Greetings,  We welcome your engagement in efforts to harness and align our collective assets to advance local, regional, and state action in service of a re-imagined early childhood care and education system.  With this newsletter we aim to educate and inform our community - from Greater Green Bay to Oshkosh - about the need for systems change and collectively engage in advocating for action.

What Works?  Why “Evidence-Based” programs are a worthy investment of resources When faced with a problem, searching for answers can be easy! Put onions in your socks to lose weight, window cleaner clears away pimples… and the list goes on. One way to trust that a program works and is worth investing resources in is to look at the evidence of success. Data tells a story of what has been proven effective. When policy makers, business leaders or a funder look to make a long-term investment in a program or pilot project they seek positive outcomes and lean on data to tell the story. What is “Evidence-Based Practice” and why is it important? “Evidence-Based practice in the field of early childhood is the process that pulls together the best available research, knowledge from professional experts, data and input from children and caregivers, to identify services, evaluated and proven to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.”[1] It takes years of results driven data collection to provide the evidence that a program, curriculum or practice has achieved efficacy. These evidence-based programs are worth the long-term investment and have done the work and time to prove they make sustainable positive change.

Local Evidence-Based programs that continue to show outcomes worthy of future investments. Home Visiting has multiple models of working with families with a focus on intense intervention to mitigate risk factors and is currently available from a variety of early childhood providers throughout the region.[2] Local examples: Parents as Teachers affiliates; Healthy Families America affiliate Head Start/Early Head Start is a federal to locally funded program offered throughout the region for low-income families that provides a comprehensive approach to early childhood education.[3] Local examples: Head Start locator map; Early Head Start affiliate Help Me Grow is a systems model that integrates education, healthcare, and family services with developmental screening and resources to promote all children’s optimal healthy development.[4] Local example: Help Me Grow Fox Valley

Pyramid Model is a conceptual framework for promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. [5] Many agencies and programs have teachers and coaches trained in using this model in supporting infant mental health and challenging behaviors. Local connection: Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health Strengthening Families Program is a family skills training program that has been proven to support family relationships and keep children safe from both addiction and adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s).[6] Protective Factors Framework implemented throughout NE region. Reach Out and Read is a program that has significant effect on supporting parent-child relationships around reading.[7] Wisconsin based Dr. Dipesh Navsaria is the National Board Vice-Chair and a strong proponent of pediatricians participating in this project.[8] Reach Out and Read Wisconsin: Find a site Supporting programs with evidence of success is a good investment especially when they can be tailored and adjusted to meet the unique needs of the families, neighborhoods and communities they serve. Northeast Wisconsin offers many of these program and demand is high. We hope you’ll join us in working to expand access to quality and family-centered programming – it’s one piece of a multifaceted puzzle to shift the system of early childhood education and care to improve outcomes for NE Wisconsin families and ultimately for us all.

Resources: [1] 2021 Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center- Improving Systems, Practices and Outcomes [2] Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness [3] Zero to Three Early Head Start Fact Sheet [4] Help Me Grow National Center [5] National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations [6] Strengthening Families Program [7] Reach Out and Read [8] Klass, P., Navsaria, D. (2021) Creating Practical Primary Care Supports for Parent-Child Relationships- Language, Literacy and Love.

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