Prenatal to Grade 3 Alignment Initiative

The purpose of this project is to create stronger connections between elementary schools & providers of early childhood care/education programs; and between schools & parents of young children in 10 grantee communities across Oregon. The evaluation team developed data collection tools and is currently providing data collection and utilization training and technical assistance, and conducting systems evaluation data collection and analysis

Building the Case for Culturally Specific P-3 Strategies in Oregon: Listening to Voices From the Field

Oregon’s early learning and K-12 systems require transformative changes to address racial disparities in school readiness and success. Prenatal-through-Grade-3 (P-3) initiatives are an innovative way to align, strengthen and expand supports for this goal. Culturally specific organizations (CSOs) are uniquely poised and expertly prepared to meet the needs of communities of color while helping Oregon achieve its goals for reducing disparities in kinder­garten readiness and other educational outcomes. The proposed Early Childhood Equity Fund, which is included in the governor’s recommended 2019 budget, would move Oregon closer to eliminating the opportunity gap in kindergarten readiness and school success by investing in culturally specific early learning and family support programs and allocating more resources to CSOs that are imple­menting school readiness strategies

Evaluation of the Kindergarten Readiness Partnership & Innovation Grants

In July 2014, Oregon’s Early Learning Division provided first-time funding for sixteen communities across the state to implement Kindergarten Readiness Partnership & Innovation (KRPI) projects. The KRPI projects share the common goal of improving children’s school readiness and, ultimately, improving school success and reducing the achievement gap. To achieve these goals, grantees were given considerable local flexibility to implement innovative approaches in one or more of the following areas: 1. Supporting kindergarten readiness skills and smooth transitions to kindergarten; 2. Increasing family engagement in children’s learning and connecting families and schools; 3. Providing professional development to early learning and/or elementary school professionals to improve knowledge and skills; and/or 4. Increasing alignment, connection, and collaboration in the prenatal to Grade 3 (P-3) system. All grantees were also expected to work toward addressing achievement gaps for underrepresented children, including those with special needs, Dual Language Learners, and/or children from low income or racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. Across the sixteen grantees, a variety of different strategies and interventions were selected and implemented. Portland State University was contracted to conduct an evaluation of the KRPI initiative, with a focus on documenting and describing the types of innovations delivered, early program outcomes, and lessons learned from the first year of implementation. The evaluation took a multi-level, mixed-methods approach that included: Developing web-based reporting tools, including: Service reporting tools to track the types of events and interventions used; Demographic and background characteristics of participants; and Frequency of participation by early learning and elementary school professionals, families, and community partners; Outcome tools designed to capture short-term outcomes for three primary types of interventions: Kindergarten Transition programs Cross-Sector Professional Development activities; and Family Engagement activities; Interviewing 28 key stakeholders representing the 16 communities to document key project successes, challenges, and lessons learned; and conducting five site-specific “mini evaluations” that allowed a more in-depth evaluation of selected grantee projects

Volunteering in Oregon: Strengths and Opportunities in the Nonprofit Sector

The Volunteering in Oregon (VIO) project, conducted in 2016 and commissioned by The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF), sought to explore key questions related to volunteering in Oregon among nonprofits in the state. The VIO project included a statewide electronic survey with a random sample of nonprofit organizations, an electronic survey with a convenience sample of volunteers within these nonprofits, interviews with representatives from nonprofit organizations, and three case studies based on a document review and key stakeholder interviews with representatives of each organization. Ultimately, the aim of the VIO project was to identify recommendations and action steps for how OCF and its partners might best encourage and support effective volunteer engagement and service in Oregon

North Douglas County Community Needs Health Assessment (Phase 2)

Beginning in August 2016, Phase 2 of the North Douglas County (NDC) Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) built on work completed in the Phase 1 planning process, and engaged the communities of Drain, Elkton, and Yoncalla, Oregon in the development and administration of a regional health services survey. The purpose of the survey was to learn from families with children ages 0-8 in the NDC region in order to: Identify service needs across a range of health service types, e.g., dental care, immunizations, prenatal care, well-child care, primary care, and mental health; Identify barriers to access; Prioritize the programs and resources families most need to be able to support their and their children’s health; Learn about preferred ways families would like to access these services; and Recommend strategies to address the prioritized issues, needs, and barriers that emerge from the survey findings

Building Successful P-3 Initiatives: Foundations and Catalysts for Systems Change

Across the United States, there is a growing recognition that early education and K-12 systems require transformative changes to address racial, ethnic, linguistic and economic disparities in school readiness and success. Prenatal-through-Grade-3 (P-3) initiatives address these disparities by coordinating, strengthening and aligning fragmented support systems for families and children from birth through third grade. These increasingly popular initiatives: Are based on accumulating evidence that standalone early childhood and school-based programs are not sufficient to sustain long-term success for children facing early childhood inequities Take a collective impact approach that brings families, early childhood providers, K-12 staff and other partners together to work toward the shared goal of improving school readiness and success Build on the strengths of diverse programs and partners, identifying and addressing gaps in the system of supports and working together — rather than in isolation — to foster school readiness and success Since 2010, Portland State University’s P-3 evaluation team has partnered with Oregon communities to collect information on the implementation and outcomes of P-3 initiatives. In reviewing this information and related national research, we have identified two sets of key elements for successful P-3 initiatives. Foundations are the basic functional elements needed to establish a successful P-3 initiative. Catalysts are elements that promote and sustain the initiative’s progress toward improving educational systems, programs and outcomes. Using a school bus as an analogy, foundations are functional features such as the tires, seats, and engine and travel route. Catalysts are energizing factors that move the bus from point A to point B, such as fuel, a driver and a feedback system that provides information on course corrections and progress toward the destination. This summary describes both types of elements and offers examples of their use in P-3 work. We believe this framework provides a useful set of organizing principles to maximize the effectiveness of P-3 initiatives

Building Successful P-3 Initiatives: Foundations and Catalysts for Systems Change Executive Summary

Across the United States, there is a growing recognition that early education and K-12 systems require transformative changes to address racial, ethnic, linguistic and economic disparities in school readiness and success

Investments in Oregon's P-3 Initiatives

Transformative family engagement creates true partnerships between families, schools, teachers, early learning programs, and providers. In Oregon, current family engagement efforts fall into three broad domains: 1) Engaging families in supporting children's learning at home; 2) Engaging families as partners with providers, teachers, and schools; and 3) Engaging families in program, school and community leadership, decision-making, and advocacy. Although early indicators relating to the family engagement work being done by communities across Oregon are promissin, The central recommendation of this report is to continue strengthening family engagement work that focuses on reducing disparities for Oregon's most vulnearble children. The data continues to show dispartieies in school readiness for children of color and for children from economically disadvantaged families

Multnomah County Project Launch Evaluation

Early childhood is a critical time in human development. Any experience, positive or negative, can influence long-term outcomes for physical, emotional, social, and cognitive health (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). To ensure a strong foundation for success in school and in life, efforts designed to promote wellness and identify early learning or mental health challenges must begin well before kindergarten. Strong evidence shows that investing in early childhood can yield large dividends for children. Additionally, the ability of our systems to provide positive outcomes for children can be enhanced through strategic planning, well-developed partnerships, and coordinated family services. Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health), a federally funded United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative, aims to enhance and improve the way systems function by bringing together all participants in each child’s life including caregivers, primary care providers, early childhood educators, and mental health providers. Project LAUNCH strives to incorporate all participants, at all levels of service provision, to strengthen our ability to achieve the best possible outcomes in social and emotional health and wellness for all children. Project LAUNCH has funded states, local jurisdictions, and tribes interested in achieving these goals since 2008. Under Project LAUNCH, grantees are charged with (1) promoting the healthy development of children from birth to age 8 and their families by harnessing and coordinating existing resources and (2) increasing access to high-quality, evidence-based programs in five childcentric domains: developmental screening and assessment, home visiting, mental health consultation, family strengthening and training, and integration of behavioral health into primary care. By developing an understanding of the landscape of services and supports unique to each state and community and by evaluating strengths and opportunities for change, grantees begin to implement promotion and prevention strategies that best serve the needs of their communities at the child, family, and systems levels. Thus, while there are distinct cultural, geographic, and economic differences across LAUNCH sites in all cohorts, the fundamental components of the LAUNCH model remain the same for all grantees. To date, Project LAUNCH has funded 55 projects across six cohorts. All LAUNCH grantees are expected to demonstrate local policy and practice improvements that can be sustained statewide. Unlike other LAUNCH cohorts, Cohort 3 grantees are distinguished by the fact that they were funded solely at the community level with no state or tribal oversight. This presented the six sites with a unique set of opportunities and challenges as they sought to bring policy and practice improvements to scale, enhance infrastructure, and implement direct services in the five domains or strategies. The uniqueness of the community-based aspect of Cohort 3 grantees provided both challenges and opportunities. Grantees identified the flexibility and ability to control program activities within a community setting as key advantages to the local grants, whereas the ability to replicate successful activities and implement policy change on a statewide basis were limited. Additionally, the uniqueness of Cohort 3 made it challenging to evaluate the success of Cohort 3 grantees by measuring their progress against that of other cohorts. This e-book was developed to highlight and share the experience of the local communities in Cohort 3. This publication is designed to serve as a resource for future early childhood systems development activities implemented by LAUNCH grantees or by other early childhood programs with similar goals and interests. This publication shares the contributions of this unique cohort to the field of young children’s mental health and family wellness by spotlighting accomplishments, evidence, and lessons learned within the context of the LAUNCH strategic framework. Narratives from the six grantees detail the successes and challenges of systems building from the ground up and emphasize the value-added benefits of funding directly at the community level. Recommendations for present and future LAUNCH projects and similar initiatives address strategies to build local, state, and national partnerships to support replication and sustainability. We hope you will find this resource of value for supporting local initiatives that promote young child and family wellnes