Taking on New Roles to Address 21st Century Problems

Co-creation: Viewing Partnerships through a New Lens, provided a fresh look at public private partnerships and the collective work forged by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP), the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, and the State of Connecticut (Bowie, 2016). The partnership offered the opportunity to explore co-creation as a new paradigm and lens with which to design and assess collective work, particularly when trying to achieve large-scale systems change.In employing co-creation, the partnership established new structures and adopted processes that enabled a diverse group of individuals and entities to voluntarily contribute their skills, expertise, and resources to create a state level early childhood systems approach in Connecticut. This co-creation process also resulted in important transformations within the entities involved.For CCP, it was an opportunity to explore and test a new role and working structure in direct response to the evolving needs and desires within Connecticut's philanthropic community. Over the last 47 years, CCP has functioned as a network of various types of philanthropic organizations. CCP connects grantmakers to address issues both individually and collectively, is a resource for grantmaking where funders can access critical information and services, and is a voice for philanthropy representing the philanthropic sector to key audiences (Strategic Plan, Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, 2014).Within the public-private partnership, CCP established a new working relationship with the Early Childhood Funder Collaborative and with state government, which ultimately shifted the role of CCP. This new role moved beyond offering the typical program management and administrative support and in doing so gained the ability to bring forth different perspectives and new strategies in order to strengthen philanthropy's contribution to systems change. This shift was also in alignment with, and furthered, the mission of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy to promote and support effective philanthropy for the public good

Co-Creation: The Public Sector Perspective

This article continues to explore the partnership between the State of Connecticut, the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, and the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. These three entities have been working to coordinate their efforts toward a shared goal of establishing a statewide early childhood system, reducing the fragmented array of Connecticut's existing early childhood services and supports, and improving outcomes for young children and their families across the State.Independently and collectively, each partner continues to adopt new processes and working structures that enable the voluntary contribution of their diverse skills, expertise, and resources to create a new approach to early childhood in Connecticut. While clearly not the only constituencies working to improve outcomes for children and families throughout the state, this partnership between the public sector and the philanthropic community has resulted in important transformations within all entities involved. This paper highlights the role of the public sector within this public-private partnership, and, more specifically, the experience and perspectives of those working within state government

Co-Creation: Viewing Partnerships Through A New Lens

Collaboration remains an on-going discourse throughout the funder community, but little has been written about explorations or innovations into different ways of working collectively, beyond what was established decades ago.The Connecticut legislation calling for a greater coordination of efforts to improve early childhood outcomes explicitly invited "philanthropic organizations" to partner in the development of new policies and a systematic approach for supporting young children and families. The Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative emerged as the platform for philanthropy to do this work.Similar to other funder collective endeavors, the Collaborative and the state can claim short-term success. They not only had tangible results, but each valued their ability to coalesce to achieve those results. The difference in this effort was the melding of knowledge, networks and funding in a new paradigm. The more difficult question is whether the short-term endeavor creates the necessary conditions to sustain their efforts long enough to realize true systems change and improved outcomes for children and families.For large-scale systems change, co-creation may be a more fitting approach; it acknowledges self-interest, existing alongside shared goals and purpose, as necessary to sustain voluntary efforts. Co-creation is predicated on the notion that traditional top-down planning or decision-making should give way to a more flexible participatory structure, where diverse constituencies are invited in to collectively solve problems.Co-creation doesn't give priority to the group or the individual, but instead supports and encourages both simultaneously. In co-created endeavors, a shared identity isn't needed; members continue to work toward their own goals in pursuit of the common result. Co-creation enables individuals to work side by side, gaining an understanding of the goals, resources, and constraints that drive the behaviors of others, and adjusting accordingly to maintain a mutually beneficial gain.The partnership of the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, the State, and the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy was not originally structured to be an example of co-creation. It does, though, possess many of the attributes of successful co-creation endeavors. Recognizing these similarities in structure and purpose holds much promise to help the public and private sectors understand not only what to sustain, but how best to organize and continue working to achieve the long-term goal

A Neighborhood-Based Family Center Redesign Process: Taking a Systems Perspective

This article describes how the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, with a subset of its grantees and their program recipients, teamed with the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities to redesign its evaluation process. The foundation’s shift from traditional program evaluation to a more participatory, learning-focused approach resulted in new tools to assess variables that had been previously unexamined but were critical to program success. This article examines the redesign process and those new tools – the data from which are being used to improve employee engagement and front-line practice as part of a cross-agency learning network – and concludes with a discussion of reflective practice and actions taken and with a summary of lessons learned

The spontaneous speaking vocabulary of children in nursery-kindergarten, grades one, two and three.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Explorations, Vol. 5, No. 1

Articles include: Cover: What Have We Done with Tomorrow? by Leslie C. Hyde, UMCES Extension Agent for Knox-Lincoln Counties. Editorial Reflections, Carole J. Bombard UMCES: an overview Conversation with the Director: Assistant Vice-President Judith Bailey Reaching Out for Teen Awareness, by Theresa M. Ferrari Profile of a Harbormaster, by Carole J. Bombard Minding Maine’s Business, by Mary S. Bowie Family Resource Management: Learning to ease the burden, by Olive Dubord and Doris Cushman Breaking Free and Taking Control: Helen Sawyer’s Story, by Doris Manley Partnership in Conservation: The Josephine Newman Sanctuary, by Nancy Coverstone The Mount Desert Island Health Promotion Project, by Ron Beard Dynamics of Weed Control in Agriculture, by Leigh Morrow From Generation to Generation: An Extension Homemaker Family, by Nadine B. Reimer ICLAD: The Institute for Community Leadership and Development, by Jim Killacky and Deb Burwell Exploding the Cinderella Syndrome: Strengthening Stepfamilies, by Wendy Pollock Integrated Pest Management: Bringing it all together, by Glen Koehler and Jim Dill Addressing the Issues, by Patricia M. Pierson Anti-Bruise: What’s It All About? Maine Potato Harvest Anti-Bruise Program, by Neal D. Hallee H.O.P.E. Addresses Teenage Pregnancy, by Jane M. Kelly Saving Money and the Environment, by Vaughn H. Holyoke Reservoir Tillage in Nonirrigated Potato Production, by Leigh Morrow Managing Pesticide Drift, by James D. Dwyer, Leigh S. Morrow and James F. Dill The St. George River Project — what have we done with tomorrow? Putting Research to Work, by Stephen Belyea The Best Maine Blue: Fresh Pack Blueberries, by Tom DeGomez Maine’s Green Sea Urchin, by Benjamin A. Baxter Interfaces and Cooperation: Wildlife and Fisheries Sampler, by Catherine A. Elliott Extension Responds to the Salmonella Scare, by Nellie Hedstrom and Mahmoud El-Begearm

Effects of multidimensional treatment foster care on psychotic symptoms in girls

Objective Neurodevelopmental theories of psychosis highlight the potential benefits of early intervention, prevention, and/or preemption. How early intervention should take place has not been established, nor whether interventions based on social learning principles can have preemptive effects. The objective was to test whether a comprehensive psychosocial intervention can significantly alter psychotic symptom trajectories during adolescence—a period of heightened risk for a wide range of psychopathology. Method This study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) for delinquent adolescent girls. Assessment of psychotic symptoms took place at baseline and then 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-baseline using a standardized self-report instrument (Brief Symptom Inventory). A second source of information about psychotic symptoms was obtained at baseline or 12 months, and again at 24 months using a structured diagnostic interview (the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children [DISC]). Results Significant benefits for MTFC over treatment as usual for psychosis symptoms were observed over a 24-month period. Findings were replicated across both measures. Effects were independent of substance use and initial symptom severity and persisted beyond the initial intervention period. Conclusion Ameliorating nonclinical psychotic symptoms trajectories beginning in mid-adolescence via a multifaceted psychosocial intervention is possible. Developmental research on nonclinical psychotic symptoms and their prognostic value should be complemented by more psychosocial intervention research aimed at modifying these symptom trajectories early in their natural history. Clinical trial registration information—Juvenile Justice Girls Randomized Control Trial: Young Adult Follow-up; http://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01341626

The Use of Flow-Injection Analysis with Chemiluminescence Detection of Aqueous Ferrous Iron in Waters Containing High Concentrations of Organic Compounds

An evaluation of flow-injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection (FIA-CL) to quantify Fe2+(aq) in freshwaters was performed. Iron-coordinating and/or iron-reducing compounds, dissolved organic matter (DOM), and samples from two natural water systems were used to amend standard solutions of Fe2+(aq). Slopes of the response curves from ferrous iron standards (1 – 100 nM) were compared to the response curves of iron standards containing the amendments. Results suggest that FIA-CL is not suitable for systems containing ascorbate, hydroxylamine, cysteine or DOM. Little or no change in sensitivity occurred in solutions of oxalate and glycine or in natural waters with little organic matter