Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education◦ Tennessee CBCAP is also the Children’s Trust

Fund. We became involved in the Early Childhood Initiative through the Alliance of Children’s Trust Funds.

Embed the five Strengthening Families factors in all systems◦ Shift focus from family deficits to family strengths

and resiliency◦ Promote healthy child development and reduce

incidence of child abuse and neglect Reach large numbers of children & families

through early care and education providers and influence other systems as well

How early childhood programs help prevent child abuse & neglect

Quality Programs have strategies that:◦ Facilitate friendships & mutual support◦ Strengthen parenting◦ Respond to family crises◦ Link families to service & opportunities◦ Facilitate children’s social & emotional

development◦ Observe & respond to early warning signs of CAN◦ Value and support parents

Protective factors related to families◦ Parental resilience◦ An array of social connections◦ Adequate knowledge of parenting & child

development◦ Concrete support in times of need, including

access to necessary services such as mental health

Protective factor related to children◦ Healthy social & emotional development

Provide parents with encouragement and education

Act as an early warning & response system and intervene before abuse and neglect occurs

Build resiliency in children and parents Continue to receive increased resources

from government and private sector

Started taking a Power Point that explained the previous slides around to interested stakeholders – TEIS, Committee meetings- anyone who would listen.

Caught interest of Department of Human Services where quality child care in housed

Formed steering committee which then drafted a recommendation to DHS on how to proceed.

Importance of Steering Committee with interested stakeholders:

◦Child Care Grant◦ECCS◦Child Care Resource and Referral Agency◦Head Start◦DCS Case Manager Training◦Whoever the early childhood players are

in your state.

Based on the written recommendation of the Steering Committee, DHS completed a contract with our CCR&R to hire a SF coordinator and 11 Parenting Liaisons to carry to SF message to Early Care in Tennessee.

The 11 Parenting Liaisons are training Early Care centers throughout Tennessee on the model – working on helping early care centers redefine what they can mean to families.

All prevention programs were able to reframe what they’re doing in Protective Factor Language.

Our CBCAP is in the Department of Children’s Services so we are also working to embed SF and the importance of quality Early Care into the Child Welfare system.◦ Teach Child Welfare about the Quality Rating

System◦ Bring importance of quality early care to Case

Managers’/Resource Parents’ awareness

People “get it”. It’s a easy sell.

Jeanne BrooksDirector, Tennessee Children’s Trust FundAnd CBCAP LeadJeanne.brooks@state.tn.us615-532-5622