Help us better serve Washington families! Help Me Grow WA has an exciting opportunity to hear from families and communities across our state via a new survey – please share your thoughts and pass the survey along to your networks. Our newsletter also includes national and regional Help Me Grow news and other resources. Thanks for reading!
We would love to hear from you! An anonymous survey, developed by The Vida Agency and WithinReach, will collect community insight to help us improve messaging and outreach so that we can better serve Washington children and families. The first 150 parents and caregivers to complete it will receive a $20 cash gift card. Take the 10-minute survey before June 30 at this link.
Watch Help Me Grow WA 101
Our new Help Me Grow WA 101 video is an introduction into who we are and how we organize our work. This is a great resource for those looking to learn more about and get involved with Help Me Grow WA, and we encourage you share it with the families and communities you serve. To watch the video, please visit our Help Me Grow WA website.
Core Team Update
With the statewide work strengthening and expanding, the Core Team – Washington Communities for Children (WCFC), Department of Children, Youth & Families and WithinReach– has heard from partners across the state that the HMG system needs to evolve the leadership structure. We are currently in deep discussions to define our individual, organizational and collective roles to identify what strengths and gaps exist. From there, we will work with the sub-affiliate leads, State Action Team Specialists and WCFC Regional Leads to look at what structural reforms are needed. We hope to have clarity by the end of summer. We are committed to equity, shared leadership and transparency through this process and look forward to sharing updates with you. Read more.
Help Me Grow National News
The State of Early Childhood System-Building
Help Me Grow affiliates implement the only evidence-based, nationally recognized early childhood system model, but rarely do they encounter funding opportunities dedicated to advancing state-level integrated maternal and early childhood systems-building. In Help Me Grow National's new blog, read about the five key themes emerging throughout the community of practice that provide valuable lessons for those seeking to successfully implement the HMG Model.
Help Me Grow Virtual Forum 2021
Registration will open soon for the Help Me Grow Virtual Forum from Sept. 20-23. Keep an eye out for an upcoming registration announcement.
Help Me Grow Regional News
In Pierce County...
HMG Pierce County has a new community calendar of events and groups for Pierce County families on their website. Take a look for local happenings in the area. They would also like to invite people to their virtual Annual Stakeholder Meeting on Thursday, June 24th from 8:30-10 a.m. to learn about what HMG Pierce County has been up to this year. Visit their events page for more info.
Resources for Parents & Caregivers
PBS Summer of Possibilities: PBS put together a list of games and activities to promote healthy development over the summer. Take a look for ideas that your family can incorporate into your summer plans.
LGBTQ+ Pride Month: June is Pride month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City and the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. It’s a time to celebrate the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. Here are two articles that offer advice on talking to children about "Why is June Pride Month?" and "6 Tips for talking about LGBTQ+ rights with kids."
RAPID Project at the University of Oregon: Data is gathered from families on a bi-weekly basis, informing on the needs, health-promoting behaviors and well-being of children and families during COVID-19. Their website houses their collection of posts and reports.
We All Count: Tools, case studies, practices and systems to improve equity in data science. They pursue independent research, study on-the-ground data work, partner with experts and consult with communities to improve and update our understanding of what ‘equity’ means in data science.
WithinReachis working in shared leadership with the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and FamiliesandWashington Communities for Children to guide the design and development of a vision and spread and scale plan for a unified Help Me Grow Washington. This newsletter will promote Help Me Grow efforts and share relevant state and local communications, resources and updates across the network.
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