Great Start Communications Bulletin (6.5.2017)

June 9, 2017
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING

Adaptive Schools Facilitation Strategies
The first two days of the four-day Adaptive Schools (Organizations) Foundation training was held on May 22-23 at the Genesee Career Institute in Flint. Over 50 people learned new strategies and concepts to become a more effective collaborators, inquirers and leaders. As part of the training, many facilitation strategies were shared. The Thinking Collaborative website houses many of these strategies as well as several others. Go to www.thinkingcollaborative.com/strategies for easy links to each strategy.

August Statewide Gathering 
On August 8 in Mt Pleasant, there will be an all-day statewide gathering for Great Start Collaborative and Parent Coalition staff. It will be held at Courtyard Mt. Pleasant at Central Michigan University.  Rooms can be booked here at the discounted rate of $105. This rate is good until July 13.

As in previous years, this meeting will provide opportunity to learn and connect with peers as well as dialogue with staff from the Office of Great Start and the Early Childhood Investment Corporation about the fiscal year 2018 32p application and training and technical assistance. At this point in planning, we anticipate offering two rounds of workshops in the morning, with statewide information being discussed in the afternoon.

The Office of Great Start is requiring all Great Start Collaborative and Parent Coalition staff to attend this meeting and Early Childhood contacts are also welcome. Registration for the convening is now open. Please register by July 14th through this link.

Orientation Training
Our next in-person Orientation training will be held on Wednesday, July 19 in Lansing and registration is open. Networking and sign in will begin at 8:30 a.m., the training will start promptly at 9 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Great Start Orientation sessions are available for new Collaborative Directors and Parent Liaisons, and offer a comprehensive overview of the Great Start Initiative, system building, the purpose of the Great Start Collaboratives and Coalitions, an introduction to important documents and requirements, key roles, objectives and partnerships, resources available through training and technical assistance, and time to interact with other Great Start staff and Consultants and meet Rachel Mellema from the Office of Great Start. 100% of past participants say they would recommend this training to others and that they were glad that they attended as a team. This will be the final offering of Orientation this fiscal year.

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – OFFICE OF GREAT START

Trusted Advisors Grant Review Process Update
Thank you to everyone that submitted an application for the Trusted Advisors Grant.  We have received a number of inquiries about the notification timeline and wanted to let everyone know that the review teams are working diligently to provide feedback and we anticipate that the grant award notifications will be sent by the end of June.  Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Desiree Hughes atHughesD8@michigan.gov.

EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE

Pathways to Kindergarten
CEPI recently developed this report in conjunction with stakeholder groups from the Michigan Race to the Top grant, and the Michigan Department of Education Office of Great Start showing the publicly-funded early childhood education path taken by students before enrollment into kindergarten. Users can filter for a particular early childhood program – Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), GSRP/Head Start Blend, Early Childhood Special Education, Early On® and Developmental Kindergarten. A Sankey diagram is featured in this report to best display the data in a flow chart style. The diagram proportionally shows the enrollment of children in early childhood programs on their way to kindergarten enrollment.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

MI-CHAP Webinar
The Michigan Children’s Health Access Program (MI-CHAP) is designed to improve the health outcomes of Michigan’s Medicaid Eligible children by connecting families to resources and services to help them access primary care.  MI-CHAP, building on best practices from Kent CHAP, which has been in operation since 2008, provides for the expansion/launch of CHAP programs in 8 other geographic areas of Michigan.  Also, MI-CHAP has launched a Virtual CHAP service within 2-1-1 to provide services to those who don’t have a local CHAP in their area.  Specifically highlighted within this presentation will be information on how to connect families, providers and community organizations to CHAP.

Please register for this webinar on June 15 from 1-2 p.m. and note that participants must call into the phone line for audio (there will not be audio available through the computer):

U.S. & Canada:  866.740.1260
U.S. Toll:  303.248.0285
Access Code:  3714360 

Infant Mortality Reduction Plan – Community of Practice Webinar
The Communities of Practice Webinars provide opportunities for collective learning and continuous improvement to improve birth outcomes. These webinars provide a forum for discussion about best practices and community efforts for each goal in the Infant Mortality Reduction Plan.

The last webinar was held on May 22 and focused on Goal 5: Reduce Safe Sleep Related Infant Deaths and Disparities. You can access the slide deckhere. For those of you who are interested in more information on the DOSE (Direct On-Scene Education) programming, including training, please feel free to contact Brian Stalsonburg and/or Terrie Godde:

Brian Stalsonburg, EMT-B, I/C – Lieutenant, Alpine Township Fire Department

Terrie S. Godde, BS, CCP, EMS IC – EMS Education Coordinator, MDHHS Bureau of EMS, Trauma, and Preparedness

Health Insurance Coverage Improves Child Well-Being
Child Trends released a new research brief on the benefits of providing health insurance to children. Health Insurance Coverage Improves Child Well-Being shows how insured children are more likely to have improved outcomes related to education and economic security, benefiting society as a whole.

HOME VISITING

The Story of Three Tribal Home Visiting Grantees
The Tribal Home Visiting Program is pleased to release the following issue brief: A Journey Toward Strong Programs and Thriving Families: The Story of Three Tribal Home Visiting Grantees. The resource describes the experiences of three Tribal Home Visiting grantees across the course of their first 5/6-year grant projects. It shares perspectives from grantee staff, stakeholders, and families on what the program has meant for their communities, and offers insights for other communities using home visiting.

MI Office of Great Start, News