Start Early Washington is grateful to be building strong partnerships with organizations that share our values and goals.
Start Early Washington had the opportunity recently to sit down with founder Heidi Stolte, and senior education program officer Brianna Jackson, and hear their thoughts on how efforts in the early learning education field are contributing to closing critical early learning and opportunity gaps.
Inspirational Beginnings
Thinking back to the beginning, what influenced your focus for the Foundation’s education goals on closing opportunity gaps by engaging families and communities in our region?
Heidi: When my husband Chris and I were deciding on the focus for the foundation and the inspiration for education, we had young children at the time, and I reflected on my experiences as a teacher and volunteer and the gaps that kids come to kindergarten with as far as being prepared to learn. Often unfortunately when they start out unprepared, they don’t catch up and they remain behind. Those early years and brain development between ages 0 to 5 are critical, so we recognized how critical the impacts of supporting early childhood learning are.
As I began to work with Social Venture Partners (SVP) on their early learning grant committee in 2011, we saw how much is either gained or lost in those earliest years and that starting early with healthy development is important. Seattle Foundation introduced us to local organizations doing early learning work, and specifically to ParentChild+ (PC+).
Having worked in education I just soaked up all of the little things I observed in PC+, like how early learning specialists provide coaching and role modeling, meeting the parents where they are at, supporting parents with learning how to enhance both the cognitive and social-emotional skills of their child, and also providing critical resources and supports. There are so many components of PC+ that spoke to me.
Evolution of Focus
Going back to where things started in 2015, as you began the evolution of investing in early childhood and PC+, what’s changed the most for both of you?
Heidi: We focused on two areas: early learning and summer learning loss. The time when learning can be gained or lost, and we thought we could have some positive impact on that. In 2018 when we hired our first Education Program Officer, we realized that we needed to dive into this a little more and dedicate time to strategy and planning. We looked into a lot of areas and considered what spoke to us, what was needed, what gaps existed in funding, assessed education data both locally and nationally, and identified what geographic areas needed more resources and support. From there we decided to focus on parent-family engagement. Parents are such an important connection for children as their first teacher throughout their whole lives, and this is a critical time when they are with them before school begins.
Brianna: As you learn more, you become more intentional about your work. We have been able to be more on the ground and build the relationships with amazing community organizations, and be a bridge to increase visibility of those organizations with larger funders. We have been able to fund both systems-level as well as direct-service organizations, a great evolution for our investments.
Embracing Optimism
As a funder, and more important as someone entrenched in the work and watching the work change, what are you most optimistic about in the early childhood space going forward?
Brianna: There have been great wins in Washington state around early childhood and public funding, for example more of a focus on provider wages and ensuring that providers can make a livable wage. It’s exciting to see the direction things are moving with the Fair Start for Kids Act with the increase of access to child care benefits and consideration for the economic health of Washington’s families. In the 20+ years that I have been in this work, I am encouraged to see that we are finally understanding as a society that you can’t NOT invest in early childhood. And when we don’t invest in this critical period of development and growth for children and families there are real economic and social repercussions.
"So many of our goals are aligned with Start Early Washington around what it takes to build a comprehensive P-5 [prenatal to age 5] system in WA. Start Early Washington feels like our jam!" - Brianna
Brianna: When we look at our partnership, and what attracted us to the work of Start Early Washington, it really comes down to being excited about PC+ and what home visiting could look like in Washington state.
We love that Start Early Washington is thinking about how to strengthen a system by prioritizing those who are doing work within that system. Providing strong professional development, technical assistance support, and a framework for what core competencies look like across high-quality home visiting is key to their approach. We know that this is contributing to the overall strengthening of PC+ and therefore the home visiting system overall. We are also excited about the policy and advocacy work Start Early Washington is involved in; that they are not only focused on what it looks like on the ground but what it looks like at the systems level to build better policies for children and families. If we are not doing both then we are doing the field a disservice.
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Learn more about the Stolte Family Foundation’s thoughtful commitment to improving the futures of Washington’s children and families.
At Start Early, we are committed to cultivating an environment built on the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. The opening remarks were provided by Chandra Ewell, DEIB team lead.
February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements, culture and legacy of Black Americans who have made contributions and played a critical role in shaping our country. We take the month of February to center Black voices and honor Black stories as we lift up the past, recognize the present and share hopes for the future.
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It’s never too early to start sharing positive reflections by sharing diverse stories with your children. It is important for children not only to see themselves, but others represented in the books we read to them. Reading books with your little one is a fun and easy way to help introduce them to new cultures, experiences and events in history.
Literature transforms the human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation.
"Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" by Rudine Sims Bishop
Children's Books To Read During Black History Month
Whether your child is a toddler, in pre-K or on their way to kindergarten, here are some great book recommendations from Anne-Marie Akin, our Educare Chicago librarian to read during this month and beyond:
Books recommended for infants:
- Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
- Sweet, Sweet Baby! by Javaka Steptoe
- Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney
Books recommended for toddlers:
- Feast For 10 by Cathryn Falwell
- Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry
- My Hair is Beautiful by Shauntay Grant
Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:
- We Are Here (An All Because You Matter Book) by Tami Charles
- My People, a poem by Langston Hughes
- The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez
- Baby Says by John Steptoe
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The earlier that we can start to help our children understand their emotions, the better the outcome in raising kind, empathetic children. Brain scientists, educators, economists and public health experts all agree that building a good foundation for healthy relationships begins at birth. The earlier that your child can adapt and develop key social-emotional skills—like attentiveness, persistence and impulse control—the sooner they can begin engaging in healthy social interactions with peers.
Young children aren’t necessarily born with the skills to engage in healthy relationships; they are born with the potential to develop them. With young children, it’s important that parents teach empathy by being the example. Show empathy daily to your children, family, and others in your community during your day. When empathy is shown by the parent, talk that through with your child by being attentive to their feelings. Use language like “I know that was hard for you, you seemed sad but you’re safe and loved.” This language will help children to be aware of their own emotions and feelings, in turn helping them be empathic to others.
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Tips for Parents:
- Explore your child’s emotions together and engage them in imaginative play to learn how to express those feelings so that they can better manage their emotions before starting preschool.
- Teach your child that it’s okay to have whatever feeling they are having: anger, frustration, embarrassment, fear, even rage, but that it is not acceptable for their actions to cross over and affect someone else negatively.
- Teach your child that it’s good to try to understand why someone else is having negative feelings. There may be a very good reason for their friend or acquaintance to be feeling angry or afraid.
- Teach your child that it’s never okay for them or anyone else to use their feelings as an excuse to verbally attack someone. And that when someone does this, it is time to get an adult into the situation.
You as a parent play an important role along with your child’s teachers in laying a strong foundation for social-emotional skills that will help your child to form healthy relationships. It is important for the adults in your child’s life to model positive behaviors and set clear rules.
Activities
Here are 2 activities that you can do at home with your little one to help teach them about empathy:
Make a Kindness Tree
The Kindness Tree is a symbolic way to record kind and helpful actions. Family members place leaves or notes on the tree to represent kind and helpful acts. Parents can notice these acts by saying, “You __(describe the action)__ so __(describe how it impacted others)__. That was helpful/kind!” For example, “Shubert helped Sophie get dressed so we would be on time for our library playdate. That was helpful!”
The Kindness Tree can also grow with families who have children of mixed ages. Initially, young children simply put a leaf on the tree to represent kind and helpful acts. As children grow and learn to write, the ritual evolves to include writing the kind acts down on leaves or sticky notes. Start your own Kindness Tree with this template.
Families with older children can simply use a Kindness Notebook to record kind acts and read them aloud daily or weekly.
Make a We Care Center
The We Care Center provides a way for family members to express caring and empathy for others. Fill your We Care Center with supplies like minor first aid items (Band-Aids, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, scented lotion), card-making supplies (preprinted cards, paper, crayons, sentence starters), and a tiny stuffed animal for cuddling.
When a friend or family member is ill, hurt, or having a hard time, your family can go to the We Care Basket to find a way to show that person they care. At first, parents might need to suggest how and when to use the We Care Center, but your children will quickly understand the intent. In this way, the We Care Center encourages the development of empathy by providing a means for children to offer caring and thoughtfulness to others every day.
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As we reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, we asked our early learning experts for advice on how talk to your little ones about racial healing, equity and justice.
As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to talk to your children about serious issues like racism, but it is so very important. Sparking conversation with your little ones on this topic can help them to address bias and to be mindful as they navigate this big and sometimes scary world we live in.
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Children's Books on Racial Healing
One of the best ways to help your child learn is through reading. By choosing books that affirm the identities and backgrounds of all children you and your child can have an open dialogue about recognizing and celebrating differences. Here are book recommendations from our early learning experts to read aloud with your little one to learn about racial healing:
- The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
- The Other Side by Jaqueline Woodson
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
- Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle
- Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
- Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
- Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
- You Matter by Christian Robinson
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
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American Indians have been using legends (stories) as a way of teaching ever since time began. There are many lessons in storytelling. Most legends stress that one should not be greedy, boastful, or make fun of others. The legends also encourage older children to watch out for and help younger children. In this way legends taught the right way to do things. The tradition of storytelling tells us that we have a strong heritage for being good listeners and for talking to our children. Positive parenting is based on this concept. To have strong children we need to have good relationships. Good relationships depend on being able to talk AND listen.
Positive Indian Parenting Curriculum, Lesson II: Lessons of the Storyteller
Children’s Books to Celebrate & Honor Native American Heritage Month
Storytelling is integral in Indigenous cultures—they can be told from books or through utilizing oral storytelling as a way for entertainment, education/teaching, and the sharing of culture and traditions.
As parents, we know that learning is most impactful when it’s shared with our children. Native American Heritage Month encourages us to engage in activities that promote understanding, respect and appreciation for Indigenous cultures. Here are a few age-appropriate books and resource recommendations you can share with your little one to celebrate this special month:
Books recommended for infants and toddlers:
- Black and White: Visual Stimulation Images for Babies by Morgan Asoyuf, Tsimshian
- Learn & Play by Various Native and First Nation Artists
- Good Morning World by Paul Windsor, Haisla
- Goodnight World by Various Native Artists
- We All Count by Jason Adair, Ojibway
- My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith, Cree & Lakota
- Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk, Inuit
- First Laugh, Welcome Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe, Navajo & Dine nish’li & Nancy Bo Flood
Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:
- You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith, Cree & Lakota
- Powwow Day by Traci Sorell, Cheokee Nation
- Thunder’s Hair by Jessie Taken Alive-Rencountre, Hunkpapa Lakota
- We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, Anishinabe/Métis
- Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard, Seminole Nation
- Sweetgrass by Theresa Meuse, Mi’kmaq First Nation
Additional resources:
- Oral Storytelling: Gene Tagaban — Gene is an oral storyteller from Tlingit and Haida from Southeast Alaska. Every tribe has their own storytellers.
- Celebrating Native Cultures Through Words: Storytelling and Oral Traditions
Advancing Racial Equity
For over 40 years, Start Early has been singularly focused on the healthy development of young children, from before birth until kindergarten, helping close the opportunity gap and ensure children are ready to learn.
We are uncompromising in our pursuit of excellence and remain steadfast in our commitment to dismantling the unjust practices and policies that are harmful to children and families of color. Our work would not be possible without recognizing that each child and family has been uniquely impacted and traumatized by racism and generations of long-tolerated inequities.
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Echoing Resilience: Intertribal Canoe Journeys
October celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day, honoring Indigenous People’s legacy, traditions and invaluable contributions.
In the rich tapestry of Indigenous coastal communities of the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska, the timeless art of canoeing embodies more than just transportation — it represents profound journeys that symbolize unity, resilience, and a deep connection to the land and the water.
Start Early Washington’s Training and Technical Assistance Specialist Alex Patricelli shared how she reclaimed her Native culture and traditions with her young boys Mateo (6) and Kulani (4) through the celebration of intertribal canoe journeys at the 2023 Paddle to Muckleshoot.
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Why is culture important?
In an increasingly interconnected world, embracing one's cultural identity is more important than ever, particularly for children and families. Culture is foundational to shaping our values, beliefs and actions while offering a sense of belonging, understanding and pride.
For generations, coastal tribal communities relied on canoes for daily life. However, cultural ties were severed when canoeing was banned in the U.S. and Canada in the 20th century. More than 100 years passed before this restriction was lifted. In 1989, coastal communities reclaimed the canoe with an intertribal canoe journey to symbolize the resilience and survival of traditional practices against colonization and Western assimilation challenges.
In preparation for the 2023 epic canoe journey, Alex wanted to make her boys custom drums. The drum is regarded as the heartbeat of Indigenous culture in ceremonies, celebrations and spiritual gatherings.
Alex’s vision for the drums was clear: to harmoniously blend her son’s multifaceted cultural identities, uniting them as brothers while also preserving their individuality. She soaked the deer hide, skillfully assembled the drum kits and hand-painted each drum. The drums serve as a canvas for symbolism, where a turtle and manta ray take center stage through distinct imagery.
Canoe journeys symbolize ancestral unity, resilience, and a deep connection to the world for our family.
Alex Patricelli, Start Early Washington's Training and Technical Assistance Specialist
Alex elaborated on the origins of her art designs, “The outer ring symbolizes the boys’ Native heritage, inspired by the ‘formline’ design of Coastal Native artwork. Within the lines, both drums bear the symbols of a turtle and manta ray, which hold cultural significance to our Chamorro and Filipino heritage and represent qualities of persistence, wisdom, patience, good fortune, power and protection.”
Alex further emphasized, “drums are regarded as living entities and not just musical instruments; before a drum can be used, we awaken their spirit by burning sage and infusing them with good thoughts, energy and blessings. Mateo and Kulani are learning to respect and understand the hand drum’s cultural significance, a vital part of our families’ cultural teachings and identity that we’ve worked hard to reclaim for our family.”
*all photos credited to Alex Patricelli
Weaving Culture into Life’s Fabric: Home Visiting Support
In the grand tapestry of existence, culture isn’t just a thread; it’s the essence shaping our being, infusing a profound sense of belonging, pride and identity. Home visitors uniquely foster cultural identity by inviting families to share traditions and beliefs, where cultural exchange can flourish. Just as each family is unique, so is their cultural expedition. “Tailoring support to align with each family’s cultural values and goals is essential. Home visitors have the opportunity to intentionally prioritize cultural integration through community events, group connections and home visits.”
Here are a few examples of how home visitors nurture cultural identity:
- Active Listening: Home visitors can identify significant cultural practices by listening to families’ stories and experiences. This helps build trust and rapport.
- Intergenerational Bonding: Encouraging families to interweave the wisdom of grandparents and elders fosters intergenerational bonds and embraces the passage of cultural heritage.
- Resource Sharing: Providing families with resources, books and materials that celebrate their culture encourages them to incorporate cultural elements into their daily lives. Additionally, helping families celebrate cultural milestones, such as festivals and holidays, by suggesting activities or connecting them with local cultural events is invaluable.
Home visitors partner with families by honoring and preserving cultural identity to foster a profound sense of belonging and pride for generations to come.
Learn more about how Start Early Washington supports home visiting programs.
Strengthening family engagement and retention in home visiting programs are crucial for supporting positive lifelong outcomes for children and families. Here’s a peek at some of the things we are learning about ways to enhance family engagement and retention:
Increased Communication and Check-Ins: Regular and open communication keeps families engaged and connected. Frequent check-ins, whether through phone calls, text messages or virtual meetings, allow home visitors to stay in touch with families, offer support, and address any concerns or challenges families may face.
Flexibility and Individualization: Recognizing that each family has unique needs and circumstances, programs can offer flexible approaches and individualized support. What works for one family may not work for another, so tailoring services to meet families’ specific needs and preferences is fundamental for engagement and retention.
Personalized Celebrations and Surveys: Personalized cards or small gifts to celebrate milestones or achievements demonstrate that the program values and acknowledges the families’ progress. Surveys are also helpful to understand the evolving needs of families and gather feedback to improve program effectiveness.
Engaging Multiple Family Members: Involving various family members during home visits can create a sense of collective support and shared responsibility for the child’s well-being. Engaging parents, grandparents, or other caregivers welcomes input from multiple perspectives.
Flexibility in Scheduling and Locations: Offering flexibility in scheduling home visits and meeting locations can help accommodate families’ unique circumstances, reducing barriers to access. This approach acknowledges that families have busy lives and varying constraints.
Group Connections: Providing opportunities for families to connect in group settings can foster a sense of community and support. Group activities or events can also be beneficial for sharing experiences, learning from one another and reducing feelings of isolation.
Rotating Locations: Rotating locations for connections across the county or service area can help meet families where they are, making support more accessible and inclusive for families.
By investing in the quality of relationships between home visitors and families and implementing strategies that address families’ specific needs and preferences, home visiting programs can successfully promote family engagement and retention.
The above information stems from our Continuous Quality Improvement work with home visiting programs during FY23. To learn more about how home visiting transforms lives, we invite you to explore our work in Washington state.
Whether it is preparing an older sibling for the arrival of a new baby or potty training a toddler, Camille Carlson recognizes that everyone – whether they are aware of it or not – uses Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to improve everyday life. CQI is an invaluable reminder of the strength found in taking small, intentional steps. Therefore, it is important to break up the process into achievable goals – and celebrate the milestones along the way!
As Start Early Washington’s Quality Improvement and Innovation Manager, Camille Carlson’s approach to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is instrumental in supporting home visiting services statewide. Through individual and group coaching, Camille guides professionals in the field toward providing the best possible services for children and families using tools to identify and test changes on a small scale. Together with CQI teams and Washington home visiting programs, Camille works to identify changes that result in significant improvements for the home visiting field, families and children, all part of Start Early Washington’s mission to create strong foundations necessary for more fulfilling work that continuously improves supports and resources available to families statewide.
A Beautiful Reminder
Camille uses her expertise to help home visiting programs deliver services relevant to the unique needs of the children and families they support. Her firsthand experience as a parent fuels her desire to improve systems of support for children, their families, and the teams of staff that serve them. Camille’s motivation for this work grew when she was pregnant with her second child. “During my pregnancy, I had the support of home visitors and supervisors at my fingertips. As I listened to home visiting professionals across the state discuss parent coaching and family observations, I started applying their valuable insight to navigate the changing dynamics of my life with two children. This process helped me gain confidence in my parenting skills, and it was a beautiful reminder that family is central to our work. I was overwhelmed by the support that was given to me and the confidence that it brought, which emphasized the importance of sharing such a positive experience with others.”
It's easy to get lost in big goals. If you focus on small steps, you feel like you are progressing toward your goal and more likely to sustain your gains while addressing other things.
— Camille
Connecting Data to Practice
Quality improvement is essential to providing successful home visiting services where staff collaboratively establish goals, reflect and create actionable steps for improvement. By adhering to a CQI process, home visiting programs can build strong relationships with families, make well-planned decisions and increase positive outcomes to achieve better support for children and families.
The ongoing, collaborative process draws on the expertise and experience of home visitors, supervisors, community partners and families. Although data points are a big part of CQI, Start Early Washington works toward cultivating a culture of continuous quality improvement rather than another set of requirements to check off for reports. “Since I’ve been in my role, we have seen an investment in a CQI culture. Teams have grown significantly, and we are beginning to see a sense of buy-in and excitement around the process.”
Camille shared her immense gratitude for the opportunity to work with and coach organizations that provide home visiting services to families across Washington state with the shared goal of creating positive change for the organizations and families that they serve, utilizing a CQI lens.
CQI tools support home visiting programs through activities and benefits such as:
- Individual coaching and consultation for home visiting programs that guides problem-level improvement projects and supports data analysis or reporting
- Group learning offers programs the opportunity to share and reflect on future improvement strategies
- Facilitation and liaising with national CQI resources and initiatives
Over time, our goal is to develop meaningful partnerships with programs and families to improve systems of support and lifelong outcomes. Meaningful relationships can be fostered throughout the stages of quality engagement, all while building confidence and trust between providers and families as they work toward a common goal.
Explore more about Washington’s home visiting work and strategic tools.
Separation anxiety and the behaviors that manifest from it are specific to each child. Educators must honor the differences in each child and the culture of the school or center where they work when partnering with parents to help a child cope with separation anxiety. While the strategy will vary for each child, the goal remains the same: helping them feel safe and secure in the new environment so that they can learn.
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are informed by what Start Early experts and Educare Chicago teachers have found to be successful ways of mitigating separation anxiety in the classroom. While there are many opinions on this broad topic, one recurrent theme is the importance of establishing a routine.
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Helping children to create routines within their daily life is one of the best ways to teach confidence, self-discipline and cooperation—skills that later lead to the development of strong coping mechanisms. Such skills enable children to more easily navigate unexpected changes and adjust to unfamiliar environments.
- Visit the School or Center. Children act out stresses from separation anxiety in a number of different ways. One way to reduce separation anxiety is to introduce them, in advance, to the school or child care center they will attend. If the school or center allows for pre-school year visits, take advantage to get your child acclimated. It’s also helpful to establish the route that you will use to get to the classroom each day and to repeat it a couple of times with whatever mode of transportation you will use. If you can walk to the center, walk the route several times so that that the child becomes familiar with it. Even with infants, repeating this route while they are in their stroller can help them to become familiar with scenery that will eventually signal that they are on their way to a safe place.
- Establish a Goodbye Ritual. Goodbye rituals in the classroom at the start of the day play an important role in making a child feel safe, and will lessen the opportunity for nervousness and panic to arise when the parent leaves for the day. When you bring your child to school or child care center, give yourself enough time to pick out a book to read with your child, or sit down with them while they draw a picture. Once it is time to leave, talk to the child in an energetic tone about what’s in store for that day. Emphasize that you will be back to pick them up in the afternoon, and will be excited to hear about the day at school.
- Say Goodbye. Never leave without saying goodbye. Sneaking away only heightens your child’s worry that they cannot trust you or trust in your return.
- Bring a Token From Home. Send your child to school with something that connects them to home and family, such as a photograph or a favorite toy. Having this reminder close-at-hand can help to calm children down if they become upset or experience a moment of panic during the day.
- Volunteer in the Classroom When You Can. Spending time in your child’s classroom as a volunteer has many advantages. You can learn more about your child’s teachers and the learning styles they apply in the classroom and develop a more meaningful relationship with them. A child who sees their parent interacting in their classroom with their peers will feel safe and welcome in that setting. Children are much more likely to feel secure in an environment where they know their parents are safe and welcomed, too.
- Practice Calming Exercises With Your Child. If children have a particularly difficult time adjusting to their new environment in the first weeks of the year, there are several calming exercises that you can practice with them. This is a great way to teach children how to take control of their own emotions and calm down so that they are ready and prepared to take on the day.
Resources to Help Your Child
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As the program analyst for Start Early Washington, Anna Contreras is always thinking about what works best to support the children and families that participate in Washington’s home visiting programs. She collects and analyzes a mixture of quantitative raw data as well as the often-overlooked qualitative feedback needed to truly improve and enrich the home visiting experience for children and families. This includes collating information gathered from numerous home visiting professionals across the state.
Anna has dedicated her professional career to understanding how relationship-based supports impact lifelong outcomes for young children and their families. She’s particularly interested in families grappling with adversities, such as migrant and seasonal farmworkers, immigrant communities and dual language learners. “My Latinx background not only identifies me but defines me. As a second-generation immigrant, I relate to the challenges of those who are growing and learning from their native culture while also adjusting to new societal norms and navigating American culture.”
Anna’s commitment to improving the home visiting experience and creating more equitable and inclusive systems that recognize and respect diversity begins with her mother. Home visiting has been part of Anna’s life since the day she was born. Anna’s mother received home visiting services in Washington state when she was pregnant with Anna, a support that was not provided for Anna’s siblings. Because of this experience, her mother was better connected to her community’s resources and felt more comfortable talking through the various roadblocks she was experiencing. In addition, her home visitor helped her better understand the services and supports available to her. They were a trusted partner to nurture and support Anna’s healthy development. This was especially important to Anna’s mother because she didn’t have her mom (Anna’s abuela) near at the time.
Recalling her personal experiences and her experience helping her parents navigate data collection and other complex information, Anna finds it essential to create inclusive forms and dashboards for the home visiting support team.
“I always ask, what would make the most sense for the person using this tool? Interpretation is everchanging, and you must make space to understand where others are coming from.” — Anna
Anna also shared the importance of considering the impact on the person collecting information. “When creating forms, we consider the impact on the staff asking the questions — such as, what does the answer mean for the respondent? How is this information going to be utilized? What are the unintended consequences for the person sharing the information? People must feel comfortable enough to share this information. They also want to ensure that necessary changes will follow and that they are not wasting their time answering another set of questions; it is hard to be vulnerable, especially when you are unsure of what will happen next with the information provided.”
Whether it’s a first-time parent connecting with a home visitor or staff sharing their experiences with each other, trust and respect are vital to collecting meaningful information. Relationship-building is foundational to Start Early Washington’s work and a key ingredient to affecting meaningful change.
“As a first-generation college student, relationship-building was important to me. Feeling seen and heard was fundamental to my growth and development, and therefore I carry that experience in my work today.” Feeling accepted, safe and connected to a community of support helped push Anna past moments of self-doubt and projected her toward future success in her home life, career and beyond.
The Subtle Differences
Data showcasing the subtle differences in home visiting provider experiences and the depth of variation between the family dynamics they support helps inform the resources and learning opportunities needed for the home visiting field as well as the various elements required to support the children and families they partner with. In addition, such data-driven insights are vital to maintaining an inclusive and collaborative decision-making process for system improvements.
Anna primarily works with Start Early Washington’s home visiting team to improve home visiting services and outcomes for children and their families in Washington state. Anna works closely with the home visiting team to assess customized coaching and mentoring offered to home visiting programs. Similarly, she evaluates how Start Early Washington can best support comprehensive learning opportunities, transparent data collection and thoughtful analysis.
For example, surveys are designed to answer questions such as: Does the home visiting field have the professional development opportunities they need to grow their skills? What additional support is needed for home visitors to feel confident in their role? How can Start Early Washington help home visiting professionals achieve individual and programmatic goals? These questions and more help to ultimately measure how we can support positive system changes —such as gains in knowledge, better time management, improved staff retention and the creation of better family engagement protocols.
Qualitative feedback helps Anna understand the story of home visiting in our state, connecting the necessary data points to improve system outcomes and inform policymakers. Data allows us to see how and when priorities shift for programs, and feedback and discussion help us understand what success and challenges look like for home visiting programs and the families they work with. Qualitative feedback from our home visiting team helps uncover trends in discussions, typically hidden among quantitative numbers alone. This data complements ongoing performance monitoring to ensure continuous quality improvement for home visiting professionals statewide.
Anna’s work strengthens home visiting programs by showcasing the power of relationship-based work, reinforcing the deep connections and trust between home visitors and families. Recognizing the unique identities, heritages, cultures and human emotions while celebrating differences and bolstering representation validates and supports an environment of inclusion for the entire home visiting system.
Trust Is Pivotal
While data is critical to support a high-quality system, trust is pivotal to accessing quality information and rich feedback. Some things for home visiting teams to consider when collecting data:
- Use simplified language; the frame of information is important.
- Are questions clear enough to capture the needed information?
- Do all parties understand how the data collected will inform the home visiting system?
- Does the reader understand their rights and role in responding to the questions?
Co-Creative Learning Opportunities for Home Visiting Professionals
Start Early Washington facilitates learning opportunities as well as unstructured co-creative opportunities for home visiting professionals statewide to build knowledge, seek mentorship, connect and decompress with others in the field experiencing similar situations. Together, they work through obstacles and celebrate successes; since 2020, Start Early Washington’s work has reached nearly 8,235 children and families. Our approach to supporting the home visiting field includes mindfulness practices, reflection, sharing experiences and knowledge that builds trust in a strengths-based learning environment.