news & updates Weekly Briefings Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 32
| Welcome to The Weekly Briefing, featuring news from Children's Futures, updates about our community partners' activities and links to recent news articles about early childhood health and development. |
| Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 32 |
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September 12, 2008
In This Issue
Impact of Children's FuturesMillhill Center- Original CF Participant- Earns National Reaccreditation In 2003, Millhill Child and Family Development Center was one of the first to earn child care industry accreditation in Trenton. Now in 2008, as a result of building on its initial quality development efforts through CF's Improving Quality in Child Care program, Millhill has become one of the first early childhood programs to earn the more rigorous reaccreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC - the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals). Five years ago, with funding from CF, Child Care Connection provided Millhill with free staff professional development, site technical assistance and equipment and material grants to improve quality in its infant and toddler classes. These early investments in quality child care continue to bear fruit for Trenton infants and toddlers. "We're proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards," said Steven K. Rosen, Executive Director of the Millhill Child and Family Development Center. "NAEYC Accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible. Millhill's mission is to enrich the well being of vulnerable children from infancy to adolescence through educational, social, behavioral health and medical programs that work within the context of family and community," Rosen explained. For more information about Millhill, please contact Tracy Romans at (609) 989-7333 (ext. 23) or visit www.millhillcenter.org
Building Literacy Through UIH Family Partners/RIF "Care to Read" Remember the old riddle, "What's black and white and 'red' all over?" If the "graduates" of the recent "Care to Read" seminar on nurturing family literacy have their way, it won't be just "a newspaper" that is being "read" all over Trenton, but, rather, all kinds of books - especially colorful and engaging books for children. At the "Care to Read" seminar these individuals have been equipped to teach parents, child care providers, social service colleagues and others how to encourage a love of reading in young children - as well as the critical language skills that lay the foundation for success in school. "Care to Read" is a "train the trainer" workshop. An initiative of "Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)," the Washington, DC-based non-profit that is a nationally -recognized leader in issues around emerging literacy in children, the two-day workshop, underwritten by Staples, was brought to Trenton by Children's Futures' Fatherhood partner UIH Family Partners. Through Children's Futures funding of the UIH Father Center, free registration was provided for nearly two dozen representatives from nonprofits that are helping Children's Futures fulfill its mission and vision. These included: UIH Family Partners; Catholic Charities; The Children's Home Society of New Jersey; Child Care Connection; Trenton Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies; Greater Trenton Behavioral Healthcare; and St. Francis Medical Center. The interactive training taught participants how to help parents and caregivers understand language development in children, create a literacy-rich environment, read effectively with and to children, and choose age-appropriate books. Attendees left the seminar the confidence and passion to help others "care to read." One dedicated participant left with even more: as the program concluded, she headed to the hospital to give birth! "Care to Read" training is only one of the literacy-building programs CF supports. Others include the Reach Out and Read program throughout Trenton and the city-wide Trenton READS initiative. For more information on "Care to Read" and to access a variety of parent- and child-friendly tools for promoting family literacy, visit www.rif.org. To learn more about UIH Family Partners, go to www.uih.org.
Hundreds Screened as Overflow Crowd Jams East Ward Health Fair at St. Francis CF's East Ward Parent/Child Center Director Lenore Scott shook her head in disbelief as hundreds of residents from throughout Trenton lined up outside the doors of St. Francis Medical Center's Crean Hall well before last Saturday morning's health fair began. There were so many people; numbers were distributed so every family could receive health screens for their children and the other services that were offered throughout the day free of charge. "Vulnerable residents who face poverty, lack of insurance and other barriers genuinely appreciated the opportunity to access all that this health fair offered," she noted. Lenore and her staff were particularly pleased that they and representatives from other CF partners like Catholic Charities and Children's Home Society of New Jersey were swamped with requests for information about the programs offered at the respective Parent/Child Centers they direct throughout the Trenton. "This was another great example of organizations collaborating to focus on prevention by providing and linking families to resources and services they need," Ms. Scott added. She also singled out for praise local clergyman Rev. Juan Guzman and community activist Juan Martinez for orchestrating the event. A follow-up program offering mandated school immunizations will be held Saturday, November 1, again at St. Francis.
Links To Print/Web/Electonic CoverageView a report from September 8th on the CBS Evening News profiling the work of the DC Developing Families Center in Washington, D.C. The center focuses on improving birth outcomes, and reducing prematurity and infant mortality. CF Board Member Linda A. Randolph, MD, MPH is President and CEO of the DC Developing Families Center. Pregnancy Situations Have Impact On Brain Development In Preterm Infants Putting on Pressure Can Help to Stop Nosebleed Upcoming Community Events CalendarSeptember 2008Saturday, September 13:
Monday, September 15:
Friday, September 19:
Monday, September 22:
Tuesday, September 23:
Wednesday, September 24:
Thursday, September 25:
Saturday, September 27:
October 2008Thursday, October 23
December 2008Thursday, December 11
Ongoing Community Activities
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For a complete calendar of events, please refer to our calendar page.
About Children's Futures
Established in 2001 with major support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Children's Futures is a nonprofit organization that works city-wide in Trenton, N.J. to improve child health and development outcomes. Through an unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and nonprofit organizations, Children's Futures seeks to strengthen parenting, increase access to primary quality health care and child care systems, and increase social supports for families, so that every child in Trenton enters preschool healthy and ready to learn.
About The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.