Early Childhood Programs Supported by ITCM

Resources and support for tribal/American Indian

communities in developing a comprehensive,

integrated, high quality service system

Programs working at Multiple Levels

I. Policy, Government,Community Support, Economy,

OpportunityII.Services

Families & Social

Networks

Anishinaabe Children

•Honoring Our Children•PRIME•FIMR•SAMHSA Eval Support•CDC REACH – BreastfeedingWork Place Policy Tool Kit

•PREP•Healthy Start•Teen Pregnancy•Tribal Home Visiting•Head Start

Support for Work at Different Levels

System which addresses well-being across the Continuum:

Thriving Anishinaa

be Children

Primary prevention &

preconception health

(PREP Grant)

Prenatal and Infant Well-being(Healthy Start & Teen Pregnancy

Grants) Optimum Early Childhood:

Parenting skills & support for development (Tribal Home Visiting, Head

Start)

ITC programs Fit into the bigger system

Healthy, Happy,

Successful Native

Children

Tribal Child Care Centers

Healthy Start & Teen Pregnancy

Services: (Pregnancy-Age

2)Health, Family

Bonding

Early Education

Services: Early Head Start, Head Start,

Early Learning

Child Protection Services:Parenting,

Abuse Prevention

Tribal Home

Visiting Project

Community Engagement: Honoring Our

Children Kellogg Planning Initiative

Primary Prevention:

Tribal PREP – strengthening future parents

Comprehensive Service System Across the continuum of Early Childhood

• High quality, effective• Easy to access and relevant to participants• Community directed and community-driven• Maximum system integration – linked/shared

intake, referral, data systems, assessment and curricula – to make the most of resources and to be seamless for families

• Sustainable

Videohttp://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/theory_of_change/

http://vimeo.com/59185115

Community Readiness to Address Early

Childhood

How can we move into more action?

• Based on key informant interviews in 7 communities, OVERALL COMMUNITY READINESS SCORE= 4.6 (Range among sites: 3.6 – 5.5). AS a whole, we are between Stage 4 and 5:

• Stage 4 Preplanning: Scoring in this stage indicates that there is clear recognition that something must be done and there may even be a group addressing it. However, efforts are not yet focused or detailed to address the wellbeing of Native American infants and children.

• Stage 5 Preparation: Active leaders begin planning in earnest. The community offers modest interest in efforts

Community Readiness Results

What would it take?• For everyone to view having access to a support

system and quality early childhood programs as equally important as going to high school? No one would accept a “waiting list for high school”

• For everyone to embrace that parenting skills and parent-child interaction which supports healthy development (social, spiritual, emotional & cognitive) is as fundamental as keeping children fed, clean and safe?

• For this awareness to translate into widespread support and real change? What will move people to say “We’ve got to do this”

Consider Other Significant Community movements:

• Development of Tribal Health Centers, Elder & Cultural Centers

• Founding of Tribal colleges and schools• Availability and quality of Tribal Housing• Establishment of Head Start and Healthy Start 15+ years• Establishment of protections for AI children under ICWA• Federal reaffirmation of 6 tribes since 1994Think about the levels at which people took action

to make all this happen: Who was involved? How did they do it? What can YOU do to further Early Childhood?