Resources
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Courses, Webinars & Workshops
Hosted by External Partners
2023 Mental Health America Conference (in-person & virtual)
June 6th-10th, 2023 (June 6-7 Virtual Access Only, June 8-10 In Person and Virtual Access Available)
- June 6: Policy Institute Day (General Public – Virtual Access Only)
- June 7: Affiliate Day (General Public – Virtual Access Only)
- June 8-10: Main Conference (General Public – Virtual or In-Person Access)
Register here.
LGBTQ2IA+ Families Then and Now Series
June 12 & 26, 11:30 – 1pm (Central Time Zone)
Through conversations with a diverse range of parents who identify as LGBTQ2IA+ as well as young adults who were raised by LGBTQ2IA+ parents, this free conversation series explores the changing landscape of LGBTQ2IA+ parenting during the last several decades. All webinars have live Spanish language translation and closed captioning available. Register here.
2023 Parenting While Black series, Radically Resistant: Fostering the Brilliance and Awe in Raising Bold Black Children
Monday, June 12th & 26th, 2 – 3:30PM (Central Time Zone)
This free virtual conversation series offers a safe and welcoming space to hold conversations for and by Black families. All are welcome to join and engage in these powerful conversations! Each webinar is 1 hour followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with our parent panelists. All webinars have live Spanish language translation and closed captioning available. Register here.
Hosted by Start Early Professional Learning Network
Start Early’s Maternal Health Equity and Well-Being Learning Series
June 27 & July 26, 11:00-12:00pm (Central Time Zone)
Free 3-part learning series intended to help build home visitor skills in supporting people who are pregnant or have recently given birth. Registration is open here for the June and July webinars.
Home Visitor Reflective Practice Groups
We continue to offer these opportunities for home visitors and doulas to gather virtually, across models and regions of the state to reflect on their work and a specific theme each month. Some folks attend regularly, others episodically—whatever meets the schedule and interest of direct service staff. The groups are offered in English and Spanish. In June, the theme is Fatherhood. Please share the flyer with the dates with your team. Registration is through www.startearly.org/PLN; Home Visitor Reflective Practice Groups; Grupos de práctica reflexiva para visitantes a domicilio
Groups for FY 24 are not yet posted to the Start Early training calendar but they will be offered.
Resources to Expand Your Knowledge
Community & Family Resources
Governor Pritzker Launches Illinois Cares for Kids
Statewide Enrollment Campaign “I Got Love / ¡Siento Amor!”
Governor JB Pritzker announced the launch of “I Got Love / ¡Siento Amor!”, the statewide enrollment campaign for childcare and early education services, featuring Illinois artists, musicians, and production partners. More information on programs is available at www.illinoiscaresforkids.org/
Free Kindergarten Readiness Program
Illinois Cares for Kids is inviting all families to join Ready4K! Ready4K is a free research-based text messaging program for families with child(ren) ages 0-11 in Illinois. The program supports families, increases children’s learning, and provides a method for the State to share customized early childhood messaging with families. Want to learn more? Ready4K is hosting weekly information sessions to share about the program offer and discuss implementation. For questions, please reach out to LeeAnn Kiper at lkiper@inccrra.org.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The Region 5 Office of Child Care has announced that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is now open. The ACP is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to help low-income households pay for internet service and connected devices. Eligible households can enroll in the ACP through an approved provider or by visiting one of two simple and easy-to-use websites: ACPBenefit.org or GetInternet.gov.
Keep Medicaid Coverage
Starting May 2023, we must ask Medicaid customers in Illinois to renew their healthcare coverage. People who use Medicaid have had continuous coverage since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but Congress has ended the pause on annual eligibility verifications, known as redeterminations, or simply, renewals. Visit the website for more information.
Programs & Staff Resources
- Trauma-informed resources on supporting immigrant children and families who have experienced or fear family separation or other immigration trauma.Resources for Providers an Caregivers_Traumatic Separation and Immigrant Families
- Home Visiting Services for Refugee, Immigrant, Migrant, and Dual Language Learner Families: The National Home Visiting Resource Center has just released this brief highlighting five home visiting programs across the country using innovative, strengths-based practices. Program staff discussed strategies for supporting these families, such as removing barriers to program enrollment, leveraging community partnerships, and recruiting home visitors who represent the community’s culture and language.
- Family Voices Launches Anti-Racism Toolkit: A toolkit website designed to support the important work of dismantling racism in health care. The website offers concrete tools designed to support organizations and individuals to become more culturally competent and responsive by building meaningful, equitable engagement with Black children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families.
- Reflective Supervision: A Planning Tool for Home Visiting Supervisors: The Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation has published this tool as part of The Supporting and Strengthening the Home Visiting Workforce project, which seeks to understand reflective supervision in the home visiting context: how it should be defined, measured, and bolstered to improve staff, program, and family outcomes. Another product of this project is a report titled Improving Home Visitor Professional Well-Being: A Resource for State and Tribal Home Visiting Programs, Model Representatives, and Local Programs.
Research Opportunities
General Information
- Crisis and Suicide Lifeline: “988” National Dialing Code
Earlier this year the US launched “988” to access the National Crisis and Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Lifeline is a national network of over 200 local, independent crisis centers equipped to help people in mental health-related distress or experiencing a suicidal crisis via call, chat, or text. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the U.S. - Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development e-Newsletter: Interested in checking out the e-newsletter from the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development? Click here to register to receive the e-newsletter or briefings in the future.
- Home Visiting Strategies with Parents with Cognitive Challenges:
Brookes Publishing Blog Post:https://blog.brookespublishing.com/9-ways-home-visitors-can-support-parents-with-cognitive-disabilities/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=040623-ec-newsletter - Forgiveness research: The latest research on the health and well-being benefits of forgiveness.https://wapo.st/3Nl8zog
- DEIB Resources: Raising awareness about transgender people
- New infographic from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child on the environment of children:
- Place matters: what surrounds us shapes us – HCDC_Infographic
- El lugar importa: Lo que nos rodea nos define – HCDC_Infographic_Spanish
