Author: smartstart

The Alabama Partnership for Children (APC), the state-level nonprofit agency focused on young children and their families, has multiple openings in exciting new programs to support high-quality child care and children’s early literacy. Entry-level as well as program coordinator positions are available. The positions are full-time, and minimum qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a human services field, with experience in childcare/early childhood, training and professional development, and data management preferred. The APC offers an opportunity to work with multiple state agency partners, local service providers, parents/families, and advocates to deliver high-quality programs and services that promote young children’s optimum development. Full-time positions include 100% coverage of health and dental insurance, and a retirement plan is available after one year of successful employment. The agency observes state and federal holidays and has generous annual and sick leave policies. Highly organized and dedicated candidates with a strong work ethic who want to work with a high energy group of supportive professionals in a family-friendly environment are encouraged to apply.

For consideration, please send a resume and letter of interest to:

APC Employment, 2595 Bell Road, Montgomery, AL  36117, or email info@alabamapartnershipforchildren.org with the subject “Employment”.

EOE M/V/F/D

This 2018 election cycle is important, as all of our state’s administrative offices and up to one-third of our state legislature are up for election. From the Governor’s office down through many county and city officials, we want investments in young children and families to be a primary focus of those in leadership roles. Research proves that early investments pay huge dividends for years to come in better child and adult outcomes. Our message is to “invest in success, rather than paying for failure”.

Most of the concerns our state faces have their roots in early childhood when 90% of the brain is developed and when the potential for building a strong body, mind, and spirit are optimal. Our focus on building and strengthening families is a critical basis on which everything else is built; young children’s health (physical and mental) is a predictor of adult health and well-being outcomes; and high quality early learning experiences are the only proven way to bridge the wide gaps and disparities between what young children know and are prepared to do when they enter school.

Through the Blueprint for Zero to Five framework, a statewide advisory council studies the best data available on Alabama’s young children, examines best practices and successful programs, and establishes priorities for collectively working to improve the well-being of our youngest citizens. These priorities and the group’s recommended investments are included in the Blueprint for Strong Families, School Readiness, and Prosperity found at: http://www.alabamapartnershipforchildren.org/about/zero-to-five/. We have also included some potential questions you might ask state and local candidates for public office. Your voice matters, and we hope you will promote what we believe are the investments needed to improve our state’s future. If you would like printed copies in folders to share with state and community leaders, groups in your community, or others who might promote our messages, please call 1-866-711-4025 or email info@alabamapartnershipforchildren.org.

A new joint policy statement, released by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, includes a recommendation for states to adopt a centralized intake, screening and referral process, specifically naming Help Me Grow® as an effective strategy, a national model from Connecticut Children’s Medical Center up and running in Alabama.

The report, which encourages greater collaboration between federal home visiting programs and federally-required state early intervention programs, notes that Help Me Grow® is a “non-federal system that assists states in identifying children at risk for developmental and behavioral concerns and then helps families find community-based programs and services. Help Me Grow is a system that helps to build collaboration across sectors, including health care, early care and education, and family support.”

Help Me Grow Alabama is a program of the Alabama Partnership for Children as an affiliate of the Help Me Grow National Network. Help Me Grow Alabama expanded statewide in 2016 and currently serves all 67 counties in the state through funding from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education through the Preschool Development Grant, the Alabama Department of Human Resources, and the Alabama Department of Mental Health through a Project LAUNCH Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association. Now, every family in Alabama is able to dial 2-1-1, ask for Help Me Grow Alabama and  speak with a care coordinator who will answer questions, connect them to services, follow up to ensure a connection is made and enroll them in developmental surveillance if interested. The United Way’s 2-1-1 Connects Alabama is a statewide network of regional call centers that provide free easy access to health and human services available throughout Alabama.

“Help Me Grow is a system model that provides a framework for ensuring all children and their families are linked to the services and supports needed to thrive,” said Kimberly Martini-Carvell, executive director of the Help Me Grow National Center. “This policy statement endorses that screening should not happen independent of an integrated system of care that has a strong ability to link children and families to effective services.”

Nearly one-third of Alabama parents say they have a concern about their child’s health or development. Help Me Grow Alabama provides the critical service of identifying concerns early when interventions are less costly and more effective. Health care and early learning providers also use Help Me Grow Alabama to refer families for additional assistance and developmental screenings.

“Alabama was an early adopter of this simple and effective model for identifying and addressing developmental concerns early in a child’s life. As the evidence emerges, Help Me Grow is now identified as an effective and cost-efficient program as indicated by this endorsement from the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. Working with our state’s 2-1-1 Network and other local and regional partners, our relatively small investment results in huge cost savings and better developmental outcomes for young children in Alabama. That’s a win-win for all,” according to Gail Piggott, executive director, Alabama Partnership for Children.

More information about Help Me Grow Alabama can be viewed here: http://www.helpmegrowalabama.org.

The Alabama Partnership for Children has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to increase access to quality early care and education programs statewide by educating parents, child care providers and the community about the benefits of regulated child care. The grant will support the Alabama Partnership for Children’s work of promoting public awareness through the Don’t Be In The Dark About Child Care campaign and implementing a technical assistance program to support license-exempt child care centers in obtaining a license from the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR).

Due to state legislation enacted in 1984, Alabama is one of the few states that allows certain child care centers to legally operate exempt from a license or inspection for minimum health and safety standards. In recent years, the number of licensed child care centers has continued to decline while the number of license-exempt child care centers has continued to increase. According to the 2016 Alabama Kids Count Data Book published by VOICES for Alabama’s Children, there are currently 1,009 licensed and 942 license-exempt child care centers in operation.

“Far too many Alabama children, including a disproportionate share of low-income children, are enrolled in unregulated child care, but a more alarming truth is that parents are completely unaware. There is an assumption and false assurance that child care programs legally operating have been inspected and are monitored,” said Gail Piggott, executive director of the Alabama Partnership for Children.

Don’t Be In The Dark About Child Care, a partnership campaign of the Alabama Partnership for Children and VOICES for Alabama’s Children promotes public awareness about the threat of unregulated child care to the health and safety of Alabama’s youngest, most vulnerable population. The campaign primarily provides information and resources to parents and families as child care consumers, but it also promotes a broader understanding among the general population about the deficiency in the quality of Alabama’s early care and education system.

A fundamental component of the Alabama Partnership for Children’s work will include providing a technical assistance program to assist license-exempt child care centers in meeting minimum health and safety standards and obtaining a DHR license. “As Alabama parents become more aware about the concerns of unregulated child care, they are making more informed decisions on the child care they choose, and we hope license-exempt programs see this as encouragement to obtain a license and ensure they’re meeting basic health and safety standards,” said Piggott.

According to DHR’s Subsidized Child Care Statistics, there is a current shortage of infant and toddler child care options. The Alabama Partnership for Children’s technical assistance program will focus on supporting existing license-exempt child care centers in order to begin building the supply of quality child care available to working families.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation funding prioritizes efforts to increase the number of licensed and inspected child care as a necessary step in improving the overall quality of Alabama’s early care and education system. The Alabama Partnership for Children’s work supported by this two-year grant begins January 2017.