Location of Messaging: Statewide
The Kindergarten NOW! Coalition is a group of partners working to advocate for fully funded full-day Kindergarten for all children who choose it in Colorado.
The coalition utilized the All Together for Prosperity messaging as their headline for why Colorado needs to invest in full-day Kindergarten.
Website: http://www.fulldayk.co/
Organizations serving children and families are increasingly focusing on family engagement as a strategy to improve services, enhance consumer and provider satisfaction, and reduce costs. This video highlights the voices of two family members of the Project LAUNCH Young Child Wellness Council. The Council exists to bring families and public and private partners together to improve policies, programs, and approaches so that all children enter school with the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills they need to succeed. As this five-year grant comes to a close, family members are eager to share their experiences with those interested in systems level initiatives.
Director of the Young Child Wellness Council, shared her recommendations for professionals and family leaders seeking to increase authentic engagement:
1) Personal experiences are what drove both Ray and Princess to their initial involvement. Bringing these experiences to the table is integral for success.
2) Joining councils and boards can be uncomfortable initially for a family partner. Connecting w/other professionals and feeling supported and heard allowed them to feel valued and kept both of them committed to the work.
3) Professional partners need to hear the voice of fathers.
4) It’s okay to start small. Begin w/volunteering in your child’s classroom, take advantage of other opportunities as they open up.
5) Be willing to take risks because your voice matters! Join a committee, attend conferences, and apply for boards.
6) This is a chance to revolutionize the way services are delivered!
Location of Messaging: Statewide
ABCD updated its website and messaging and used the Shared Messages and Photo Bank to inform the changes. The About Us section of the website includes prosperity framing and explanatory language around the importance of child development. ABCD has also developed messaging which explains what developmental screenings are to support building understanding and clarity for those outside of the field.
In addition to the messages, ABCD incorporated the Guidelines for Visuals and the Photo Bank to inform stock photos on the website.
Find the website here: www.coloradoabcd.org
Location of Messaging: Boulder County
We often tie our efforts to the larger efforts happening in the community. Our community did a survey and found that one of the top priorities in our system is mental health. The partnership created a social emotional toolkit. The toolkit outlines what to say when speaking about social emotional development for providers, fliers about social emotional development, and handouts for parents to better support their child’s development. You can find the social emotional toolkit on the Boulder ABCD webpage: www.bouldercountyabcd.org
Location of Messaging: Statewide
In 2015, the Colorado Department of Human Services, in partnership with more than one hundred and fifty community partners throughout the state and Governor Hickenlooper, launched a multi-year Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Public Awareness Campaign to engage all Coloradans in the prevention of child abuse and promote the new Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline 1-844-CO-4-KIDS (1-844-264-5437).
To build an evidence-based public awareness campaign, the Department conducted public opinion research in 2013 which serves as a baseline measurement for the effectiveness of the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Public Awareness Campaign. According to research, Coloradans were well aware child abuse and neglect is a problem, believing that one in four children experience abuse or neglect. More than half of Coloradans said they had personally encountered a child that they suspected was a victim of abuse or neglect and they said that they were very likely to report a litany of typical abuse and neglect situations.
However, perceptions were very different from reality. Prior to the launch of the campaign the general public – friends, neighbors, community members – were not reporting concerns. It was estimated that 75% of reports of child abuse and neglect in Colorado came from mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, 15% came from family members, and only 10% came from the general public.
The primary goal of the campaign is to encourage all Coloradans to play a role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect by reporting all concerns to the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline and getting involved to help Colorado’s kids. This comprehensive effort includes shared messaging, grassroots outreach, media relations, billboards, television commercials, social media, and extensive toolkit materials to help campaign partners raise awareness. Every year, the campaign reaches over one million impressions, encouraging Coloradans to get involved and play a role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
This campaign website is intended to help you:
Collateral:
Let’s have a real conversation about the struggles of parenting 9news interview
Employers play a role in strengthening families. (Speech by Laura Love of GroundFloor Media, April 2018)
We all play a role in strengthening families in… (Highlights from press event for Child Abuse Prevention Month, April 2018)
We are live kicking off Child Abuse Prevent Month in… (full press event for April)
Location of Messaging: Statewide
Early Milestones Colorado released a report detailing Colorado’s remarkable progress in early childhood over the past three decades. Looking to the Past to Shape Colorado’s Future: 30 Years of Progress for Young Children and Families covers the considerable accomplishments Colorado has made in health and well-being, learning and development, family support, and education. It highlights policies for state leaders to consider for work that remains.
Shared Messages are woven throughout the report, but are especially key in the introduction and framing of the report.
Collateral:
Location of Messaging: Statewide
Reach Out and Read Colorado is encouraging expectant moms to read aloud to their babies in utero as a pathway to improving literacy through the New Parent Empowerment Initiative. This pilot project is the first known program of its kind to introduce the concept of reading to baby during the prenatal period. Currently, Reach Out and Read Colorado programs, and others like it, target women and families with infants six months and older.
Empowering Expectant Mothers
Reach Out and Read Colorado recognizes that the prenatal period is a natural time of information gathering for expecting mothers. At first, targeting expectant mothers may seem out-of-scope with our mission of incorporating literacy into pediatric care. However, we also believe in finding innovative and thoughtful new ways to facilitate a pipeline for literacy learning. So, with the aim of creating a strong foundation for early literacy in mind, targeting patients during the prenatal period seemed to be a natural extension of the program.
During the development of our newest program, we identified a few potential drawbacks to waiting until after birth to introduce the concept of reading:
A new wave of programming was emphasizing “reading aloud starting from infancy,” yet books were not being provided to families by their health care providers until the age of six months. Will parents feel “behind the curve” if they haven’t been reading to baby?
Health check-ups in the first six months are typically packed with pressing information about the daily care of baby. Will the idea of reading to baby be diluted because of more immediate health and development concerns?
During the prenatal period, research has shown that any verbal communication with baby is important. By encouraging pregnant moms to talk, sing, and verbalize by reading street signs, menus, and more, moms can connect with baby during their everyday activities. By meeting parents where they are, rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all model, Reach Out and Read Colorado hopes to help forge connections that can be built upon once baby is born.
Targeting the Prenatal Period
Because the prenatal period is a natural time of information gathering for expectant mothers, Reach Out and Read Colorado believes that this is an ideal time to target new parents, as they are beginning to form their parental identities. The question we examined became: Would introducing reading during the prenatal period help families form new habits and traditions before the overwhelming first few months of baby’s life?
Creation of A Story About Reading
Reach Out and Read Colorado created an interactive storybook entitled A Story About Reading to start a conversation with mom and family about the importance of introducing baby to as many words as possible during the first years of life. The storybook itself serves as a tool for pregnant women to guide reading, talking and singing to their baby in utero, with the hope of developing a habit of positive interaction that will continue during the child’s early years. Using thoughtful language and illustrations, A Story About Reading aims to help expectant mothers feel confident, empowered, and well-prepared.
Using Metaphor to Explain Science
To demonstrate how a baby’s brain develops, A Story About Reading makes use of a well-known child’s toy (building blocks). The block tower base is equated to the 100 billion nerve cells a baby is born with and the story conveys how it’s up to parents to connect those nerve cells through human interaction and learning.
Actionable Tips Help Mom Immediately Connect with Baby
Early literacy interventions typically use messaging that equates a parent’s reading recommendation to time (e.g., read for 20 minutes each day) or instance (e.g., read every day). A Story About Reading centers on word count messaging as an easier, tangible measure with instant gratification. For example, while encouraging mom to read paragraphs of the story aloud to her growing baby, it follows with active encouragement through statements like “Way to go, you just read 140 words!” The storybook also focuses on speaking to baby in utero using everyday experiences, such as reading aloud street signs and menus or singing songs like I’m a Little Teapot. The text suggests singing this song once a day, every day for one year, while explaining to mom how this equates to exposing baby to 22,000 words.
Furthermore, the text aims to empower parents. Traditional early literacy messages instruct parents to read aloud to baby 20 minutes every day, but failure to accomplish this task may leave them feeling defeated. A Story About Reading refocuses mothers by using messaging that reminds them that being a mother can be hard, but “you’re enough” and “you are great.”
Active Encouragement to Reduce Stress and Create a Plan
Often, patient education neglects to take patient experiences into account when offering advice. A Story About Reading encourages its reader by identifying common, daily experiences as methods of connecting with baby. It acknowledges that being pregnant is hard work, and encourages mom to practice self-care. While some suggestions are provided, such as deep breathing or calling a friend, the storybook invites mom to participate by writing down things she can do for herself during pregnancy and beyond. It also encourages mom to create a plan about when she will talk, read, and sing to baby – during pregnancy and after baby’s birth – using daily activities as triggers (bath time, bedtime, before doctor’s appointments, etc.). And, because so much of the research was centered on women seeking ways of not feeling alone in the parenting journey, the storybook’s messaging also includes statements such as “it takes a village” and introduces ways new parents can connect with baby in group settings, such as story time at local libraries.
Expanding Distribution for Meaningful Interaction
Launched in April 2018, the New Parent Empowerment Initiative is currently being piloted by eight Front Range health care clinics and 22 Nurse-Family Partnership sites across Colorado. Sites were selected based on their commitment to the Reach Out and Read program model and their track record of results. A training module was provided to every person who will distribute the storybook.
The traditional Reach Out and Read Colorado program is prescribed by health care providers. However, the flexibility of the New Parent Empowerment Initiative allows for a wider, more diverse distribution network. This corresponds with the literature, where many women indicated a preference for receiving prenatal information in group settings. The storybook is being distributed during individual appointments and in prenatal group care settings, by social workers, midwives, care managers, and health care providers.
Created in Collaboration
The prenatal population is a new audience for Reach Out and Read Colorado, so we worked with existing services to ensure our program wasn’t duplicative. Our aim was to create a complimentary program that leveraged existing services to maximize impact and efficiency. Once this was determined, A Story About Reading went through an extensive review. Feedback was solicited from the Early Childhood Colorado Partnership’s Shared Messaging Team, the Nurse-Family Partnership Nurse Advisory Council, local health care providers, prenatal experts, community partners, and parents.
Measuring Program Success
Reach Out and Read Colorado has contracted with an external consulting company to measure and evaluate the program using a blended methodology of quantitative and qualitative research. The aim is to receive results and impact data as well as improvement suggestions from both the expectant mothers and the storybook distributors.
Quantitative methodologies will include telephone interviews, online surveys, and/or mailed surveys with families who received the storybook intervention. Qualitative methods such as professional phone interviews with health care professionals aim to provide in-depth information regarding impact and suggestions for improvement.
A full report on pilot measurement and evaluation is expected to be released December 2018.
Contact: Maureen Maycheco (maureen@reachoutandreadco.org), Communications Director
Location of Messaging: Weld County
Promises for Children is using the messaging in banners, ads, flyers, posters and social media. They are integrated into general campaign messaging to be consistent as well.
Materials:
A collaborative effort between the Office of Early Childhood, Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County, and Early Milestones Colorado, early childhood mental health messaging from the Shared Message Bank was leveraged to create materials for statewide partners and professionals to use in outreach to parents and caregivers about the importance of strong social emotional and mental health for children.
Visit www.earlychildhoodmentalhealthCO.org to view the comprehensive toolkit of materials.
Take a look at Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County (ECPAC) materials for community-level examples and opportunities.
These materials are funded through Project LAUNCH and LAUNCH Together.
Location of Messaging: Statewide
Children’s social-emotional development begins at birth with relationships and experiences they have right from the beginning. With secure and loving relationships and positive experiences, children develop a foundation of mental health that supports them throughout their lives. For more information about this important topic and to view helpful resources please go to earlychildhoodmentalhealthCO.org. The website contains a toolkit of materials including fact sheets, videos, posters, social media content, brochures and more to help professionals learn more about social-emotional development and early childhood mental health, offer tips on how to support healthy social-emotional development in early childhood programs and support communication and outreach to families. Materials are available in Spanish and English and can be customized for local organizations.
Collateral: all materials can be found at earlychildhoodmentalhealthCO.org