Maximizing parent and family choice and knowledge about the state's mixed delivery system of existing programs and providers by expanding the state's efforts to:
- Ensure families are provided information about the quality (e.g., through inspection reports, QRIS ratings, etc.) and variety of early childhood education programs including health, mental health and family support for children from birth into kindergarten entry;
- Promote nurturing parent-child interactions, family and community protective factors and increase involvement by parents and family members of low-income and disadvantaged children in transitions between the various early childhood care and education programs and services.
Specific Parent Related Activities
Learning Begins at Birth is a material resource that provides information about child development and how to nurture it; parent-child interactions that build social emotional mental health; what quality child care is and how to find it; children’s health; and services available to children and parents.
Getting Ready is an evidence-based initiative focused on interaction among children, their families, and early childhood professionals to promote parent-child interaction and parent-professional partnerships. Getting Ready promotes kindergarten transition by helping parents become more confident in working with educational systems.
Ready Rosie is an evidence-based, birth to elementary age family engagement resource that provides English and Spanish videos to families via text, email, and a website, letting educators target specific skills and individualize the videos to be shared with parents of their students and can also be used to provide interactive family workshops or to support a cohesive family engagement plan.
The Nebraska Early Childhood Campaign is designed to support public awareness efforts that center on educating parents and families about quality child care and education programs and services in ways that are accessible, digitally driven, culturally and linguistically appropriate, and responsive to how today’s parents receive information and make decisions.
The Coordinated Enrollment Pilot Expansion is a pilot, operating through the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative, and uses shared services principles to increase high-quality early learning opportunities by providing coordinated application, eligibility, and enrollment for three high-quality early learning centers serving at-risk infants and toddlers through an Early Head Start-Child Care partnership.
Help Me Grow uses effective universal early screening to link expectant mothers and children 0-5 with essential health, developmental, and social-emotional services. It includes outreach to families and providers, including physicians, and a centralized point of communication using phone technologies, trained Care Coordinators, and a self-care referral platform which Early Child Care Educators and other health and human services professionals can use to better connect families to needed services. Learn more about Help Me Grow.
Childcare Essentials develops a resource for families about early care and education for children, the importance of quality care, and how to locate quality care based on the needs of their child and family. The new guide, “Childcare Essentials”: Choosing Quality Childcare in Nebraska,” will replace a longstanding “The Right Place” brochure and booklet that Nebraska has used for this purpose.
