Supported Transitions for Children and Families Ericka Williams Family and Child Support Services Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet Kristy Siebert Child-Parent Center McLean County Unit 5 Schools

Family and Support Services Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. Head Start was launched in 1965 and was originally conceived as a catch-up summer school program and is one of the longest- running programs attempting to address the effects of systemic poverty in the United States by intervening to aid children.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Joliet's Early Childhood Services Division provides services to 750 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers in options that addresses the needs of children and families. These options include Early Head Start, Head Start and Child Care. Services provided to children and families are comprehensive which includes education, mental health, disabilities, nutrition, disabilities, family and community engagement.

The focus of the program is school readiness, family and community engagement with the intent of impacting the needs of children and families through the tracking of the program's service delivery system. I am responsible for coordinating services that involve the recruitment and enrollment of children, the coordination of transportation, child care and family and community engagement. Ericka provides training and technical assistance to staff on an ongoing basis, and recently, the program was awarded the Award of Excellence for all 5 locations through the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development for Family and Community Engagement

Child-Parent Center McLean County Unit 5 Schools Part of the Midwest Expansion of the Child-Parent Center Education Program. Aims to strengthen achievement of preschool through elementary school-aged children from low-income families through family/child/teacher relationship building and support. Directed by Dr. Arthur Reynolds at the University’s Human Capital Research Collaborative.

In the current project, a target group of nearly 2,500 preschool children in 30 schools are being compared with children in comparison schools receiving typical services and followed to the end of the program in third grade. Key component is the relationship building through parent workshops, family nights, and home visits to support involvement

The CPC seeks to engage, equip and empower families to participate fully and effectively in their families, schools, and communities The CPC Team in McLean County Unit 5 Schools was awarded a 2015-16 “Those Who Excel Award of Excellence” from the Illinois State Board of Education for their work with families

Objectives Analyze resources/activities in place to support transitions Brainstorm ideas for securing resources to support transitions Brainstorm activities that will support transitions

Questions to Consider How can you build the trust with families to support transitions? How can you support families in understanding the educational expectations for each age/grade level? How can you build the trust between schools, programs, and local collaborations to promote readiness?

Collaboration Time With your group, explore ideas around the three questions. 10 minutes for each idea Record your ideas on large paper. Leave the large paper at the table. Ideas generated will be shared with whole group at the end.

Next Steps What are some ideas that might work for your program/school?