FY 14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant

2 EEC Mission Statement The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Cares mission is to provide the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers.

Table of Contents EEC Family and Community Engagement Framework CFCE Priorities: Alignment with EECs Strategic Plan EEC Priority: Supporting High Needs Children Interagency Framework: Strengthening Families Protective Factors FY13 & FY14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Priorities Primary Goals FY13 & FY14 Implementation Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Activities Screening: Help Me Grow Model – Use of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire Evidence-based Literacy Acceleration and Support of CFCE Implementation Intentional Professional Development Opportunities FY14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Appendices 3

4 CFCE Alignment with EECs Strategic Plan The goals and priorities of the CFCE grant directly align with EECs Indicators of Success under the Family Support, Access and Affordability section of the EEC Strategic Plan. These Indicators include: Families are aware of the mixed early education and care system and have access to affordable, high-quality early education and care services. Families are recognized as full partners in the education of their children and are empowered to be involved with the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of their children. Families are informed about child development and aware of family support resources. Families of infants have access to programs and services that support the development of healthy attachment between babies and their primary caregivers and promote early brain development. Parents are recognized as their childs first teacher and have access to literacy supports that build skills among children and parents. Families have access to high quality supports and resources for transitioning children in and out of early education and care programs and services. Families that are limited or non-English speaking have access to information about early education and care and the services available. Family services are integrated and delivered in a coordinated manner across state agencies. 4

EEC Priority: Supporting High Needs Children The Department of Early Education and Care defines high needs children as children who have two or more of the following risk factors: Children and parents with special needs; Children whose home language is not English; Families and children involved with multiple state agencies; English language learners; Recent immigrants; Children with parents who are deployed and are not living on a military base; Low-income households; Parents with less than a high school education; Children who are homeless or move more than once a year; and Children in racial and ethnic communities that experience social exclusion. Research indicates that children who have these multiple risk factors may have poor school and life outcomes. 5

6 Interagency Framework: Strengthening Families Protective Factors EEC, in partnership with CTF and DCF, continues to utilize the Strengthening Families framework and approach, which has widespread support from social science researchers, early childhood practitioners and policy experts. The Protective Factors are: Parental resilience: The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges Social connections: Friends, family members, neighbors, and other members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents Knowledge of parenting and child development: Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior Concrete support in times of need: Financial security to cover day-to- day expenses and unexpected costs that come up from time to time, access to formal supports like TANF and Medicaid, and informal support from social networks Childrens social and emotional development: A childs ability to interact positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively Retrieved from The Center for the Study of Social Policy, Strengthening Families, January 5,

FY13 & 14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement 7

8 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement: Overarching Priorities Ensure equitable and effective implementation of the family engagement and strengthening families strategy across the state to support child development. Link our statewide network of family engagement and community supports to evidence-based practices for literacy and universal child screening while expanding the availability of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to families. 8

9 CFCE: Primary Goals CFCE primary goals remain the same: Reaching and meeting the needs of children, especially those with multiple risk factors and/or hard to reach, through universal and targeted outreach strategies; Providing families with access to comprehensive services; Providing evidence-based early and family literacy opportunities, and Providing families with support for continuity through early childhood transitions.

FY13/FY14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Implementation In order to create a more consistent, high quality network of support for children and families across the Commonwealth, CFCE grantees are required to meet the following requirements. Create intentional family engagement activities and connections that create trusted relationships with families. Grantees will: Select an evidence-based early literacy model that meets specific criteria and EEC approval; Incorporate the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire as a tool to enhance families understanding of child development and to link families with community-based resources; Incorporate the use of the EEC parental consent form as part of the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS); Participate in training to support the financial literacy skills of families; Align their implementation of parent/child playgroups with specific EEC guidelines. Engage in partnerships with local libraries and/or museums. Participate in the Massachusetts Home Visiting Initiative if available in their community as a resource. 10

Parent/Child Playgroups: CFCE Primary Goals Embedded in Grant Activities Parent/Child Playgroups: groups can be specific to a particular age range, e.g. toddlers, and/or group, such dads and their children; provides opportunities for parents to engage with CFCE staff to access child development information, learn about additional community resources, access the EEC Financial Assistance system, and connect with other parents. Outreach strategies include: offering groups in community settings, such as Housing Developments, Homeless Shelters; employing parent ambassadors from neighborhoods that reflect the ethnicity/culture of the families who are hard to reach and/or have children with multiple risk factors. In the context of Parent/Child Playgroups, families gain access to: Comprehensive Services, which include concrete supports such as WIC, housing resources; food pantries; mental health supports; ELL programs; connections to locally based programming, e.g. public library, museums, recreation departments; Early and Family Literacy: collaborative activities with local libraries and family literacy organizations; structured programs, such as Raising a Reader, Parents as Teachers and the Parent-Child Home Program; Story Walks; Continuity/Transition Supports: linking families to early intervention; linking families to early childhood special education services; for families of newborns; for families as they move between early education and care settings; 11

12 Screening and Assessment: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation As part of the Massachusetts Early Learning Plan, EEC continues to develop the Help Me Grow-Massachusetts model, which includes scaling its screening opportunities to each CFCE grantee. This screening opportunity is to be used to promote relationship building, familys understanding of their childs developmental progress and the importance of early learning activities and to link families to resources to support their childs development. Supported by the RTTT-ELC funds, grantees have received the ASQ-3 Developmental Screening Tool Kit, the ASQ: Social- Emotional Screening Tool Kit, an ASQ Learning Activities Book, and the ASQ Materials Kit. In partnership with the Department of Public Health, ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE training has been made available to coordinators and/or their staff. 12

Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation: Help Me Grow/Ages and Stages (ASQ) Screening Tool Help Me Grow Model System of child development education and support for families in becoming their childrens first advocate. Four components: Child growth and development education; resources for pediatricians; statewide telephone access, and system data collection. Provides families with developmental information and evidence-based tools they need to support their childs optimal growth and social emotional development. Use of the ASQ Screening Tool supports CFCE priorities Offers a consistent method for grantees to meet the CFCE priority of providing high-quality, accurate consumer information and parent education based on science; Creates opportunities for grantees to work in partnership with families to identify potential risk factors early in order to prevent developmental delays, and Builds on core function of CFCE grantees – to provide linkages to comprehensive services to support optimal child development for families 13

Ages & Stages Questionnaire Developmental screening tool for parents and providers to use at various intervals Allows parents to see how their child is growing Five key areas: Communication Gross Motor Fine Motor Problem Solving Personal-Social ASQ-SE focuses on social-emotional development 14

Ages and Stages Questionnaire statistics for Massachusetts Total numbers since July 2011: 519 online child profiles have been created 548 ASQ-3 screenings have been entered into online database; 335 of these have been finalized ASQ-3: 225 childrens scores indicated concern ASQ-SE: 43 childrens scores indicated concern 14 children screened twice; 1 child three times Most ASQ-3 & ASQ-SE screenings occurred at 36 months ASQ-3: 35 out of 335 ASQ-SE: 50 out of 206 All intervals between 12 and 60 months had a 60% rate of possible concern/concern 15

Highlights of Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Monthly Data Reports 16 Data Elements FY12 July- November 2011 Statewide Totals FY13 July- October 2012 Statewide Totals FY12 End of Year Totals a. Number of families provided referrals35,839 22,034119,370 a.1 Number of children these families represent54,29930, ,425 b. Number of families who received early and/or family literacy support in group setting21,484 16,13881,327 b.1 Number of children these families represent31,44122, ,106 c. Number of families who received information about Kindergarten registration screening13,974 8,189118,352 c.1 Number of children these families represent17,088 9,386126,324 d. Number of families who participated in parent education opportunities9,5715,808 43,165 d.1 Number of children these families represent14,568 8,48171,861 e. Number of families who participated in parent/child playgroups17,067 16,66583,709 e.1 Number of children these families represent23,40923, ,002

17 Increased Emphasis on Evidence-based Literacy Supports for Families All CFCE grantees are required to continue to incorporate the use of evidence-based, EEC approved early literacy models/practices to enhance their capacity to help parents promote early literacy skills development in their children. EEC approved a small number of effective literacy models/practices in order to create more consistency in the strategies that CFCE grantees use to help families cultivate their childrens literacy skills before they enter elementary schools. Models/practices must ensure focus on home language development and be informed by EECs developing standards for English language development. 17

FY RTTT-ELC: Expanding Evidence-based Literacy Opportunities CFCE Grantees responded to a Request for Information (RFI) in which they proposed the use of an evidence-based model/practice that would build on their existing early literacy programming. EEC reviewed the information and selected five models/practices that would be eligible for RTTT-ELC funding: Raising A Reader Every Child Ready to your library CELL (Center for Early Literacy Learning) model Read and Rise (Scholastic model), and Dialogic and Interactive reading using PEER and CROWD sequences. Existing CFCE grantees were eligible to respond to a competitive Evidence-based Literacy Grant opportunity. RTTT-ELC funding allocation – total of $400,000 each year for two years - $800,000 18

FY RTTT-ELC: Expanding Evidence-based Literacy Opportunities EEC received 48 applications for funding Grant review and recommendations were completed Awards have been made to 24 grantees Criteria for evaluating literacy proposals included: Evidence that grantee understands the selected model and documentation of the evidence that supports its use; Clarity of implementation plan; Role of model in the larger community context e.g. other existing models and resources supporting early literacy; Proposed number of child/families to be served, cost per child; Gateway, Home Visiting, and/or Level 4 community designation; Overall capacity of grantee to implement the model. 19

Summary of Evidence-based Grant Review Applications received: 48 Applications funded: 24 Funding Available funding total: $800,000 Funding Request total: $2,443, Children to be Served Proposed number of children to be served: 8727 Required number of children to be served based on funding recommendations:

Acceleration and Support of CFCE Implementation 21

FY14 CFCE Supports for Effective Implementation Training opportunities for CFCE included in the Massachusetts Early Learning Plan (RTTT- ELC) strengthen state agency and private sector partnerships. Examples include: Department of Public Health – provided ASQ training to strengthen CFCE implementation of the tool, with a specific focus on talking about results with parents; Boston Childrens Museum – trainings across the state, bringing together museums, libraries and CFCE grantees around STEM, Kindergarten Readiness, literacy and child development. Strengthening knowledge base and depth and breadth of partnerships on the local level on behalf of families in informal settings. 22

FY12 – FY13 Intentional Professional Development Opportunities to Support CFCE Implementation Ages and Stages Screening – all CFCE grantees have been trained in the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire in order to help parents to understand the science and the domains of development and to link families to community opportunities to support their childrens needs. Brazelton Touchpoints - the Touchpoints model provides a common language of child behavior and development that enables families, the community and care providers to work more effectively together for the benefit of children. This model also reinforces parents' roles as the first teacher of their children. (95% participant registration rate) Recognizing the Signs of Post Partum Depression - offered an overview of post-partum mood disorders, with a review of signs, symptoms, risks, protective factors and effects on young childrens behavior and development. Training included concrete information, strategies and tools for supporting a family through this experience. (40 CFCE and MASS211 representatives; EEC will be offering a second introductory training in January) Read and Rise - a six session family-focused program centered on the components of literacy development in children. Model includes research, resources and activities to engage families in how best to support literacy development at home. (85 CFCE representatives were trained. EEC plans to offer additional training in FY13) 23

FY12 – FY13 Intentional Professional Development Opportunities to Support CFCE Implementation (continued) Financial Literacy training - provides resources and guidance on specific financial issues and problems. It was designed as a toolkit, to be used with families on a one- on-one basis, in small groups or in a classroom setting. Training is available in person and online. (96 out of 99 CFCE grantees participated in statewide trainings, with 96 community partners) Conferences A View From All Sides: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Parenting Education & Family Support (CTF) Brain Building and Early Literacy and Numeracy: Strategies and Supports for Young Children (Birth to 8) The Journey to Literacy Begins at Birth... and continues in many languages (ROR) The New Normal School: Engaging Diverse Families addresses the challenges faced by children and families dealing with the issues of adoption, gender identity and English language acquisition; and offers ways for programs to better serve these families. Ongoing Advanced Learning Opportunities CFCE Statewide Meetings Communities of Practice Meetings STEM Pre-Meeting and STEM Summit Creating Access to Partners Regional Grantee Meetings Head Start/Public School Meetings 24

FY14 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement 25

FY14 CFCE Changes Increased expectations in reporting, tracking, data collection and accountability in the following areas: EEC will require a a list submitted of children and families with a signed parental consent on file Grantees will need to measure and report their reach in the community: percentage of the number of children birth to 8 in the community by birth to 3, 3 to 5, and 5 to 8 served by CFCE grant compared to population numbers in each age range Outreach strategies for children in age groups birth to 3, 3 to 5 and 5 to 8; for using the ASQ to support parents understanding of the developmental needs of children at multiple points for early literacy programming Methods for maintaining up to date community resource information and documentation of gaps in comprehensive services Methods for measuring satisfaction with CFCE services Explicit linkages of parent/child playgroup goals to early learning standards Intentional partnerships with public school elementary schools for 3 years (for child find) and 5 year olds (for kindergarten entry) and 5 to 8 (for out of school opportunities.) Detailed reporting on early literacy programming 26

CFCE: Multiple Funding Streams Federal State Advisory Council Community Support Grant (SACC) – Approximately 20 CFCE grantees have benefited from SACC grant awards; FY13 available funds $437,000 – CFCE grantees are eligible to apply RTT-ELC Evidence-based Grant Funds: $800,000 ($400,000 each year for two years) State Funds –$13,665,

Appendices/Background Information 28

29 Appendix A: Background Coordinated Family and Community Engagement FY2010 – First year of CFCE grant - CPC, MFN, PCHP and JFSP programs were asked to voluntarily consolidate their programs into CFCE grants (CPC was mandatory). This consolidation resulted in 120 CFCE grantees representing 137 CPC, 34 MFN, 22 PCHP, and 11 JFSP programs 71 CPC, 8 MFN and 3 PCHP programs did not apply in consolidation with other programs. Grantees that did not consolidate made a commitment to continuing to work toward that goal for FY2011. FY2011 –All independent MFNs (8) and PCHP programs (3) were required to merge with an existing CFCE grantee or submit a new CFCE application for FY 11. Mergers in FY11 resulted in a total of 110 CFCE grantees. FY2012 – Additional mergers resulted in 107 CFCE grantees FY2013 – Four existing grantees did not renew and one grantee merged four grants. Three of the non-renewal grants were awarded to existing CFCE grantees through a competitive process. A second competitive process is underway for the fourth grant that was not renewed. Currently, there are 99 CFCE grantees. 29

30 Appendix B: CFCE Funding History FY10 - $15,180, Funding represented a merger of EEC funding from: Line Item Community Partnerships for Children Local Planning and Coordination $10,114,569 Line Item Supplemental Services $1,374,776 Line Item Family Engagement and Support (MFN,PCHP and JFSP) $3,691,076 FY11 - $14,521, To address the FY11 funding reduction, EEC implemented a three-tiered approach, applying the reduction at a higher rate to higher funded agencies ; protecting low funding amounts believing that a reduction would impact the ability of the agency to carry out the CFCE mission. FY12 - $13,665, EEC raised the base grant amount ($33,870 ) to support core functions, and implemented this funding adjustment and the FY12 funding reduction by creating a formula incorporating the following criteria to FY11 grantees with grant awards of 100K or higher*: Level 4 school district DPH Community – Home Visiting Task Force data 50% or higher child poverty rate FY13 - $13,665, * Reduction percentages were applied based on the number of criteria grantees met. The more criteria met, the lower the percentage of reduction applied. 30

31 Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities CFCE priorities have remained consistent, with some refinement as the development of EECs System of Early Education and Care has evolved. FY2010 Priorities Increase knowledge of and accessibility to high quality programs and services; Promote family education, engagement and literacy; Facilitate collaboration and community planning between local early education partners and community stakeholders; Provide support and information to families with children transitioning between and among early education and care settings, home and school, and Support early education and care programs across the public and private sectors in delivering high quality services. 31

32 Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY2011 Priorities EEC built on the objectives of the FY10 CFCE grant, with some refinement of the goals and activities to support the successful implementation of the grant priorities. Increase knowledge of and accessibility to high quality early education and care programs and services for families with children prenatal through school-age. Support early education and care programs across the public and private sectors in delivering high quality services by facilitating access to consumer education, technical assistance, and training that scaffolds high quality programming. Expanded definition of transitions to expand scope of CFCE grantees beyond typical transitions to Kindergarten. Changes in 2011 With the inception of the Educator/Provider Support (EPS) grant, the role of the CFCE grantees was shifted from being a provider of professional development to communicating PD opportunities to local educators/providers and providing EPS grantees with information about the PD needs of their community EEC instituted a monthly reporting process to measure grantees progress toward meeting the objectives. All CFCE grantees conducted the Strengthening Families self- assessment. 32

33 Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY12 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement EEC built on the objectives of the FY11 CFCE grant 1, with additional refinement of 1 the goals and activities that support the successful implementation of the grant priorities. In FY12, there is a continued emphasis on: Reaching hard to reach families Evidence based early and family literacy activities Transition supports for children and families High-quality, accurate consumer information Referrals to locally available comprehensive services Changes in 2012 Condensed Objectives from 5 to 3 Targeted direct service efforts for families on literacy-based activities Emphasized referral over provision, of comprehensive services Established a funding formula that ensures a minimum staffing level of at least one part time person per grantee, supporting core functions in all regions. Addressed Strengthening Families Self-Assessment Findings. Waitlist management - maintaining accurate family data on the local level as part of the new waitlist system 33

Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) EEC built on the objectives of the FY12 CFCE grant, 1 with additional refinement of the goals and activities that support the successful implementation of the grant priorities. In FY13, there is a continued focus on: 1 Reaching hard to reach families Evidence based early and family literacy activities Transition supports for children and families High-quality, accurate consumer information Referrals to locally available comprehensive services Changes in 2013 In order to create a more consistent, high quality network of support for children and families across the Commonwealth, CFCE grantees are required to meet the following requirements. Create intentional family engagement activities and connections that create trusted relationships with families. Grantees will: Select an evidence-based early literacy model that meets specific criteria and EEC approval; Incorporate the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire as a tool to enhance families understanding of child development and to link families with community-based resources; Incorporate the use of the EEC parental consent form as part of the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS); Participate in training to support the financial literacy skills of families; Align their implementation of parent/child play groups with specific EEC guidelines. Engage in partnerships with local libraries and/or museums. Participate in the Massachusetts Home Visiting Initiative if available in their community as a resource. 34

35 Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY13 Expectations: Evidence-based Literacy Why is literacy a priority? Brain Development Research: Early experiences literally shape how the brain gets built. A strong foundation in the early years increases the probability of positive outcomes. Serve and return interaction between children and significant adults in their lives is fundamental to the wiring of the brain, especially in the earliest years. 2 SAC Needs Assessment: Family Survey Results (Random sample) indicate: 37% of families do not read to their child every day; 14% of families do not read to children at all; 8% have less than 9 books in their home library. Almost half of Massachusetts third-graders are not proficient readers. 3 Call for action: At the recent Massachusetts Education Summit, Governor Patrick outlined his education strategy that will focus on four goals: (1) getting every child to reading proficiency by the third grade; (2) providing every child with a healthy platform for education; (3) creating a differentiated education system that meets each student, particularly English Language Learners, where they are; and (4) preparing all students for college and career success. 2 The Center on the Developing Child. Retrieved from 3 Boston Globe. Grade Three Students Lagging on Reading. Retrieved from

Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY13 Expectations: Evidence-based Literacy Practice Interactive and Dialogic Reading are evidence-based literacy models 4 Interactive Book Reading found to promote expressive/receptive language development; includes explicit interactive techniques such as asking children to point to the story title, predict what might happen next, and retell story events. Dialogic Reading 5 found to promote Verbal Fluency/Auditory Comprehension; scaffolds adult-child language interaction around reading; can be used to assess and support oral language and vocabulary development through multiple readings and conversations about books. Models that incorporate dialogic reading include: Raising A Reader; Every Child Ready to Read; Role of the adult includes: prompting children with strategic questions; Providing careful responses that encourage children to say more; Encouraging children to become the storyteller by asking open ended questions. 4 retrieved from WHAT WORKS FOR EARLY LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Intervention Strategies, Alison Chrisler, M.A. and Thomson Ling, Ph.D. June retrieved from

Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY13 Expectations: Parent/Child Playgroups To provide children with intentional developmentally- appropriate learning experiences with their peers and caregivers; To provide families with information, resources, support, and connections to promote optimal development of the children in their care; Effective playgroup work results in social and learning networks (groups that enable parents/caregivers to meet, share ideas and resources and learn from each other in social settings)which may reduce isolation and strengthen families; Playgroups take place in neighborhood parks, schools, libraries and other local settings which may not require transportation; 37 Consistent Implementation Aligned with EEC Guidance

Appendix C: Evolution of CFCE Grant Priorities (continued) FY13 Expectations: Parent/Child Playgroups Facilitators have backgrounds in child development/early education and guide children and adults through group and individual activities focused on developing early learning skills; Facilitators use asset based approaches in their work with families; Facilitators are culturally competent and able to support the needs of diverse cultures; Facilitators use data to inform program development, improvement and outcomes for children and families; 38 Consistent Implementation Aligned with EEC Guidance

39 Appendix D: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation FY11 Strategic Planning Opportunity Eighteen CFCE grantees were awarded funding to support the development of a community based strategic plan for meeting the needs of families with children birth to eight years old. A total of $246,436 in ARRA funds supported individual grants ranging from $6600 to $15,000. The purpose of the Strategic Planning RFP was to support CFCE grantees in defining methods to meet the objectives of the FY2011 CFCE grant. Priority was given to grantees who met the following criteria: Served a community that was currently being served by more than one CFCE grant; Included a merger of multiple department grants (e.g. CPC, MFN, JFSP and PCHP); Had multiple governance structures or inconsistent service areas (e.g. as a result of mergers of former CPCs and MFNs with different coverage areas), and Served a Commissioner's District or was in a district with an Underperforming School(s). Grantees used the process to address key issues related to their implementation of the CFCE grant, which could have included: governance/council consolidation; service area realignment; expansion of services for families with school age children; delineation of roles and responsibilities; ability to meet child family and community outcomes; coordination with other public and private resources to develop and implement an effective local model for the delivery of CFCE and support activities, and refinement of local service delivery. 39

Appendix D: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation Highlights of FY11 CFCE Strategic Planning The Process: Developed and implemented information collection tools: e.g. Parent and Provider surveys, focus groups and interviews; all offered in languages accessible for participants; Mapped community resources; Accessed needs assessment data collected by other community partners; Synthesized data to identify strengths, opportunities and gaps in the current system and used data to drive decisions, and Grantees with overlapping communities focused on inter-agency collaborations to facilitate community-wide activities and improve efficiencies in the delivery of services. Plans included: Leveraging relationships with new community partners to support outreach to isolated families and for translation support; In overlapping communities, creating a shared vision about service delivery in order to maximize resources and to eliminate consumer confusion; Identifying new funding opportunities to implement strategic plans, and Creating social media opportunities for families to connect with CFCE. 40

Appendix D: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation FY12 Rural Community Support Grant (ARRA/SAC) Rural Community Strategic Planning Funding FY12 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE)* grantees whose catchment area is represented predominantly by rural communities were eligible for Rural Community Strategic Planning funds. One-time grants to support community-based, Birth to 8, three year strategic plans, anchored in local data; Plans will be based on child and family needs and the quality and effectiveness of B-8 aligned systems linking local schools, local providers and families through grants to communities CFCE Grant Recipients: Ashburnham–Westminster RSD Cape Cod Childrens Place Nantucket Public Schools Sandwich Public Schools 41

42 Appendix D: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation FY12 Help Me Grow/ASQ Pilot Fifteen CFCE grantees and one Reach Out and Read site participated as pilot sites for the implementation of one of the Help Me Grow components, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. ASQ screening tool used to support parental understanding of childs growth and development and to determine developmental risk; Parents asked to sign a parental consent form so data can be used to measure growth over time and linked to childs longitudinal record; Targeted focus on hard to reach families; CFCE grantees provided links to comprehensive services for families as needed. Results from the ASQ3 online questionnaires indicate that 59% (76 out of 129 surveys) have shown at least a possible developmental concern or a delay. Of the completed ASQ SE questionnaires, 17% (11 out of 64 surveys) have shown a concern for social- emotional delay. 42

43 Appendix E: Efforts to Support CFCE Implementation: Use of the Strengthening Families Self-Assessment Tool FY11- FY13 FY11 CFCE grantees conducted the Strengthening Families Self-Assessment – results indicated the following: CFCE Programs were most confident in the areas of: Welcoming ALL families Making a wide range of information available via many avenues Providing info on services in the local community (DV, Shelter, Mental Health, Food Pantry etc.) Supporting transition to kindergarten Helping parents understand and support the social/emotional development of their child. CFCE Programs were least confident in the areas of: Involvement of/outreach to fathers Language and Culture: materials in languages other than English and awareness of parenting practice across cultures. Trauma: training for staff and addressing the impact of trauma on children and families FY12 Follow-up: EEC worked in partnership with CTF to have the topics of fathers, language and culture, and trauma addressed at the CTF View from All Sides conference. Individual CFCE grantees provided a plan to address topics specific to their individual self- assessments in their FY12 renewal applications. FY13 Follow-up: All CFCE grantees are in the process of repeating the Strengthening Families self-assessment to measure progress. Plans to address results will be part of the FY14 grant application. 43