in Colorado. We are grateful for all the amazing nurses, nurse supervisors, and our nurse consultants for supporting thousands of Colorado children and parents.
|
|
The Incredible Years (IY)®
The IY team is back coaching and training in person all across Colorado this school year. Both our Parent Program sessions and Dinosaur School lessons are in full swing again!
IIK Program Consultant, Emily Parkey, (left), is shown here introducing the concept of behavior plans with preschool and kindergarten teachers at Goldrick Elementary during Dinosaur School training. Behavior planning is a key strategy for classroom teachers to use to help manage classroom behaviors, and of the strategies being taught state-wide. Emily is also one of our bilingual consultants, helping to facilitate classroom and parent trainings in both English and Spanish.
Even after a year of uncertainty and constant pivoting, we continued to see statistically significant changes in the expected direction across all outcome areas last school year. You can read the recently completed Annual Statewide Report below, and learn more about how our coaching and training changed to best support teachers and parents.
|
|
Child First (CF)®
This spring, IIK engaged in a thorough exploration process to select and support four affiliate sites to include in our Child First Cohort 1 -
- Aurora Mental Health Center
- San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group
- Savio
- Tennyson Center for Children
Since then, each site has worked to hire, train, and begin enrolling families. Our Child First Program Director, Marisa Gullicksrud, shared her excitement at the latest update: "I am proud to inform you that the affiliate sites of Cohort 1 completed their Child First Training! This is a huge milestone, considering the heavy lift that training is (6 months, approximately 130hrs per employee!). Our Child First staff is now armed with the knowledge they need to provide this important intervention to children and families most impacted by systemic and structural inequities". All 4 partner agencies have begun building their caseload of eligible families.
At the beginning of September, we hosted an informational webinar, sharing updates and the progress of Child First. Catch the replay here.
|
|
New Website Live
After many months of hard work, creativity, and collaboration, we are delighted to officially announce the launch of our updated logo and website! Thanks to our friends at Waypoint Collective for your partnership throughout this process.
Start exploring our website at www.iik.org and let us know what you think!
|
|
You Can Now Schedule Your Colorado Gives Day Gift
Want to help Invest in Kids provide all Colorado children the strong start in life they deserve? Schedule your gift for this Colorado Gives Day, when your donation goes farther to support our mission. Gifts made on Tuesday, December 7th (or scheduled to be donated on Dec. 7th) are partially matched through the incentive fund!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
