1. Technical Assistance and Mini Grants Information Session 8.9.12

2. Kathy Stohr Project Consultant Illinois Action for Children, Public Policy & Advocacy Program stohrk@actforchildren.org www.actforchildren.org

3. Content of Today’s Webinar Project Overview Defining “Community”, “Capacity Building” & “Early Childhood Partnership” Community Guidance & Project Recommendations Technical Assistance & Mini-Grant Application

4. Hand-raising disabled today Type your question here, then hit “send” Technical issues, email partnerplanact@ actforchildren.org

5. Early Childhood Partnerships Illinois Early Learning Council project Funding Source: Early Childhood State Advisory Council (SAC) Grant (federal) All funds must be spent by April 30, 2013 Goal = Develop or strengthen early childhood partnerships at the local level

6. Project Components 1. Design and implement technical assistance & mini-grant program for early childhood partnerships 2. Provide regional and statewide training opportunities on local systems- building and partnership capacity development 3. Create a web-based resource to support local partnerships

7. Defining “Community” or “Local” Boundaries determined by community – Neighborhood partnership – Municipal partnership – County partnership – Regional partnership

8. Capacity Building Partner Engage broad range of stakeholders Develop new leaders & leverage existing ones Communicate a shared vision Plan Cascades from shared vision& tied to measurable outcomes Actionable and realistic Act Shared responsibility & accountability for implementing plan Advocacy for necessary policy changes and resources

9. What’s an Early Childhood Partnership 1.Partners from multiple sectors of the early childhood system 2.Work on issues and solve problems across the early childhood system 3.Focus on improving outcomes for children from birth through kindergarten and their families

10. 1. Partners from multiple sectors of the early childhood system Examples: Child CareEarly Intervention Public SchoolsHome visiting programs Head StartFamily support programs Social servicesFamily leadership Health care providersChild welfare

11. 2. Solve problems & work on issues across the early childhood system Example Problem Despite the availability of Head Start and Preschool for All (in public schools and in community-based settings), 50% of at-risk children in Community ABC enter kindergarten without preschool experience Example Collaborative Strategy Head Start, public schools, and child care programs with Preschool for All funding coordinate outreach and intake efforts to ensure hardest to reach/most at-risk children are accessing available services

12. 3. Focus on improving outcomes for children 0-5 Example Outcomes (Collaboration for Early Childhood, Oak Park) Every child arrives at kindergarten healthy, safe, ready to succeed and eager to learn Parents and children receive the early childhood care and education and parenting education/support services they need

13. Category 2: Strong collaborative vision & strategies but collaborative activities need work Category 4: Strong collaborative vision & strategies Strong collaborative activities Category 3: Strong collaborative activities Vision and strategy need work Category 1: Weak or non-existent collaborative activities Vision and strategy need work

14. Strengthening Execution Model Partnership Building Vision & Strategic Direction Getting Started (or re- started)

15. Example Project: Getting Started Partnership/Lead Agency Engage* and convene stakeholders Pathways tools – Demographic and Community Data – Programs and Services mapping – Strategic planning Begin implementation of action plan, holding partners accountable ECAP Facilitation Provide training and support to complete Pathways tools Facilitate community meetings, using completed tools to find root causes of complex issues and develop actionable strategic plan

16. Application Available at www.actforchildren.org/ECAP Due September 7, 2012

17. Important Dates September 7 : Mini-grant applications due November 13 : ECAP Conference (Naperville) April 9-10 : Spring into Action Conference