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Building Parent/Caregiver Leadership Into Community, Territory, Tribal & State Systems

November 15 - January 24, 2022

Our free, three-part learning and coaching series is designed to support building authentic parent partnerships.

The application process to join the learning series closed on October 15, 2022 and teams have been notified of their acceptance into the series. Resources and lessons learned following the conclusion of the series will be shared this Spring. Sign-up to our email list for updates and to learn more about Start Early professional development offerings.

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Are you serious about building authentic parent leadership into your state, territory, tribal or community system but do not know where to start? Have you already begun the journey but could use some expert support from parent leaders and others to strengthen your approach? Start Early is offering a unique three-session learning and coaching series designed to support state, territory, tribal or community leaders to deepen their knowledge, build strategies, and access a set of resources to integrate and sustain authentic parent partnerships at a systems level.

This learning series, offered free of charge, asks that each state, territory, tribe, or community interested in participating select 2-3 systems partners to join the learning series together. Building authentic parent leadership is hard work! Using a “team approach” maximizes efforts, creates buy-in across partners, and strengthens the potential for successful integration in complex systems. Who would be included on your parent leadership dream team?

Audience

What Does a “Systems Team” Look Like?
Because all community, territory, tribal and state systems involve different collaborators and partners, this learning series leaves that decision in your hands. Who do you work with within and outside of your system that would strengthen your efforts to build authentic parent leadership? Some examples of roles that might be a fit for this learning series include, but are not limited to:

  • Home visiting state or community administration teams
  • State or community funding partners
  • Early Childhood implementation partners
  • Parent leaders engaged at the state or community level
  • Community collaboratives

Objectives

This learning series, using a community of practice (CoP) format, will provide each team an opportunity to:

  • Engage in a self-assessment process to better understand your team’s readiness to engage parent leaders.
  • Build knowledge of the opportunities and challenges of inviting parent leaders to the table at a systems level.
  • Identify and understand the importance of sharing power.
  • Develop an individualized, system-specific action plan to build and sustain meaningful parent and caregiver partnerships.
  • Participate in coaching sessions with learning series facilitators to implement your action plans.

What You Can Expect as a Learner:

This three-part learning series is designed to engage and support each participating team on their journey, regardless of their starting point. The facilitation team will include caregivers who have children under age 6 with the lived experience and expertise of home visiting, as well as professionals who have designed and implemented successful parent partnerships within a state home visiting system. In addition to the learning series, each state team will receive individualized coaching in between sessions to create a customized plan.

Series Format & Dates

  • *Pre-series team call with facilitators
    • Please note, our team will reach out to coordinate scheduling based on applicant’s availability.

Three-Live Webinars to be Held on Tuesdays:

  • Tuesday, November 15, 2022 – 12:00 – 2:00 pm ET
  • Tuesday, December 13, 2022 – 12:00 – 2:00 pm ET
  • Tuesday, January 24, 2023 – 12:00 – 2:00 pm ET
  • 30–60-minute Individual team consultation/coaching following sessions 1 and 2
  • Approximately 60 minutes of homework following each session

Application Process

The application process to join the learning series closed on October 15, 2022, and teams have been notified of their acceptance into this series. We are no longer accepting applicants at this time. Resources and lessons learned following the conclusion of the series will be shared this Spring. Sign-up to our email list for updates and to learn more about Start Early professional development offerings.

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Facilitators

  • Tamara Tucker, Parent Leader
  • Synthia Britton, Public Health Consultant, Michigan Department of Health and Human Resources
  • Regine Cherry, Parent Leader
  • Mia Halthon, Parent Leader
  • Bryn Fortune, Consultant for Parent/Caregiver Leadership Development

 

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