DEL and Thrive Complete Key Transitions in Home Visiting Work

For the past several years, more than 2,000 of the state’s most vulnerable families have received high-quality home visiting services through a partnership between the Department of Early Learning and Thrive Washington. 

Last summer, the partnership took a critical look at how we were structuring the delivery of Home Visiting services in our state. We decided that to bring Home Visiting to scale in Washington, we needed to make some changes. Because of the hard work of Thrive to get the system where it is today, we knew that it was time to make Home Visiting part of the regular portfolio of services that DEL administers. With this redefined partnership, we will ultimately expand services, increase efficiency, and elevate the visibility and importance of the home visiting field.  

In the past year, teams at both agencies have adapted and updated many elements that support our delivery system, including our webpages, our contracting mechanisms, and our data collection and reporting processes. Throughout this process, we reached out continuously to the Home Visiting field, getting feedback at each step along the way so that the changes we made we done with the input of our providers and families.  We’re extremely grateful to each and every one of the home visitors and home visiting leaders who helped guide us with their insights and feedback and, of course, their can-do attitude in helping us make this change real.  

Here are just a few examples of the improvements we’ve made with this transition: 

• GRANTS, CONTRACTS AND REPORTS: In the biggest change to occur, DEL now oversees all grants, contracts and reporting processes. As of July 1, all home visiting contracts are now on the same cycle and every organization receiving funds has a single contract. Not only is this way more efficient on the DEL side of things, it provides more clarity and predictably for providers.
• PAY FOR PERFORMANCE: We’ve begun testing performance payments in our contracts, exploring how this type of funding incentive can drive success in the areas of program enrollment and family engagement.
• DATA COLLECTION: We’ve instituted common data collection to provide aligned measures across all home visiting models, giving us a clearer picture of how we’re doing on early indicators of kindergarten readiness. 
• CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: We’ve streamlined our reporting processes while amplifying our Continuous Quality Improvement requirements. This helps us place greater emphasis on factors that significantly impact child development, including maternal depression and intimate partner violence, family engagement, and parent/child interaction. All of these will help programs focus on key indicators of family well-being.
• COACHING: With DEL now managing grants, contracts and reporting, Thrive will increase its coaching and training to help programs ensure high-quality services.

The official transition is complete, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. In the coming year, we’ll be planning for the expansion of the Home Visiting system and continuing to look at effective models for performance payments. We will revisit how all of the state agencies that support home visiting can best work together and what kind of governance structure will give us the greatest coordination and efficiencies. 

With the creation of the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families we’ll be looking at better ways to partner with Child Protective Services and juvenile rehabilitation services to emphasize prevention and early intervention. 

This transition has brought us to a new and exciting place where, through our continued partnership, we are ready to begin the next, scaled-up phase of Home Visiting delivery in Washington. In this work, we will move further towards strengthening families, preventing child abuse and neglect, and achieving our goal of getting 90% of children ready for kindergarten by 2020. 

Visit https://www.del.wa.gov/homevisiting and https://thrivewa.org/work/hvsa/ to learn more.  

Ross Hunter                                                    Alan Cohen
Director, Department of Early Learning           President & CEO, Thrive

                         

Washington's Kindergarten Entry Assessment Report

This descriptive study examines the development and early implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessments or KEAs in 12 districts and 23 schools within four RTT-ELC states (Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington) during the 2014–15 school year. To see the entire report, go here: Case Studies of the Early Implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs).

The study is intended to help states learn from the experiences of other states as they work to develop and implement their own KEAs and to use KEAs to improve instruction and learning.
Key findings:

State officials and stakeholders in all four case study states considered multiple criteria when developing or adopting KEA measures: 

• reliability and validity, 
• appropriateness for all students, 
• usefulness for informing classroom instruction, 
• usefulness for informing early learning policies and program improvement, 
• feasibility of administration by teachers, 
• and cost. 

The four states trained teachers on KEA administration through self-paced webinars, in-person presentations, and train-the-trainer models. A majority of the interviewed teachers said the training prepared them to administer the KEA to students, though many teachers reported that they had difficulty in determining what were appropriate accommodations for English learner (EL) students or (dual language learners) and students with disabilities and indicated that they needed further assistance. 

Recommendations for Policymakers & Administrators

• Be clear about how KEA results will and will not be used by interested groups (i.e early childhood programs, Kindergarten teachers, school administrators, parents and legislators). 
• Use KEA tools that will take into account students with disabilities and EL student populations. 
• Be aware of other assessment requirements placed on this population of students and if possible eliminate or combine other skills assessment/inventory requirements. Provide the teachers taking the inventory with assistance to minimize time collecting and reporting assessment data. 
• Properly prepare, train and provide guidance and coaching to teachers that will be administering KEA. This will help ensure consistent and uniform results to provide the most accurate snapshot of students’ abilities. 
• KEA results must be delivered in a user-friendly and timely report in order for educators and parents to best utilize the information to help address each student’s needs. 
• Tie results back to preschool instruction and analyze data in order to identify instructional areas that early learning programs could help children be better prepared for kindergarten. 

Washington State’s KEA is called the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills or WaKIDS. As with much of the work surrounding the early learning environment in Washington State, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) worked with public and private partners in developing WaKIDS. This includes:

• The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction 
• The Gates Foundation 
• Thrive Washington 
• The Early Learning Regional Coalitions 

There are three components to WaKIDS:

• Family connection welcomes families into the Washington K-12 system as partners in their child’s education. 
• Whole-child assessment helps kindergarten teachers learn about the skills and strengths of the children in their classrooms so they can meet the needs of each child. 
• Early learning collaboration aligns practices of early learning professionals and kindergarten teachers to support smooth transitions for children. 

The intended purposes of the Whole-Child Assessment component (i.e., GOLD®) of WaKIDS are to:

• Help kindergarten teachers plan classroom instruction and individualize educational supports for each student. 
• Engage, welcome, and partner with families and inform them about children’s learning strengths and needs. 
• Inform decisions about early learning and K–12 education policy and investments at the community, district, and state levels. 
• Inform early childhood education providers about children’s learning strengths and needs.

Washington WaKIDS Timeline

(Information from Exhibit 8)

2009: Legislature appropriates funds to identify and evaluate a KEA process.
2009–2010: Advisory team and committees review tools, select GOLD®, and develop WaKIDS administration process.
2010–2011: Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) is piloted and evaluated.
2011–2012: Legislature passes SB5427; WaKIDS is voluntary in state-funded full-day kindergartens this school year.
2012–2013: WaKIDS is mandatory in all state-funded full-day kindergartens this school year.

Exhibit 9. Percentages of Washington Students Demonstrating Kindergarten Readiness

Exhibit Reads: 40% of all Washington kindergarten students demonstrated skills indicating full kindergarten readiness. SOURCE: Data from State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction n.d.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Calling the Kindergarten Class of 2020

Are you the proud parent or caregiver of a child born between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015? If so, check out this very cool opportunity to share photos or videos of your little one for Thrive Washington's annual Leadership Luncheon. 

The luncheon is on Wednesday, April 6 (in Seattle) and welcomes more than 500 business, community and early learning leaders. Thrive Washington (a public/private partner of DEL) would like to share the "faces" of the Kindergarten class of 2020 with key contributors to early learning in Washington State.

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) has set an ambitious goal that ninety percent of the children DEL serves are “Kindergarten ready” by 2020. As DEL's partner in this work, Thrive Washington would like to feature the Washington State Kindergarten class of 2020 at a celebratory event with a large audience of children's advocates.

Here are the details:

• Eligibility: Your child must have been born between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
• Email to lunchvideo2016@thrivewa.org
• Send either a picture OR a 5-10 second video of your child. We know most of this will be done on cell phones, but send the highest quality images you can.

Include in the email the following information:

• First name of child
• Place where they live in Washington state (e.g., Seattle, Colville, Granger, etc.)
• One sentence about what you hope/dream for your child’s future
• Your name and your relationship to the child

Deadline to send in pictures and videos is March 1, 2016.
Everyone who submits a photo or video, even if it is not ultimately chosen for the final video, will be entered into a drawing for a $100 VISA gift card.

Official stuff:

• By sending us your picture/video, you confirm that you are the child’s parent or legal guardian and give us permission to use it in the video, which will be shown at the luncheon and shared online. We might also use the video in community presentations throughout the year.
• Submission of a picture/video does not guarantee that it will make it into the video, but we’ll try. The video is only about 3 minutes long.
• You will not get a chance to review the video in advance.
• The photo or video can only have an image of a single child. Twins, triplets, etc. are ok. Just please no pictures that include children not born between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015.
• Please don’t send us anything that could be obscene, hateful, or places the child in a dangerous or compromising position.
• Please don’t have any prominent logos, brands, or advertising in the image or video.
• We will not use your picture/video in any materials beyond this video (e.g., publications, web images, solicitations, publicity, etc.).
• We will not sell your picture/video to a third party.
• Winner of the $100 VISA gift card will be contacted by email no later than April 15, 2016

Equity Leaders Action Network (ELAN) Aims to Reduce Racial Disparities

Four Washingtonians have joined the Equity Leaders Action Network (ELAN) to advance racial equity in early childhood systems.

ELAN Group Photo.

ELAN is a focused effort across 20 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, composed of thirty-eight fellows who work at the state or county level in the areas of health, early learning and family support. Over the next three years, ELAN fellows will work together to identify, address and take action on inequities based on race, ethnicity, language and culture in our early childhood systems.

Washington’s ELAN fellows include Evette Jasper, Dr. Jill Sells, Heather Kawamoto and Bianca Bailey. Their participation will build on existing statewide commitments to advance racial equity.

“Racial equity is deeply embedded into the Department of Early Learning’s strategic goals,” said the Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) Director, Ross Hunter. “We are collaboratively working toward a future where all children have equitable opportunities for quality education and ELAN means progress for this work.”

One of DEL’s partners, Thrive Washington has been a leader in bringing race to the forefront of statewide conversations and convened partners and community stakeholders to develop a Racial Equity Theory of Change, a vision and pathway for making sure Washington’s early learning system ultimately closes the opportunity gap. 

“We view early learning as a social justice issue in Washington state,” said Thrive President & CEO Sam Whiting. “Intentional, focused efforts like ELAN will help us learn from national leaders to ensure we implement the best strategies locally to eliminate the opportunity gap.”

“From birth, language-rich ‘back and forth’ interactions between parent and child are critical for optimal development,” said Dr. Jill Sells, a pediatrician and Executive Director of Reach Out and Read Washington State. “By 9 months of age, skill differences are measurable between children, so we must start with parents and babies.”

To address this, Reach Out and Read works with more than 1,500 medical providers in diverse settings across Washington, including tribal and military clinics, community health centers, and other clinics reaching large numbers of low-income families, children of color, and families with a home language other than English, including immigrant, migrant, and refugee populations. Doctors prescribe new books as they help parents learn how to support their child’s early language and literacy development.

“Reach Out and Read is designed to level the playing field and reduce inequities, and it is embraced across diverse cultures,” said Dr. Sells. “I’m excited to work with my ELAN colleagues to build an early learning system that will help all children be ready for kindergarten.”

“The question we’re grappling with currently is how to design a birth to three system that provides culturally and linguistically responsive supports and meets each child’s needs in the context of their family and community,” said Evette Jasper, State/Local Coordination Administrator within the Partnerships and Collaboration Division at DEL.  “We can now tap into a network of leaders who can help us identify potential paths forward.”

Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) serves about 5,000 children prenatal to 5 years of age in Early Head Start, Head Start, and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program in King and Pierce Counties.  PSESD is striving to become an AntiRacist MultiCultural Organization with the goal of success for each child and elimination of the opportunity gap. 

“Through ELAN, I will have the opportunity to learn and collaborate with other ELAN fellows across the country to develop and implement a professional learning plan,” said Heather Kawamoto, PSESD Equity in Education Program Manager. “This plan aims to increase awareness and knowledge of how race, racism, privilege, and power impact outcomes for children. Our long-term goal is that children receive racially/culturally responsive services and instruction so that race is no longer a predictor of whether a child will or will not be ready to succeed in kindergarten.”

“It is not enough to have equality, we must have EQUITY! If we begin to meet others where they are and provide them with what they need to be successful, we all succeed,” said Bianca Bailey, Parent Ambassador Coordinator for the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP. “Everyone deserves the chance to be great, so I am starting at the beginning with children and families in the early learning system. ELAN is providing me with a network to make the impact that much wider and to change the status quo in this country.”   

The ELAN is a strategy of the BUILD Initiative, which for years has promoted early childhood systems work that identifies and addresses the root causes of disparities and supports state remedies to address them.  

BUILD’s vision is of a comprehensive, racially equitable, high-quality early childhood system that ensures all children have an opportunity to develop and reach their full potential, without experiencing discrimination or bias.  ELAN fellows will take action to reduce disparities with the choices and decisions they make and their influence on state and local policy and practices. BUILD will learn from each of these actions and share the learning throughout the early childhood field.

Partners in Early Learning Celebrate Midway Point of 10-year Plan

It has been five years since the development of the Washington Early Learning Partnership’s 10-year early learning plan. 

As the sixth year of this plan’s implementation approaches, the Washington Early Learning Partnership took the opportunity to acknowledge what has been achieved so far and look to the future state of early learning in Washington with the publication of this midway report: Celebrating the First 5 Years.

The following are highlights from the report. They showcase accomplishments that have bettered the state of early learning in Washington: 

• We developed a Racial Equity Theory of Change that has given us strategies and a stronger determination to eliminate the opportunity gap. This gap can be seen before a child’s first birthday and disproportionately impedes the healthy growth and development of children of color and children from low-income families.

• We created the Home Visiting Services Account, which now combines state, federal and private dollars to serve more than 2,100 families living in some of our state’s most vulnerable communities. It includes a new partnership with the state Department of Social and Health Services to provide high-quality home visiting to families in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

• We won a $60 million federal Race to the Top – Early LearningChallenge Grant to establish and grow Early Achievers, our state’s system for supporting the highest-quality licensed child care and helping families make better informed choices about child care. The state’s new Early Start Act and historic state investment in early learning now sustain Early Achievers.

• Our 10 Early Learning Regional Coalitions lift up local voices through their advocacy, closely partner with state leaders, and build their community’s capacity to reach more children and families.

• Our tribal community sought a stronger voice in early learning and created the First Peoples, First Steps Alliance.

• We support innovation and alignment between early learning professionals and K-3 educators.

• Our kindergarten readiness assessment process better ensures a child’s successful start in school by looking at the skills of the whole child and connecting the key adults in a child’s life.

• We launched the “Love. Talk. Play.” campaign to support parents of infants and toddlers as their child’s first and most important teachers.

• We redefined early learning to span from prenatal through third grade and then adopted Early Learning and Development Guidelines that support that continuum and value our state’s increasingly diverse population.

• We committed to our preschoolers and kindergartners. By fall 2016, the state will fund full-day kindergarten statewide for more than 80,000 children; by fall 2020, about 23,000 eligible 3- and 4-year-olds will be entitled to state-funded preschool.

The report provides an in-depth look at some of these accomplishments with data-driven support for highlighted strategies. 

The Department of Health, the Department of Social and Health Services, Thrive Washington, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Early Learning make up the Washington Early Learning Partnership. To learn more about this, go here: Washington Early Learning Partnership.

State Works to Align Standards for Quality Early Learning

With the passage of the Early Start Act on July 6, 2015, the Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) has begun work to align child care licensing and ECEAP (state-funded pre-school) standards within Early Achievers (the state’s quality rating and improvement system), quality framework.

“When we talk about the Early Start Act, we often focus on the investment for high quality through Early Achievers. But there’s more to it than that,” said DEL Director, Ross Hunter. “The historic legislation will ensure that children in all of Washington’s diverse communities have equitable access to the same high standards of quality care and education.”

To kick-start the development of aligned standards, DEL, ThriveWashington, Child Care Aware of Washington and Early Learning Regional Coalitions are hosting meetings to garner community input throughout the state.

Following a brief video presentation featuring DEL Director Ross Hunter, DEL Deputy Director Heather Moss and other agency experts on standards and policy, attendees will be asked to provide input in smaller groups.

To view the trailer for the alignment work group meetings and video, see below, go here: Alignment Teaser, or go to DEL’s YouTube channel.

“Meetings such as these are crucial to the alignment process,” said Hunter. “This is very challenging work and your input can make a difference in the future of our state’s youngest learners.”

Each Early Learning Regional Coalition will host an event or has already done so. To see the schedule to find a meeting near you, go here: Alignment Meeting Schedule or visit del.wa.gov/government/EarlyStartAct.

Parent Advisory Group (PAG) Holds Productive Meeting

The newly established Parent Advisory Group (PAG) met for the first time last week in Seattle. The Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) has selected 17 parents to represent 10 regions as members of the group. The PAG will act as a sounding board for decisions, ideas and questions that shape the future of DEL and early learning programs throughout the state.

PAG members by Early Learning Region.

At the meeting, parents discussed topics including, but not limited to:

• The Early Learning Development Guidelines
• Love.Talk.Play.
• Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies



PAG members meet in Seattle for day-long retreat.

• The Early Start Act

From the parents' perspective, the group determined what they would like to see happen in Washington for our state's littlest learners. PAG members are passionate about multiple early learning topics and expressed the need for:

• More supports for children with special needs from the ages of three and five.
• Increase quality and access to early learning opportunities across the different types of providers, starting at birth. 
• Improved content in early learning settings. 
• Cultural, special health care needs, promoting social emotional growth, so children have a strong foundation of healthy positive experiences before and throughout school. 
• Supports for mental health, especially post-partum depression. There are services available for wealthy and low-income mothers, but not middle income. Provide access to all mothers who need support. 
• Increased transparency and accessibility for state programs. Citizens understand what they’re paying for and there are no stigmas around accessing services. 
• Access to quality care, no matter where you live in Washington. 

More was discussed during the day-long retreat in Seattle, and the PAG will continue to provide essential insight for DEL to produce strong, quality early learning initiatives in the future. Their next meeting is scheduled for early November.

Early Learning Regional Coalitions Meet for Statewide Summit

Community-minded early learning advocates from around the state gathered in Spokane for their third statewide summit this year. Geared towards networking, the sharing of best practices, and local empowerment, the statewide regional coalition summit supports the advancement of quality early learning throughout the state.

The agenda included: 

• legislative advocacy, 
• standards alignment, 
• a statewide early learning dash board and may other important topics.  

There was even an opportunity for local leaders to meet the new director of the Department of Early Learning, Ross Hunter and engage in a brief Q&A. 

Early Learning Regional Coalition Map

The gathering of over 70 people included representation from every corner of the state spanning from Vancouver to the Olympic Peninsula to the Tri-Cities and, of course, Spokane.  There was representation from all 10 of the state’s regional coalitions, many of which are broken down even further to better capture the needs and potential of local systems.  This summit in Spokane was the third this year with the first taking place in Olympia (to facilitate greater coordinated advocacy during the legislative session) and the second in Vancouver.

When asked about the value of these summits, recently appointed early learning coordinator of Skagit County, Lyndie Case, said enthusiastically, 

“I’m new here, this is my first summit and I am grateful for the opportunity to hear from my counter parts across the state." Flying in from Bellingham for the event, Case used the summit as an opportunity to learn about her local connection to the larger effort taking place across the state, “I feel now like I better understand the state system and can put names to faces of my fellow coalition leads.”

Empowering understanding at the local level has long been a theme of these summits that have been taking place regularly for 5 years.  The effort is spearheaded by ThriveWashington and is supported by the leadership of Dan Torres, Director of Community Momentum with Thrive.  The father of two young sons himself, Dan is excited about the impact that regional coalitions can have on early learning opportunities for all of Washington’s young children. 

“These events are a chance to share best practices and build a common voice for the advancement of quality early learning through functional relationships geared towards on the ground action and results,” said Torres. 

DEL Director, Ross Hunter

Dan, who has been leading this effort with thrive for three years, has built an event that promotes networking, idea sharing, and increased collaboration.

Making a special appearance at the event, newly appointed Department of Early Learning Director Ross Hunter shared his passion for early learning and showed a real responsiveness to those on the ground.  

“My job is to help break down barriers so that those committed to working for the advancement of quality early learning can better serve the youngest kids in our state,” said Hunter.  

After a brief introduction, Director Hunter addressed audience questions that touched on a range of topics, including the passage of the Early StartAct, the hard work that it took to get the act through the legislature and his thoughts on how to best support advancing the field of early learning.  

This is the final summit of 2015 with the next scheduled for 2016 during the legislative session to better encourage direct advocacy from on the ground early learning professionals.

Spotlight on Washington Home Visiting

Yesterday and today, Washington state held its first Home Visiting Summit in Seattle. The event was collaboratively planned by the Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL), Thrive Washington, and the Washington Dental Services Foundation. 

In a recent blog post by Thrive Washington, it was reported that around 250 home visitors attended. 

"Three years in the making, the Summit answers the requests of home visitors for more professional development and opportunities to share strategies and stories with each other, so they can support families even better."

DEL Director, Ross Hunter
at the Home Visiting Summit

What is Home Visiting? 

Home visiting is a voluntary service in which trained professionals such as nurses, early childhood educators, social workers or trained paraprofessionals offer information and support related to healthy child and family development. These programs offer family-focused services to expectant parents and families with new babies and young children. Home visiting supports the child and family by buffering the effects of risk factors and stress in the family.

Evidence shows that when families receive home-based support, their children are born healthier and are less likely to suffer from abuse or neglect. It has also shown a strong return on the investment of funds in this area of prevention and early learning support.

Key Benefits of Home Visiting:

• Stronger parent-child bonds
• Healther mothers and babies
• Lower rates of child abuse and neglect
• More positive parenting practices
• Earlier development of language and literacy skills
• Improved school readiness
• Safer homes
• Increased rates of parental employment

In collaboration, DEL and Thrive Washington were able to create a one-page, printable document that gives data and information about home visiting as well as one woman's story about her experience with this program:

"Carrie stopped using heroin when she learned she was pregnant, but her baby was born early and addicted to methadone. Carrie joined parent support groups and received some support from a transitional housing program before enrolling in home visiting. After only a few months of home visiting, Carrie and her daughter are demonstrating positive changes in their relationship. The home visitor brings a book to every visit, and offers information about daughter Rachel’s developmental stages and milestones."

To read more about Carrie and to get more current statistics about home visiting in this state, go here: Home Visiting One Pager.

Learn More about Home Visiting Models in WA:

Thrive Washington has an easily-accessible web page dedicated to home visiting accessibility. Check it out here: Thrive Washington Home Visiting Accessibility. 

These are just some of the home visiting models offered in Washington state. The links below contain more information about the different approaches to home visiting.

• DSHS First Steps
• Nurse-Family Partnership
• Parents as Teachers
• Parent-Child Home Program

Planning for the Future of Early Learning in WA: ELAC's Latest Meeting

Yesterday, DEL's Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) met in Lacey to discuss the future of early learning programs in Washington state. To learn more about ELAC, refer to June's blog post about their last meeting.

Agenda items included but were not limited to:

• The Parent Advisory Group (PAG)
• DEL is currently in the review process after receiving 87 applications following the July 15 deadline. More information will be released in the coming weeks regarding the final members of this group. For more information about PAG, click here: Parent Advisory Group.

• The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)
• The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a federal grant that supports low-income working families by providing access to affordable, high-quality early care and after-school programs. 
• As CCDF is a federal grant, the federal government updates and issues new requirements to it's recipients. Some of the requirements that DEL is currently working on with advisement from ELAC are:
• support family engagement in child care settings to promote healthy child development
• social/emotional development and preschool expulsion policies
• child care subsidy policies (e.g. allowing homeless families to receive subsidy before submitting required documentation such as immunization records).

• Advancing Racial Equity
• As stated in June's blog post, ELAC will advise DEL on early learning policies and incorporate the Racial Equity Theory of Change (link courtesy of Thrive Washington) into the Council's feedback when considering early learning programs.With that in mind, ELAC members discussed doing the following moving forward:
• develop an annual reflection on progress made in racial equity
• DEL collects data regarding the successes and barriers that people face in their communities
• promote specific training and/or presentations regarding racial equity around the state
• construct a Racial Equity Toolkit with data as a main component
• data includes indicators like "number of Washington children participating in home visiting and preschool dis-aggregated by race and ethnicity" or "number of early learning professionals that take training on culturally or linguistically responsive services."

• The Early Start Act



DEL staff presents about the Early Start Act at yesterday's ELAC meeting.

• DEL staff presented on their hope for implementation of the Early Start Act as it was signed into law on July 6. To read more about the Early Start Act, check out last week's post about the Early Start Act Q&A panel at Starting Strong.
• Early Start Act topics at this ELAC meeting included Early Achievers and standards alignment. For up-to-date information on the Act's requirements and supports, go here: DEL's Early Start Act pages. 

ELAC meetings are generally held six times per year and host a variety of early learning advocates (regional coalitions like Child Strive of Pierce County, the Inland Northwest Early Learning Alliance, Investing in Children: Coalition Central, North Central, Northwest, Olympic-Kitsap Peninsulas coalitions, SOAR of King County, Southeast and Southwest coalitions, and Visions for Early Learning of West Central Washington). ELAC also welcomes government agency representatives from the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Health, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Thrive Washington. Legislators also attend regularly. For  more information about ELAC, check out DEL's page dedicated to this group.

Washington Early Learning Partners Sign Resolution and Host Brainstorming Session

In front of more than 1,000 early learning professionals and K-3 teachers, the Department of Early Learning (DEL), the Department of Health (Health), the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Thrive Washington (Thrive), and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) signed a joint resolution, re-establishing their commitment to collaboration.

Washington early learning partners sign a joint resolution committing
to  collaboration in early learning
 at the Starting Strong conference in Tacoma.

Following this signing at the Starting Strong conference, the partners hosted a break-out session inviting input from the conference attendees on the 2015/2016 school year's priority strategies. These strategies are garnered from the Washington Early Learning Plan. The partnership uses these as a framework, as the strategies within the plan emphasize the vision that children in Washington will start life with a solid foundation.

Conference attendees visiting seven tables representing each priority and gave feedback. Participants were asked for ideas on improvement or ways the partners could accomplish goals pertaining to each priority.

The focused strategies were:

• “Build Continuum of Infants and Toddlers Services and Programs”
•  “Make Home Visiting Available to At-Risk Families”
• “Ensure Social-Emotional Learning – Parents, Caregivers, Early Learning Professionals; Provide Health, Mental Health and Social-Emotional Consultation in Early Learning Settings; Ensure Continuum of Social/Emotional Learning— Children, Expand Compassionate Schools – Reducing Effects of Complex Trauma”
• “Strengthen Public Awareness and Action”
• “Implement Comprehensive Professional Development and Compensation System”
• “Expand Early Numeracy Programs; Align Prekindergarten and K-3 Instructional and Programmatic Practices; and Implement Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (WaKIDS)”
• “Ensure Developmental Screening and Connections to Responsive Supports”

The strategies discussed were chosen based on the urgency or momentum of each priority. Each of these strategies is something that three or more members of the partnership will pursue jointly. 

The Washington early learning partnership hosts a
Starting Strong break-out session dedicated to
brainstorming on early learning plan priorities.

In addition, each agency is working on its own priorities in early learning, either as described in the larger ten-year plan, or to meet an emergent need.

In order to successfully carry out any of the 2015/16 strategies, the partnership must meaningfully engage a broad range of constituents and stakeholders, beginning with parents and other caregivers, and including tribal governments, federal, state, and local jurisdictions, and an array of non-profit, research, philanthropic and community partners, particularly those focused on leading for equity, and closing opportunity gaps. 

The partnership must include families in the decisions that affect them. With each strategy -- and throughout their work -- the partnership will focus on key questions, such as: 

• is it good for kids, families, and providers?; 
• do some benefit more than others?; 
• who lacks access and why?; 
• what data and information is missing?; and 
•  might there be any unintended consequences? 

In the preamble to the priorities, it states,

"We will drive our work to ensure equitable access and help to close gaps. Only by closing gaps will we be able to ensure a bright future for all children, families, and communities in Washington."

Special thanks to all of the attendees of Starting Strong and for all of the thoughtful and constructive brainstorming that occurred at the partners' break-out session!

"Love. Talk. Play." this Father's Day

Washington's "Love. Talk. Play." campaign is well-established across the state, but in case you haven't heard, the study-based initiative advocates a healthy, loving and educational relationship between children and their parents beginning at an early age.

A child’s early experiences shape his or her brain structure and cognition. “Love. Talk. Play.” has teamed up with researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS) to look at the science behind why love, talk and play are important to the development of babies and toddlers.

In honor of Father's Day, consider how dads might play a role in daily special interactions with children. 

Love:
Social interaction and imitative learning play an important role in early brain and behavioral development. Love is just as important as nutritious food to raise a healthy child. Your gentle touch, attention and understanding help your child grow in every way. 

Dr. John Gottman discusses this role in his book, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child. 

"Dads have a pivotal role in their children’s lives. Research shows that when dads act as an emotion coach, by valuing and encouraging emotions, children do better in school, handle moods better and recover from emotional events faster," said Gottman.

Activity idea: Read with your child. "Love. Talk. Play" suggests cuddling with your child while reading, giving them your full attention. 

Talk:
Children’s early language skills predict future reading abilities, and skills not developed early are difficult to remediate later on. As soon as your child is born, start talking, singing and rhyming about anything and everything. Check out the recent Seattle Times article regarding a study that found differences in the way mothers speak to children versus their fathers. 

“Even in singing to babies, moms will sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle,’ and ‘ABC’ and dads will sing rock songs," said Tonya Bergeson-Dana, assistant professor at Indiana University Medical School, which runs the Babytalk Research center. 

Whether it's a high-pitched nursery rhyme or a rock anthem, communicating with your child is vital for healthy development.

Activity idea: Teach your child a song. "Love. Talk. Play." suggests sharing a song you enjoyed as a child.

Play:
Human cognition and innovation depends on memory, logic, mathematical reasoning, and the manipulation of physical tools and abstract symbols. Playing is not only fun; it’s also how your child learns. In another recent Seattle Times article, the effectiveness of play in learning is highlighted. 

"Play is often perceived as immature behavior that doesn’t achieve anything," says David Whitebread, a psychologist at Cambridge University who has studied the topic for decades. "But it’s essential to their development. They need to learn to persevere, to control attention, to control emotions. Kids learn these things through playing."

Check out the recent DEL blog post about play and learning that references Dr. Whitebread, and another blog post by Paul Nyhan for "Love. Talk. Play" partner, Thrive Washington called "Students are Ready for More STEM and Play in Preschool, Two Studies Find."

Activity idea: Make a meal together. "Love. Talk. Play" suggests letting kids play with pots, pans, spoons and cups to pretend to cook or making a game out of trying new foods.

"Love. Talk. Play." is sponsored by Thrive by Five Washington, the state’s nonprofit public-private partnership for early learning, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and it is supported by many other statewide and local organizations.

State’s home visiting partnership receives federally funded support to explore Pay for Success model

Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. to help Department of Early Learning and Thrive Washington determine if private investors could play a key role in expanding home visiting services for young children and their families  

(OLYMPIA, WA) – The Washington state Department of Early Learning (DEL) and Thrive Washington (Thrive) will spend the next year exploring the feasibility of Pay for Success as a model to help the state greatly increase the number of children and families served through home visiting programs.

Washington was selected as part of a national competition run by Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. (Third Sector). During 2015, they will provide DEL and Thrive, along with six other awardees, federally funded technical assistance. Third Sector’s work is supported by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund.

Pay for Success (PFS) is an innovative funding model that leverages private and public investments to scale services and ensure high-quality program performance.

DEL and Thrive were selected for their demonstrated commitment to funding high-quality, effective, evidence-based home visiting programs through the state’s Home Visiting Services Account. This account uses combinations of federal, state and private funds to provide more home visiting services to families living in some of Washington state’s most vulnerable communities; funds also support the professional development of home visitors and ensure programs get the results they promise. Home visiting programs are proven to curb abuse and neglect, support school readiness, and give children and families a great start. Since the account was created in 2010, it has grown from funding four grantees serving 120 children to 36 grantees with the capacity to serve 2,000 children statewide. In Washington state, there are currently as many as 30,000 families who are eligible for home visiting services but can’t get them.

“Home visiting is a proven and powerful tool that not only improves child outcomes but also has the power to change the trajectory for an entire family. We are deeply committed to expanding and sustaining home visiting services in our state, and we’re thrilled to work with Third Sector Capital to explore Pay for Success as a way to serve more children and families,” said Bette Hyde, director of the state Department of Early Learning.

“We’ve already developed a successful, nationally recognized public-private partnership with our state’s Home Visiting Services Account. This exciting opportunity will allow us to build on what we’ve learned and determine if a Pay for Success model is an effective strategy to help us support more families through home visiting,” said Sam Whiting, president & CEO of Thrive Washington.

DEL and Thrive’s Pay for Success work will be supported locally by the Giddens Foundation, Foundation for Healthy Generations, Philanthropy Northwest and Mission Investors Exchange.

Third Sector, a grantee of the Social Innovation Fund’s Pay for Success program, announced the selection of Washington’s home visiting system along with six other awardees (called “sub-recipients”) after a highly selective national competition. The Sub-Recipients include: Austin/Travis County, TX; Bridges Network and Orange County, CA; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Nevada in partnership with Clark County, NV and Las Vegas, NV; State of Oregon, Marion and Multnomah counties, OR, and Friends of the Children; Washington State Department of Early Learning and Thrive Washington; and Year Up.

“We are honored to work with both DEL and Thrive to measurably improve the lives of Washington State’s youngest children and their families,” said Third Sector CEO and Co-Founder George Overholser. “Support from the Social Innovation Fund will allow Third Sector to lead a diverse cohort of governments and nonprofits in accelerating their exploration of Pay for Success in the areas of early childhood and youth development.”  

In 2014, Third Sector received $1.9 million from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), to help strengthen the pipeline of state and local governments and service providers prepared to explore and advance PFS strategies. SIF uses federal funding as a catalyst for private and public collaborations in three areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. To deliver the technical assistance, Third Sector is partnering with Abt Associates, America Forward, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and National Governor’s Association.

Seven PFS programs in the fields of juvenile justice, early childhood education, homelessness prevention and recidivism have been launched in the United States, including Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; Cuyahoga County, OH; Massachusetts (two projects); and New York state. 

About Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc.

Third Sector is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to accelerate America’s transition to a performance-driven social sector. Third Sector is making Pay for Success a reality in the United States. Third Sector leads governments, high-performing nonprofits, and funders in building collaborative initiatives that re-write the book on how governments contract social services, by funding programs that work, saving taxpayer dollars, and measurably improving the lives of people most in need. Third Sector is a recipient of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund. Learn more at nationalservice.gov/sif.

About the Corporation for National and Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

About the Washington state Department of Early Learning

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) helps all Washington children reach their full potential and start kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. DEL oversees the state-funded preschool program, child care licensing and subsidies, early intervention services, and other initiatives and programs to support parents as children’s first and most important teachers. www.del.wa.gov

About Thrive Washington

Thrive Washington is a leader in unifying and strengthening the state’s early learning system, so that all children are ready for school. Thrive rallies providers, funders and communities to improve services for children and families, especially those most in need. As a public-private partnership, it leverages state, federal and private dollars and helps ensure those funds are spent on the early learning programs and experiences that will make the biggest difference for Washington state’s youngest children and their families. ThriveWA.org