The Illinois General Assembly approved the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 2023) spending plan early Saturday morning. We expect Governor J.B. Pritzker will sign the package into law in the coming days.

The final budget (HB900) includes a welcome increase of $54.4 million (10.0% increase) in state funding for preschool, evidence-based home visiting services, and center-based infant-toddler programs funded by the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

It also includes $7 million (6.4% increase) in additional funding for the Early Intervention program, fully restoring the FY 22 funding cut. The legislature also appropriated $1 million (6.0% increase) in new funding for Illinois’ Department of Human Services’ evidence-based home visiting programs, the first funding increase in nearly 20 years.

“This budget makes investments in several early childhood programs, including home visiting, and restores state funding of Early Intervention – which are key supports for our state’s youngest learners and their families,” Ireta Gasner, Start Early vice president of Illinois policy, said. “Approving a state spending plan requires difficult and critical decisions, and this year, the Pritzker Administration and the General Assembly made decisions that prioritize services for families with young children.”

State funding in the FY 2023 budget (HB900) includes:

• A $54.4 million (10%) increase in state funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant at ISBE
• A $7 million (6.4%) increase in state funding for the Early Intervention (EI) program at IDHS
• A $536,000 (5.3%) increase for Healthy Families at IDHS
• A $480,000 (7%) increase in state funding for Maternal Child Home Visiting (formerly Parents Too Soon) at IDHS
• Level-funding (0.0%) for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) at IDHS, though the administration has committed to increase provider reimbursement rates twice over the next fiscal year
• A new $2.0 million appropriation to IDHS for deposit into the Off-Hours Child Care Program Fund (see below for further details)
• A $2.5 million appropriation to the Office of State Treasurer for the Children’s Savings Account Program.

In addition, Start Early and its partners have strongly advocated all year for the need to increase compensation for the early childhood professionals working for community-based organizations. We strongly encourage ISBE and IDHS to allocate a sizeable portion of these funding increases to boost compensation for teachers and staff working in child care centers, home visitors and Early Intervention professionals.

Several other important measures impacting the early care and education system (and the families that use it) have been approved by the legislature, including:

• HB4242 (Collins, Morrison) – a bill that:
  • Extends automatic eligibility to CCAP for parenting youth in care and families on the DCFS Extend Family Support Program (EFSP)
  • Extends automatic eligibility to EI for infants and toddlers in the child welfare system
  • Requires DCFS to pay child care providers the same reimbursement rates IDHS pays its providers through the CCAP program
  • Requires DCFS to report data on its child care program
• HB4999 (Gabel, Villanueva) – a bill that codifies into state law the timeline (30 days) by which services for families in the EI program must be initiated after a service plan has been approved
• HB1571 (Manley, Glowiak Hilton) – a bill that creates the Off-Hours Child Care Program at IDHS to help first responders and other workers identify and access off-hours child care
• SB3149 (Villanueva, Guzzardi) – a bill that requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and higher education institutions to provide information about the Child Care Assistance Program and the federal dependent care to students eligible for Monetary Award Program grants
• SB3032 (Fine, Morgan) – a bill that prohibits institutions of higher education from withholding academic transcripts from current or former students because of any unsettled debts with the institution.
• SB157 (Hastings, Zalewski) – a revenue bill that, among other things, expands the Earned Income Credit benefit for all filers; extends eligibility to the EIC for those aged 18-25, those above 65, and ITIN filers; and provides a one-time child tax credit

Join us on April 6 for Early Childhood Advocacy Day! Although we couldn’t be together in Springfield this year, we hope you can still raise awareness in support of early childhood services and programs. Recently, Start Early has developed several resources to support your legislative advocacy with our Advocacy in Action Series. We hope you can take the additional step to join us in one final push to legislators to ensure they prioritize early childhood funding in the state budget proposal.

The legislative session was much shorter than usual so we need your voice, your story, and your advocacy to ensure our youngest learners and their families can continue to receive the services and supports they need in order to thrive. The pandemic has been particularly difficult period for so many that we need your stories to show our lawmakers why these investments are critical.

Why Advocate

Advocacy: building support for a topic or issue. Advocacy allows you to use your voice and share your story on how an issue, policy or decision has or may impact your life or the lives of those you love. Each year, legislators make important decisions at local, state and federal levels that have real impacts, and you should feel empowered to contact your legislators to help them understand what their decisions mean for communities. For example, crafting a state budget is one of the most important things legislators do. Your advocacy can ensure they consider and priorities early childhood priorities in their decision-making.

Regardless of the time of year, advocacy can drive pivotal change. It takes time to develop a relationship with legislators and their staff, so reaching out to them outside of the legislative session can amplify and drive recognition of the early childhood issues facing families and communities every day.

We understand that you are busy and often have competing priorities making it difficult to find the time to advocate. So, we developed several resources to help explain the legislative process and created videos to guide you through several easy-to-use opportunities for advocacy.

We also encourage you to educate and share resources with your personal and professional networks. By encouraging others to be advocates, we can amplify the diverse needs of children and families in communities and ensure other perspectives are shared with legislators. It’s also an opportunity for diverse stakeholders to offer solutions.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re commemorating women’s vital impact and accomplishments on society.

Our Start Early staff members: Keneischia Jones, health coordinator, Early Head Start Network; Rio Romero-Jurado, policy manager, National Policy and Kayla Goldfarb, policy specialist, Illinois Policy shared how their womanhood has influenced their career journey, the crucial importance of pay equity in early childhood and the need for inclusion and continued progress for all women.

How has being a woman influenced your identity?

Keneischia Jones: Being a woman of color is my daily makeup. I get to wake up and change my hair and wear my afro today because that’s what I’m feeling. I’ve become the young Black woman that I wanted to be when I was younger and I wasn’t able to present like this. Now as a woman I have my bearings and I can show the world who I am at all times.

Rio Romero-Jurado: My identity in being a woman and a woman of color in particular has really shaped my values, social conscience and the kind of person I want to be and what I want to contribute to the world. I came to social work, policy and advocacy because I was naturally drawn to eliminating inequities in our society and empowering other women through social change and action.

That’s part of why I love what I do. Even in elementary school I really loved social studies. I recognized pretty early on that there was an underrepresentation, we all know, of women and people of color at our highest levels of government. I think that’s really further motivated me to embrace my identity as a woman and to be part of an organization to help ensure that women and the issues that matter to them and their families are prioritized in our society and in policy.

Kayla Goldfarb: There are so many things that have been shared that really resonated with me and are really energizing. Being a woman has influenced my identity in that I don’t feel limited in any way. But I also recognize how much of a privilege that is when you look at women globally and locally because that is not always the case. I’ve begun to understand the breadth of how people experience being a woman from a race, class, location and lived experience perspective. It’s been mind opening.

Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Trivia

What significance does March 7, 1927 hold in the history of the Washington State Legislature?

That’s a Wrap!

Sine Die. The Latin term Sine Die means “without a day to reconvene” and is used to signify adjournment at the end of a legislative session. Under Washington state’s Sine Die tradition, the doors to each chamber are opened so they can see the other body, the lawmakers line the aisles, and the presiding officers of the Senate and House simultaneously pound their gavels to mark conclusion of another legislative session.

House on Sine Die March 10, 2022
Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Final Budget Compromise Released. On Wednesday, the details of the $64.1 billion operating budget compromise were released prior to affirming votes in the Senate and the House. See our summary of what items were funded in the final budget (this link includes updated information).

The final budget amount came in lower than the House’s proposed $65.2 billion budget and higher than the Senate’s proposed $63.5 billion approach. The final budget includes $800 million in reserves as well as an additional $2.75 billion designated for COVID-19 related or other emergency responses.

Legislative Update. The Senate and House spent the week wrapping up final business, sending a slew of bills to the Governor for signature. Check out Start Early Washington’s bill tracker on our resource page to get the final tally of which bills made it to the Governor’s desk.

An important follow-up item relates to the status of designating pickleball as the state’s official sport. I’m pleased to share that SB 5615 made it through the legislative process and is on its way to the Governor for signature.

Now What?

We’re not quite done yet… While there is an audible sigh of relief after Sine Die, our work is not complete as attention turns to the executive branch, with Governor Inslee and his team beginning the process of reviewing the bills and budget details awaiting his action.

Like with every aspect of the legislative process, there are rules associated with the Governor’s consideration of bills, including the timeline for action dependent upon when a bill reaches the Governor’s desk. Many of these rules were developed for pre-electronic times when official paperwork was physically signed and delivered (and could get lost or misplaced – on accident or perhaps purposefully). At this stage, the Governor generally has 20 days to sign or veto bills once they reach his office. Sundays are not counted in that timeline, but Saturdays and holidays are included.

Governor Inslee’s office maintains a schedule of bill actions on his website where you can track which bills have been acted upon, and which bills are scheduled for signature. We do expect bill signings to continue to be largely virtual affairs this year, but track his website if you are interested in the status of a particular bill.

Election season is coming. 2022 is an election year with every House of Representatives seat and half of the State Senate seats up for election. Additionally, because Secretary of State Steve Hobbs was appointed to complete an unexpired term, the Secretary of State office will be up for election this year. Key dates include the candidate filing deadline of May 20, the primary election Aug. 2 and the general election Nov. 8.

Timing of Future Notes from Olympia. With the conclusion of the legislative session, we will pause the release of weekly updates and move to an “as needed” basis to share information. Expect our next update after the Governor’s action on bills and the budgets.

Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Trivia!

March serves as Women’s History Month. This week’s trivia focuses on Washington state’s first female Governor, Dixy Lee Ray, who served one term from 1977 to 1981. Governor Ray began her career in a non-political field, earning a doctorate from Stanford in what subject area? Bonus points if you know the topic of her dissertation.

Dixy Lee Ray Campaign Poster (1976)
Photo Credit: HistoryLink.org

Highlights of the Week

Capital Gains Tax Ruled Unconstitutional. On March 1, Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled the Capital Gains tax initiated by SB 5096 of 2021 unconstitutional. Intended to provide funding to support the Fair Start for Kids Act and schools, Attorney General Bob Ferguson immediately signaled the state’s plan to appeal. Crosscut ran a great piece summarizing the key issues, the ruling and potential next steps. More to come.

Hurry Up and Wait? With a near solid week of fiscal committee meetings concluding Monday and a quick pivot into marathon Floor sessions Tuesday, those involved in the legislative process had ample time to practice their waiting game. This is the point of the legislative session when scheduled hearings and Floor times become fluid as legislators retreat to caucus to be briefed and discuss bills while lobbyists’ phones fill with texts trying to track it all – “Did the House come back? Are they still in caucus?”

With the clock ticking toward the 5 p.m. deadline today for bills to pass out of the opposite house, interested parties want to ensure their favored bills do not fall through the cracks and instead make it over the finish line. During this week, time is not our friend as there are simply not enough hours in the day to debate and vote on all the outstanding bills. They call the legislative process sausage making for a reason!

Be sure to check out Start Early Washington’s Bill Tracker on our State Policy Resources page for the latest bill information.

More Cars in the Parking Lot. Following the Senate decision last week, the House of Representatives also moved to bring more House members back to the Floor for in-person debates and open their galleries to more observers. The campus is not anywhere close to its normal level of activity, but there are certainly more cars in the lots for these final days.

The House of Representatives Chamber awaits the partial return of members for Floor debate March 1, 2022
Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Saying Goodbye. It is not unusual for lawmakers to announce they do not plan to run for reelection during the short, 60-day session. This year, though, seems to have brought an unprecedented number of retirement announcements, including from some long serving legislators. As we are looking at the calendar for the final days of this session, we can also expect time built in to honor these retiring lawmakers’ legacies.

What’s Up Next?

The Final Sprint. After tonight’s cutoff deadline for bills to pass out of their opposite house, focus will shift to finalizing and approving the supplemental budget and reviewing how bills were changed in the opposite chamber.

Bills that were amended in the opposite body must return to the house of origin for what is called “concurrence.” Concurrence represents the opportunity for the house of origin to affirm changes made in the opposite body. If the house of origin does not agree with the changes made in the opposite body, the bill then goes to “conference” where three members from the Senate (2 Democrats/1 Republican) and three members of the House (2 Democrats/1 Republican) meet in a conference committee to resolve differences, resulting in a conference report. The conference report must then be approved by each body by an up or down vote. Depending on how many bills were amended and how many require conference committee review, this step can eat up quite a bit of time.

We do not know exactly when Senate and House budget conference committee members will release the agreed-upon budget proposal, but I would guess it will likely be public early next week. Both chambers will then approve the agreed-upon budget prior to Sine Die March 10 – again by an up or down vote.

When the final budget is released, we will send out a summary with key details related to early learning.

The Partnership for Pre-K Improvement (PPI) was launched in 2016 with a vision to develop and sustain high-quality, equitable state pre-K systems. Throughout the 5-year project, we partnered with 3 states – Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington – to learn alongside state education leaders, advocates and researchers about how to systematically improve pre-K quality. Along the way, we focused in on infrastructure and the policies, data, and implementation supports pre-K programs need to succeed.

As a culmination of this project, we created a report to capture lessons learned and recommendations for state early learning agency leaders, researchers and advocates, along with a free toolkit to support pre-K systems improvement.

What We Learned

• Systems change is complex and occurs over a long period of time. Although we saw important improvements during the life of the project, substantial systems change is ongoing and occurs in cycles as states navigate governmental, political, leadership, and funding changes and challenges.
• Practice frameworks can both advance and impede systems change work. While focusing on core elements of teaching and learning seemed that it would yield the greatest impact on quality, states were most successful when focusing on just one or two elements at a time.
• Implementation science is useful at the systems level but does not sufficiently advance equity. While an implementation science framework was very helpful in driving improvements, equity does not automatically follow quality changes. Equity must instead be intentionally centered.
• At the systems level, coordination, alignment, and resource-sharing across programs are necessary when striving to improve pre-K statewide. Quality and equity can only improve when pre-K is seen as a legitimate part of the broader education system.
• Strong, trusting, and stable partnerships between advocates and researchers are key to success of improvement efforts. Specifically, relationships that are pre-existing, intentional in terms of allocating staff and resources, and provide opportunities to learn from each other, are all critical factors in building stable and successful partnerships.

Recommendations

For state systems leaders, advocates and research partners:

• Build meaningful partnerships among systems leaders, advocates, and researchers.
• Think beyond pre-K.
• Recognize that implementation and infrastructure are critical missing pieces of systems change.
• Use intentional strategies for increasing equity and elevating parent and teacher voices.
• Prioritize data infrastructure and your state’s ability to use data for improvement.

For national and local consultants and technical assistance providers:

• Center equity from the beginning of any project.
• Ensure that state and local voices drive systems improvement consultation and technical assistance.
• Throughout this work, keep in mind both long-term vision, and more pressing, daily challenges.
• Provide flexible resources and funding.

Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Trivia!

On the East of the Legislative Building sits a tree honoring the late Cal Anderson. What is Cal Anderson’s connection to Washington state history?

Cal Anderson Tree
Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Highlights of the Week

Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Potato Day is Back! During “normal” legislative sessions, nearly every day is some sort of organizational lobby event. From auto dealers to home health care workers to massage therapists, groups converge on the Capitol campus to make their case to lawmakers.

For those working at and around the Capitol, free food days are particularly special. Some Capitol staff and lobbyists live for beef day, while others covet dairy day when free ice cream is distributed. Others cite potato day as their favorite.

After a one-year absence, a modified potato day returned this week on the North side of the Legislative building. On a sunny, but frigid day, the Washington State Potato Commission offered the limited number of people on campus a prepackaged box filled with a baked potato with all the toppings. (Author’s review – my potato was delicious).

Photo Credit: Erica Hallock

Next Wednesday is beef day, so I would say things are looking up.

Senate and House Budgets Released. On Monday, the Senate and House released their proposed operating budgets. In addition, the House released its Capital Budget Monday. The Senate’s Operating Budget includes $63 billion in spending while the House’s Operating Budget contains $65 billion.

Both the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees held public hearings late into Monday evening where they received feedback on their respective approaches. On Wednesday, the committees met again to review and adopt amendments. These amendments (81 in the Senate and 53 in the House) could be technical in nature (cleaning up errors) or requests to include omitted items. We have updated our Early Learning Budget Summary to reflect amendments adopted Wednesday.

For next steps, the Senate and House are expected to debate and vote on their respective budgets over the next couple of days. After that point, budget writers from both bodies will meet via conference committee to reconcile their approaches. They will release a final budget for the Senate and House’s consideration prior to Sine Die March 10.

Legislative Updates

Last Thursday was the cutoff for bills to pass out of policy committees. In advance of this deadline, policy committees held jam-packed hearings to pass out bills from the opposite body. This is another time in the process where some bills do not advance. There are a number of reasons this could happen, including simply not having enough time to work through differences. As we have seen fewer “companion bills” introduced in the past two years (companion bills are Senate and House versions of the same policy), more time is needed to bring legislators in the opposite chamber up to speed on the contents of bills, which is also a factor in some bills stalling.

It is common practice for budget writers to include funding for bills continuing in the process with a fiscal impact. For example, the House budget includes a total of $563,000 to fund the components of 2SHB 1890 (relating to children and youth behavioral health) and the Senate budget contains $489,000 to support SSB 5838 (relating to a monthly diaper subsidy for families participating in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).

Be sure to check out Start Early Washington’s Bill Tracker on our State Policy Resources page for the latest bill information.

What’s Up Next?

We are rapidly approaching Sine Die (adjournment) March 10. It is hard to believe there are less than two weeks left – 60 days go by quickly!

With fiscal cutoff upcoming Monday, we expect another weekend of Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committee meetings. The opposite house cutoff is a week from today – Friday, March 4 – so next week will be filled with floor activity. Let’s also not forget negotiations on final budgets will continue as well. While this is another unusual legislative session given its hybrid nature, the realities of imposing deadlines and limited time remains.

One other item to note – beginning today, a limited number of the public will be allowed in the Senate gallery after displaying proof of a negative COVID-19 test. The House is still considering changes to their plans.

Today’s early childhood organizations are vocal about their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). As leaders, we vary in the degree to which we responsively identify and change processes that make those commitments visible. Regardless of how long we have been or where we stand in the field of home visiting, we need not look far to find ways to move from intention to impact.

Consider this quick questionnaire:

• Think about the values and cultural backgrounds of families in your program. Is there cultural alignment between the practitioners and the enrolled families?
• Who is responsible for decisions of policy, job qualifications, and practice protocols for home visitors and supervisors in your program? How many of those who are making system and protocol decisions are actively engaged with families on a day-to-day basis?

COVID has prolonged widespread staff vacancies in early childhood settings. Today’s leaders are faced with the simultaneous challenges of hiring new staff and retaining their current workforce. During this season of workforce upheaval, we need to look for ways to cultivate and elevate the voice, experience, and expertise of those currently engaged in direct work with families to increase DEIB in our programs.

Home visitors, by the very nature of their jobs, are uniquely positioned to support caregivers’ goals for themselves and their child. Parents and home visitors co-develop action plans in the context of the family’s composition of members, culture, community, and economic resources. Home visitors partner with parents and caregivers directly to navigate culturally dismissive, disconnected community systems that are not responsive to the family’s identified needs. Practitioners hold expertise in their local resources, provide in-person and virtual support, are on top of trends and interests of families, and have the experience and perspectives of cultural brokers in the community. They honor a caregiver’s unspoken words, “…nothing about me without me…”.

As we prepare for the upcoming virtual National Home Visiting Summit in late March, let’s keep talking with each other and listening to the perspectives and expertise of home visitors. Let’s challenge ourselves to identify strategies that seek to invite, reach, engage, and cultivate the invaluable input of practitioners. When we return to the routines of our work, let’s commit to create and improve platforms for home visitors’ involvement in decisions related to policy, research and practice that directly impact them.

Interested in learning more about Start Early’s resources and learning opportunities for home visitors and supervisors? Check out our Essentials of Home Visiting online professional development experiences or reach out to us directly at professionaldevelopment@startearly.org.

In partnership with public and private organizations, Start Early Washington supports comprehensive prenatal-to-five learning experiences for children and families statewide with a unique focus on home visiting services. We are thrilled to share what we have been up to:

Home Visiting Highlights

Fostering Relationships Virtually. Building on innovative strategies to maintain relationships in a virtual setting remains a key priority as we navigate home visiting service delivery throughout the ongoing pandemic. Gaby Rosario, Parents as Teachers state leader, shares innovative ways to engage with families virtually. Read more.

Advancing Racial Equity. ParentChild+ is one of the state’s home visiting models supported by Start Early Washington. Last quarter home visiting professionals gathered for a biannual professional development workshop centered in racial equity as part of an ongoing commitment to advance racial equity in this model. Here are a few recommendations they shared for home visiting professionals:

• Carefully choose literature and materials for home visits that portray multiple cultures and match family values. Home visiting professionals hold great power in selecting materials that allow families to celebrate who they are, including cultural norms, skin color, hair texture and so much more!
• Biases shape our worldview. Identify, unpack and address internal and external biases to ensure the highest-quality and most inclusive services to families.
• Support families in speaking their home language. Speaking to children in their home language is a powerful factor in building and retaining secure parent-child attachments.

Approaching Difficult Conversations. Many families are weighed down by stress and anxiety during this complex period of uncertainty. NEAR@Home’s lead facilitator, Quen Zorrah is an expert at approaching difficult conversations with parents, especially during times of trauma. Her blog powerfully highlights how home visitors can repair interactions with families utilizing strategies that lead to authentic and trusting relationships.

Looking for more on respectfully and effectively addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with families? Visit our Near@Home page for additional publications and resources from our experts.

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Visit us at Start Early Washington to learn more about our work.
You can also find us on Twitter @StartEarlyWa.

As the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countless families were left in crisis. Suddenly, parents were full-time caregivers, employees and teachers; they needed support more than ever. When Gaby Rosario began working as the new Parents as Teachers state leader for Start Early Washington last year, she admired how home visiting programs quickly and effectively adapted to virtual visits to continue meeting the needs of families.

Flexibility is Key

Home visitors strive to build strong relationships with parents and encourage positive parent-child engagement to support healthy child development and future outcomes. One of the most powerful tools they have is connecting with families face to face, but when all in-person services shut down due to the pandemic, physical contact was no longer an option.

“Challenges brought on by the pandemic allowed us to stretch our minds and creatively support home visiting services,” Gaby highlighted. Home visiting programs pivoted to individualized services meeting the unique needs of families from a safe distance. “We shortened check-in periods and checked in more often, utilizing various methods of engagement such as email, text messages and phone calls to support families as they worked through learning and reflection.”

Conducting home visits on a virtual level meant staff had to think outside the box to ensure all the required components for a visit were still in place. Parental engagement unexpectedly increased for many families. “It was deeply meaningful when parents shared videos and pictures of their children thriving with the individualized activities created specifically for them. Gaby shared, “Our relationships with families deepened and it was rewarding to witness the positive parent-child interactions.”

With social distancing precautions in place, home visitors’ roles during visits shifted dramatically. They relied on families to lead parent-child interactions, which brought unexpected benefits as families took on leadership in the learning process. Home visitors leaned into coaching, supporting, answering questions and facilitating rather than leading home visits.

Gaby described, “We saw a new level of enjoyment with families that chose to participate virtually; parents’ confidence in leading individualized activities grew and we saw deeper connections between parents and their children. Parents’ messages of excitement, ‘Look what my child did today!’ were so inspiring.”

Reaching Rural Families

“One of the key things the pandemic taught us was that we could reach families further away through virtual systems.” As an expert in serving families in rural communities, Gaby was determined to partner with her team to harness technology-based services. By offering virtual home visiting services, they managed to overcome the challenges of long-distance travel and access to remote areas in bad weather.

Staff repurposed travel time to spend more time intentionally individualizing services for families. “Without the need to be physically present, home visitors provided more flexibility, accommodating family scheduling constraints or last-minute changes, if necessary,” explained Gaby.

Some families did not have access to technology at all. To meet this challenge, programs developed innovative solutions, including purchasing tablets and providing families with internet and cellphone assistance. Other strategies included scheduling virtual meetings at community agencies or public libraries, where families accessed broadband and technology-based services.

A few families lived in extremely isolated areas. Consequently, home visitors preplanned connections with families when they traveled into town and had access to virtual services. Gaby added, “One family lived deep in the mountains on the outskirts of the small city of Tonasket. When it wasn’t possible to connect in town, staff journeyed into the mountains to drop off activities and make a personal connection, even if that meant they had to share stories from 6 feet apart. We made every effort to ensure families had what they needed during this difficult period of isolation.”

Letting Families Know They’re Heard

Although bilingual resources were available for families, not all programs had home visitors that spoke languages other than English. Fluent in English and Spanish herself, Gaby understood the importance of connecting with families in a language they felt most comfortable. Before the pandemic, programs arranged in-person translation and interpretation or utilized call-in services for interpretation during in-person home visits. However, with social distancing precautions in place, it became necessary to adapt this practice. As a result, programs pivoted to virtual translation and interpretation tools, which took extra planning but were well worth the effort. Staff coordinated within agencies to share translation and interpretation services, and translators provided services over three-way calls or virtual platforms.

Gaby shared, “There was a learning curve as teams and families navigated multiple platforms and new methods of technology. Families tried new things they never thought they would try, and we continued to provide the one-on-one support they needed to feel comfortable.”

The technical support provided by staff did more than help with home visiting services; it offered families a window to the outside world again. Gaby explained, “The assistance we provided for a Spanish-speaking mother living in Brewster gave her confidence to support her three school-age children with their virtual classes. At the time, families did not know what virtual engagement looked like or how to navigate tools like Zoom. Together, we made sure her tablet settings were in Spanish, downloaded useful apps and walked through navigating virtual engagement.”

The world has had to find new ways of navigating everyday life since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and Start Early is no exception.

“One of the most significant things we learned during this new period of virtual-based engagement is that a willingness to be flexible is essential to both the home visiting support teams and families,” Gaby reflected.

Washington’s home visitors continue to work on adaptations needed to meet program requirements. In support, Start Early Washington curated a list of resources for home visitors to guide technology-based engagement.

Gaby Rosario supports professional development, training, technical assistance and coaching for 27 Parents as Teachers home visiting programs statewide.