Highlights from the Great Start Communications Bulletin (8.26.2019)

Sharing from our partners at the Early Childhood Investment Corporation

Webinar – Count All Kids: Preparing for the 2020 Census
Census numbers determine funding for everything from Head Start to Medicaid to highway planning. That’s why we need to make sure that all children are counted in the census next year! The Michigan League for Public Policy will be hosting a webinar on August 28 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (EST) focused on preparing for the upcoming 2020 census. The webinar will walk through a new data tool that can help you identify which kids are most likely to be missed in your county. We will discuss the barriers some families face to getting counted and some strategies that communities can use to ensure a complete count. Join us to learn more about the importance of the census and help us #countallkids! To register for the webinar, click here.

Public Comment on the Proposed Standards for the Preparation of Teachers of Early Childhood General and Special Education (Birth – Kindergarten)
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Office of Great Start – Preschool and Out-of-School Time Learning is requesting public comment on the proposed Michigan Standards for the Preparation of Teachers of Early Childhood General and Special Education (Birth – Kindergarten) to be used for guiding preparation of candidates seeking certification in these fields.

Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity
This report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine outlines steps needed to move children who are at risk for negative outcomes toward positive health trajectories and reduce health disparities. The report applies the science of prenatal and early childhood development to policy, program, and systems changes. To learn more, download a free PDF of the report or watch this brief video.

Let’s Talk: Health Equity
This document, from the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health, explores the concept of health equity and how it applies to public health practice, offering explanations to clarify the meaning of related terms, such as health inequity and health inequality. The discussion questions at the end were designed to spark dialogue, reflection, and action-in lunch room and staff meeting settings-to address the social determinants of health.

Use this resource to:

  • Learn how terms like health inequalities, social inequalities in health, and health inequities are used in public health practice
  • Initiate discussions about how social justice values apply to public health work
  • Explore key health equity concepts with your colleagues

Webinar: Early Childhood Education: Partnering Up to Amplify Impact
This webinar, from The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) will explore how high-quality early childhood education (ECE) has an enormous positive impact on lifelong health, serving as a protective factor against adult disease and disability.

The webinar will explore:

  • The evidence demonstrating the impact of high-quality early childhood education on health outcomes
  • State challenges and proposed solutions for managing and funding early childhood programs
  • Public-private partnerships supporting and amplifying early childhood initiatives

To register for this webinar, click here.

Community LIteracy Summit 2020 – Request for Proposals
The 2020 Community Literacy Summit – Ready to Read, Ready to Succeed: Developing Literacy Birth to Five will focus on the development of language and literacy skills in young children birth to age five, specifically those that lead to kindergarten readiness and grade level reading success. The Summit is designed to bring about discussion and action around literacy readiness skills for young children in West Michigan.

If you are interested in presenting at the summit, please follow this link to learn more and submit an RFP:  Summit 2020.

E-book: Social and Emotional Health – Promoting Kids’ Mental Health
Social and Emotional Health: Promoting Kids’ Mental Health, is a new e-book from Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) that explores what Social-Emotional Health is and why it’s important, and the kinds of teaching practices and learning environments that can promote it. To download the e-book, click here.

Video – How Play Can Help Children and Families Thrive
Science points to three principles that can guide society in helping all children and families thrive: supporting responsive relationships, strengthening core life skills, and reducing sources of stress. Play is an effective way of supporting all three of these principles to improve outcomes for children and families. In this video, from Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, learn more about how play can foster children’s resilience to hardship, and how the complex interactions involved when children play help build their brains.


The Great Start Weekly Communications Bulletin is a technical assistance and training product of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation.

Great Start Technical Assistance and Training
Toll-free Helpline: 1.855.790.4900
Email:  greatstartta@ecic4kids.org

Funding from the Office of Great Start within the Michigan Department of Education supports the implementation of Great Start.