News and Tools to Strengthen Your Communications

When Michelle Simon reopened Clubhouse Academy, a child care center in Johnstown, CO, she knew that communication with parents and caregivers in her community would be important. She wants her center to “be noticed as an integral part of the community,” and that requires consistent, professional engagement with families. Thanks to a communications mini grant from Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) to support early childhood organizations in increasing the quality of their communications efforts, she was able to make progress on that goal. 

Engaging Parents and Caregivers

One component of quality communication that Simon wanted to focus on was professionalism. She knew that communicating with parents and caregivers in a variety of formats is important, and she wanted to ensure that all of her materials look professional, both for families she is currently serving and also for families that may be interested in her services.

Mini grant funds helped Simon produce both printed and digital materials. She prints hard copies of parent fliers, handbooks, and newsletters, and having high-quality toner is important for making those printed materials appeal to parents. Mini grant funds also helped pay for the costs of her website. The mix of printed and digital materials is important because some parents and caregivers may prefer to look at information on a mobile device, such as a phone or tablet, while others may not feel comfortable accessing information digitally. 

By creating a variety of ways for parents and caregivers to engage with information, Simon is illustrating an important component of one of the recommended strategies from the Early Childhood Communications Efforts in Colorado report: engagement. When parents and caregivers have the opportunity to participate in two-way, responsive communication, their engagement “generate[s] more positive outcomes for children’s cognitive and social development.”

Strengthening the Early Childhood Workforce

Simon knows that early childhood care can be a challenging field. She finds that working for an organization with professional communication materials can help create a sense of pride for her employees, but she also wanted to make sure her employees have everything they need to be successful. 

She used part of her grant funds to incentivize her staff to complete e-learning courses about topics like child development and quality instruction that are offered through the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System better known and PDIS. This additional professional development improves the quality of care that her center provides, and it can also lead to a sense of fulfillment for her employees, which is crucial for strengthening the early childhood workforce.

Local and state organizations are using the Communications Guidelines for Engaging Parents & Caregivers endorsed by the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) to reach and connect with the parents and caregivers in their communities. In October 2021, the ECLC and Illuminate Colorado (Illuminate) partnered together to award four communications mini grants to support early childhood organizations in increasing the quality of their communications efforts.  Assuring Better Child Health & Development,  or “ABCD” as it is more well-known,  was among the awardees. As a statewide nonprofit focused on improving the lives of Colorado children through early identification of developmental needs, ABCD communicates with a wide variety of pediatric and community partners. But, when the organization applied for a mini grant from the ECLC, they knew there was one group with whom they needed to prioritize improving communications- Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care providers – to ultimately reach parents and caregivers with their messages. 

Finding the Right Messenger

FFN child care is provided by someone who is a relative, friend, neighbor or other community member who does not have to meet child care licensing requirements for a variety of reasons. “When providers have appropriate messages, they can support families by engaging in shared decision making which helps to improve family’s knowledge of resources and information,” shared Joanna Powers, the AmeriCorps VISTA housed within ABCD specializing in communication and marketing VISTA. In the Early Childhood Communications Efforts in Colorado checklist, one strategy that is central to communicating effectively with parents and caregivers is quality. According to the guidelines, enhanced communication training for trusted messengers that connect with parents and caregivers, improves quality, and this is precisely what ABCD is planning to achieve with FFN providers–trusted care providers who have the opportunity to share information with parents and caregivers about child development.

A Plan for Quality Communication

Once ABCD identified increased engagement with FFN providers as a need, they began a process of developing a communications plan by talking with staff, their partners in local communities and FFN providers themselves to truly meet these trusted messengers where they are at today, as well as researching what others in Colorado are trying to do to address the same challenge.   

ABCD relied, in part, on the recent report  Engaging Colorado’s Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care Providers in Early  Childhood Systems, released in September 2021 by Early Milestones Colorado. Early  Milestones  partnered  with  Mile  High  United  Way  in  Fall  2020  to  conduct a survey and focus groups with FFN providers to produce this great resource; and ABCD was able to leverage the insight outlined in the report at the onset of the planning process to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of people providing child care in this way. According to the report: 

• FFN providers make up the largest group of child care providers in the country. 
• FFN care is more often used by families of color and low-income families. 
• Most FFN child care providers are women, and over half of FFN providers across the U.S. are people of color. 
• In 2020, nearly one-fifth (19.1%) of FFN providers surveyed reported caring for a child with special needs.
• Many FFN providers do not consider themselves child care providers or self-identify as FFN. They see themselves as a grandparent, a friend, or a neighbor helping someone in their community.

Now, ABCD has a clear strategy for what improved communications looks like for the organization and how their communications efforts will be measured along the way to achieve their organizational goals and communications objectives.  

The elements of their communications plan include:

• Purpose 
• Objectives
• Audience
• Messengers & Spokespeople
• Message(s)
• Approach through Communications Channels 
• Measurement, Tracking & Evaluation 

Building Capacity  

Funding isn’t necessarily all that is needed to improve communications. One unique aspect of ABCD’s approach to this work was that the organization gained increased capacity to improve communications by partnering with AmeriCorps VISTA. For more than two years the organization has housed a communication and marketing VISTA, spending around 85% of time focusing on communication efforts related to ABCD. So few organizations have communications resources, let alone dedicated staff to address marketing and communications challenges. This resource is one that is worth looking into if your organization is  creating communications efforts such as mass messaging campaigns, marketing campaigns, or targeted service awareness that is directed toward parents and caregivers. 

Clear Communications Channels

Throughout the course of the mini grant, Powers collaborated with Illuminate to think-through the various audiences and potential new and existing communications channels that the organization could access to reach FFN through trusted community providers, as well as statewide allied coalitions, associations and organizations. The resulting plan includes communicating messages to FFN providers through: 

• digital communications channels, like monthly emails and social media engagement on Facebook and LinkedIn
• integrated messaging on ABCD’s website www.coloradoabcd.org and
• in person at HealthySteps® meetings, FFN Network meetings and various statewide meetings. 

Pushing powerful messages like “one in 8 Colorado children are affected by some type of social, emotional or behavioral challenges or developmental delays. Unless they receive needed supports, they will struggle to reach their full potential,” will be made easier with the clear list of communications channels which ABCD now has and a content calendar which is ABCD’s next step toward improving communication with FFN providers.

Defining Measurements of Impact

To increase FFN engagement and quality in communication, ABCD identified metrics to measure the degree to which the work ABCD and various communications channels are effectively achieving two key objectives. This is an area where communicators often stumble. How do we measure our impact? To evaluate the effectiveness of each communication channel, ABCD identified key performance indicators associated with how they plan to use each avenue to reach their audiences. For example, on social media the metrics of success look at the number of impressions, engagement, people reached and growth in followers, in addition to the frequency with which they planned to post. While success of their emails are measured by open and click-through rates, website traffic and other conversions will also be looked at in a holistic way, alongside tactics like making sure space is created in meetings to share key messages.  Of course, ABCD will also explore ways to support the evaluation of communication efforts through surveys and research to identify gaps in effective communication and messaging resources. This work will further identify the impact of the FFN Communications Plan and give additional guidance and resources to ABCD communications to demonstrate the impact of their work to potential FFN providers. Ultimately, through the efforts of this initial phase of the communications plan, the organization anticipates improved communication with FFN providers will positively impact approximately 600 children ages 0-5 through early identification of developmental needs.