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5/6/2020 0 Comments

Early Childhood Intervention and parents in recovery on our minds this week.

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Thank you to the family-strengthening professionals from across Colorado who continue to join us for conversations on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19.

During this week’s call, we were inspired to hear from Early Intervention Colorado about their quick expansion of telehealth services and virtual evaluations and from a Circle of Parents in Recovery group about their success in engaging previous and first-time participants in their virtual group.

​As Stay at Home orders begin lifting across the state, we look forward to hearing and learning from each other about creative ways to support families through new challenges that this may bring. 

Please find information on the next conversation as well as a meeting summary and notes from this week’s call below. 
Upcoming Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19 

​Join us to share and learn from others about adaptations, resources,
and ongoing needs for strengthening families during these unprecedented times.
​
Tuesday, May 19th
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Register HERE in advance to receive a confirmation email containing information about joining. 

CONVERSATION ON KEEPING FAMILIES STRONG DURING COVID-19 ​TUESDAY, MAY 5th - SUMMARY
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Across the state, organizations and professionals who work to strengthen families have implemented creative and inspiring strategies for keeping families strong and supported during this time. As the situation continues to evolve, so do the approaches and concerns of families and organizations that serve them. The following themes were identified from this week’s conversation on these topics: 

As Stay at Home orders begin to lift, an emerging concern is how families will meet their child care needs---especially for school-age children. As businesses start to reopen and caregivers begin returning to work while schools remain closed and summer programs begin their cancellations, countless families are left wondering how they will meet their child care needs. 
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This crisis has inspired creativity and flexibility that could have lasting implications for serving families. While for many family support programs and services, the general consensus is that in-person support is the better option, the adaptability of programs to a virtual platform necessitated by this crisis has the potential to continue on and remain as an alternative option for individuals and families it would benefit even after the crisis.

Those who work in family-strengthening roles are finding ways to support themselves and each other through these overwhelming times. From creating intentional space to check in with each other to hosting festive drive thru staff lunches, family-serving professionals are finding various ways to support their own well-being during this time.  

Please find a detailed record of the May 5th call in our notes.  To find quick answers to commonly asked questions and commonly requested resources, please visit our FAQ page. 

​On behalf of Illuminate Colorado and the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, we thank everyone for your commitment to this work! Let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything else we can do to support you in these uncertain times.

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4/27/2020 0 Comments

We are the trusted messengers

It is up to the front line family-serving professionals to take two extra minutes with everyone we come in contact with to talk about how to take care of ourselves during this COVID-19 pandemic. 

​Toward that end, the Partnership for Thriving Families has created a few key messages for strengthening families during the COVID-19 pandemic to give you the words to share with your communities.
KEY MESSAGES FOR STRENGTHENING FAMILIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
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Communities build resilience by increasing connections between people & organizations to help families’ weather storms. 

Everyone needs to support families right now by doing the following:
  • Call families to ask them how they are doing.
  • Connect families to resources they need like food, medicine, counseling and assistance programs such as SNAP Medicaid/CHP+, child care, etc.
  • Encourage parents to think about what has kept them strong in the past and what gives them hope.
  • Share ideas on ways to help children keep developing during this time at home.
  • Help parents and children identify and express their feelings at this time.             

There are many prevention programs and volunteers pulling together to help families during this challenging time.  Families can turn to family resource centers and 211 to get connected to resources offered by community-based nonprofits and government agencies alike.  

It is critical that all families have equal access to help getting through this time. Everyone deserves a chance to thrive, and each of us can play a role in helping families that are struggling, especially now. Connecting families to resources they need and information to support children’s development can be the difference between them struggling and stabilizing to thrive.

As Colorado moves to a Safer at Home Order and as we continue to practice physical distancing, social support has never been more important to families because isolation and economic stress increase risks for child maltreatment and family violence. 

We know this can pose many challenges for all Coloradans. Colorado has created a Stay At Home CO Guide full of free resources, support, and activities to help you, your family, and your loved ones during this time at stayathomeco.colorado.gov 
  • This website is regularly updated and includes many hotlines to report concerns and access support, including the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, Colorado Crisis Line and Domestic Violence hotline as well as wellness, education and entertainment activities for families. 
  • We encourage all child-serving organizations and professionals to submit suggestions of free resources that are helping Coloradans stay at home and keep families strong. 

Healthy brain development is a building process that begins before we are born. When children experience toxic stress their brain is physically changed, requiring significant, costly support from communities to heal and grow up to become that healthy thriving adults who are our future neighbors, employees and leaders of tomorrow. We must prevent child abuse right now or the costs of COVID-19 will significantly increase. 

There are still ways to build protective factors that are known to mitigate those risks and strengthen families. That is how we work together to prevent child maltreatment. That means increasing five things known to strengthen families. 

​KEY MESSAGES TO SHARE WITH PARENTS & CAREGIVERS

1. Parental Resilience 
Right now, stress is HIGH. You’ve likely felt a little short-temper, yelled or not been your best-self at moments. Everyone needs to practice self-care right now, especially parents. Take care of yourself, to take care of your kids. Share a mindfulness or stress management tip, encourage others parents to give themselves permission to not be perfect. 

2. Social Connections 
Right now, while everyone is encouraged to physically distance ourselves from each other, that doesn’t mean we need to socially isolate from one another. In fact, we need to connect more with one another to share support, tips, advice or just talk. Share your REAL experiences, advice, a laugh or cry with one another. There are many ways to connect online, pick up the phone and talk to each other, or get outside to sing, dance or share a long-distance conversation. 

3. Concrete Supports in Times of Need 
Right now, we need to ensure that we all have what we need to be well - regardless of how we earn a living or how much we make. People already pushed to the brink by low wages and high housing costs will be most affected by this virus and an economic slowdown. This is the time to live up to our ideal of justice for all. Share tips, resources and stories about programs that have helped you get through tough times. Hearing stories and recommendations from other parents who have accessed support can have an incredible impact. 

4. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development 
Right now, many parents are trying to make sure online learning is happening at home or just navigating the normal journey through parenthood from early childhood developmental milestones to survival strategies for raising teens, and everything in between.  Share tips, resources and activities on parenting and child development. 

5. Social & Emotional Competence of Children 
Right now, children of all ages are feeling a lot of emotions. A strong social and emotional foundation in early childhood powerfully impacts children’s later positive attitudes and behaviors, academic performance, career path, and adult health outcomes. Many kids are grieving over the loss of their regular routine and missing their friends or even major milestones like graduation or prom for the Class of 2020.  Share tips, activities on building social & emotional competence of children and try to model what good social and emotional skills look like. Children mirror the behaviors of the adults around them. 

When families, organizations and communities focus on building these five protective factors, we can effectively prevent child abuse and keep families strong during this COVID-19 pandemic. 

Want more communications tools? 

  • In the coming days, similar messages will be added to the shared message bank.
This tool is intended to be a resource for communications managers and other staff from nonprofit organizations, businesses, health care providers or any other community organization to help guide the messages used in collateral, web content, reports, talking points or other communications for a variety of audiences. 
  • CDPHE offers free COVID-19 social media images, print materials, and videos in a variety of languages for local public health agencies, organizations, and businesses. ​
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4/23/2020 0 Comments

Next Keeping Families Strong Town Hall- May 5th

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Nearly 150 professionals from across Colorado joined together on April 21st for the third in a series of conversations on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19.

Please find information on the next conversation as well as a meeting summary and notes from this week’s call below. 
Upcoming Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19
​
Join us to share and learn from others about adaptations, resources, and
ongoing needs for strengthening families during these unprecedented times.

Tuesday, May 5th
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
​
Register HERE in advance to receive a confirmation email
containing information about joining the meeting. 

Town Hall ON KEEPING FAMILIES STRONG DURING COVID-19
​TUESDAY, APRIL 21st - SUMMARY ​

Across the state, organizations and professionals who work to strengthen families continue to adapt to the rapidly evolving needs of families during this unprecedented time. From this week’s conversation on these needs, the following themes emerged:

Many have successfully adapted their programs and family support services to a virtual platform! While it may be something folks never expected or thought possible, organizations and professionals have shown impressive flexibility and creativity by successfully moving services such as Circle of Parents groups, Nurse Family Partnership ‘home visits’, and  relationship education programs online. 

Caregivers are struggling with their new role as teachers and full-time childcare providers. Whether families have one child or many, adjusting to becoming an at-home educator and having children at home full-time is a challenge for all caregivers. Explore our notes and list of resources for some ideas and tools to support caregivers in these new roles.

Supporting families in creating healthy relationships and positive interpersonal interactions is especially vital during this time. As partners, children, and other family members are spending more time than ever under the same roof, creating and maintaining healthy and respectful relationships is more challenging and more important than ever. 

The need for concrete supports remains and continues to evolve. While much progress continues to be made in providing concrete supports to families during this time, the needs remain and continue to expand. 

Please find a detailed record of the April 21st call in our notes. 

On behalf of Illuminate Colorado and the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, we thank everyone for your commitment to this work! Let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything else we can do to support you in these uncertain times.
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4/8/2020 1 Comment

Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19

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Nearly two hundred professionals joined together this week for the second in a series of conversations on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19.

As a result of everyone who contributed by sharing ideas and needs, we have compiled meeting summaries and notes linked below.

​FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

​Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19
Tuesday, April 21st 
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Register in advance for this meeting and receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 
​
Join to share adaptations, responses and needs to strengthen families during these unprecedented times.

Subscribe to receive information this meeting and future outreach activities of the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families.

CONVERSATION ON KEEPING FAMILIES STRONG DURING COVID-19
​TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH - SUMMARY 
Across the state, people from many organizations and professions who do family strengthening work continue to adapt their responses to strengthen families during these unprecedented times. From this conversation four themes emerged:

Communities are innovating to ensure families have what they need. From drive-thru food pantries to tele-home visits to virtual dance clubs, folks across the field are employing creativity to provide concrete resources and social connections to children, parents, and families. To get inspired by your peers, explore our notes!

While we’ve made some progress, concrete supports remain urgent not only for families but also for service providers. With plans in place to increase distribution of diapers, formula, and wipes, we’re hopeful. However in addition to the needs of families we identified last call, participants shared that families who are experiencing loss also need resources to cover funeral costs. Finding housing and food resources for families who are experiencing homelessness is especially difficult. Additionally, food pantries, child care providers, and others continue to be in need of gloves, masks, and cleaning supplies.

Internet challenges persist. Rural and frontier communities continue to face additional barriers to services and social connections as many programs and social relationships switch to online.

We all have a role to play--professionally and personally--to build social connections in our communities. Whether it’s finding new ways to virtually check in with families we serve, connecting with our peers and workforce, or developing new initiatives to build social connections between parents, we all can continue to proactively foster and build relationships. 

Please use what's meaningful to you from this meeting summary and our notes.

On behalf of Illuminate Colorado and the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, we thank everyone for your commitment to this work! Let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything else we can do to support you in these uncertain times.

Virtual Listening Session as part of Gov. Polis’s prenatal to three policy priority development
​Friday, April 3rd - SUMMARY 
The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families (CPTF) would like to thank everyone who participated in our Virtual Listening Session to inform Governor Polis’s prenatal to three policy priorities. Overall, we see a number of opportunities to strengthen child care access, increase health care access and affordability, bolster family economic security, ensure food access, and expand social connections.

​Please explore our compiled notes, which were submitted for consideration.
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4/7/2020 2 Comments

Llamando a todos los padres: Participe en un grupo de enfoque para compartir su experiencia con respeto a los conexiones sociales.

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El Consorcio de Familias Prosperando quiere aprender de usted y como construir y promover conexiones sociales para los padres. Con el estrés adicional debido al coronavirus en Colorado, el cierre de escuelas y servicios de cuidado de niño, a demás de sentimientos de aislamiento como resultado del distanciamiento social, las comunidades van desarrollando estrategias nuevas para unirse y apoyar las familias y los niños. Necesitamos su voz, por método de un grupo de enfoque virtual, para apoyar nuestro movimiento de construir conexiones para los padres a través de Colorado. Para contribuir su experiencia, favor de registrarse para uno de los siguientes grupos de enfoque: 

Jueves, el 9 de abril: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (en inglés)
Friday, el 10 de abril: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (en inglés)
Miércoles, el 15 de abril: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (en español) Regístrese aquí
Fecha será anunciada: Grupo de enfoque para familias LGBTQ+ Regístrese aquí

Los participantes recibirán una tarjeta de regalo electrónica de $20 por su apoyo. Todos los grupos serán reunidos virtualmente por Zoom y después de registrarse le enviaremos instrucciones para participar. Para más información, preguntas o sugerencias acera de los grupos de enfoque, favor de contactar a Hattie Landry (hlandry@illuminatecolorado.org).
2 Comments

4/7/2020 4 Comments

Calling All Moms and Dads: Join a Focus Group to Share Your Experience with Social Connections

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The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families wants to hear from you about how to build and foster social connections for parents. With the added stress of the spread of COVID-19 in Colorado, the closure of schools and child care services and feelings of isolation as a result of social distancing measures, communities are developing new strategies to come together to support children and families.

We need parents like you to help shape our effort to build strong connections for parents across Colorado by participating in an upcoming focus group. To add your perspective, please register for one of the following virtual focus group times: 
  • Thursday, 4/9 from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (English language) -FULL
  • Friday, 4/10 from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. (English language) - FULL
  • Wednesday, 4/15 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  (Spanish language) Register HERE
  • Friday, 4/17 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (LGBTQ+ families) Register HERE 

Participants will be provided a $20 electronic gift card for their time and support. All focus groups will be held via Zoom, and information on how to join each meeting will be sent after you register. For questions, concerns, or more information about yet to be scheduled focus groups, please reach out to Hattie Landry at hlandry@illuminatecolorado.org
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    The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families  works collaboratively across the State of Colorado to create the conditions for strong families and communities where children are healthy, valued and thriving.

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