There remains a huge gap in the resources devoted to providing our children with opportunities for quality early childhood education. There is also a great deal of work that needs to be done to inform parents and our community on how we best prepare children for success and how we invest in the amenities that make children and families strong.
The research is clear; a focus on children ages 0-5 presents the best opportunity for predicting and impacting a child's life trajectory. Over 90% of human brain development takes place during these precious early years, and it is shown that if vital cognitive development does not take place during this time, it never will. More directly, the research shows the great cost of not investing in this period, as issues show up in our system later through indicators like poverty, crime rate, educational attainment, and incarceration.
2016 Efforts
2016 Family First Week
At the end of the 2015 Summit on Children, leaders and stakeholders from all across our community came together to create four task forces focused on capitalizing on our greatest opportunity moments. Together parents, childcare providers, and community and business leaders from the private and public sector were able to keep this work going for over a year; elevating the issues of children and families to levels formally unseen.
Their efforts culminated in the 2016 Family First Week; which sought to build on the momentum established in the previous year and to carry the understanding and knowledge gained directly to those who needed it most.
The 2016 Family First Week Included:
An Evening of Family Engagement and Empowerment
Held at the Lincoln Neighborhood Center on the evening of June 7th, this parents’ event focused on highlighting success stories from parent advocates from Community PACT; and offered resources and knowledge from 2016 Community Summit on Children Keynote Speaker Dr. Nicole Patton Terry. Dinner and childcare were provided for families.
This event, which attracted well over 70 community members was one of the products of the Greater Resources for Parents and Families Family First Task Force.
A Business Leaders Breakfast
On the morning of Wednesday, June 8th, Mayor Gillum, in partnership with Florida TaxWatch, hosted a Business Leaders Breakfast. This breakfast, which was emceed by Leon County Commissioner Kristen Dozier, brought together over 75 members of the Tallahassee business sector to get a time-sensitive briefing of the importance of community investments in early childhood education.
Dave Lawrence, Jr., Chair of the Children’s Movement of Florida gave a powerful speech on the longitudinal effects of not investing in early childhood education, and the societal savings that can be gained by doing so.
Tim Pennell gave a preview of his Community Summit keynote speech, in which he introduced the business community to the Pay-for-Success model of community investments.
2016 Community Summit on Children
On June 9, 2016, Mayor Gillum hosted the 2016 Community Summit on Children. The 2016 Summit brought together over 200 business and community leaders to the FSU Turnbull Conference Center; and aimed to continue the work of Mayor Gillum’s Family First Initiative.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Nicole Patton Terry from Georgia State University spoke about the importance of quality early childhood education to the overall development of children, and the challenges that many families face in certain socioeconomic environments. Giving research examples of literacy and language development, Dr. Nicole Patton Terry helped to paint a picture of the challenges and opportunities of early childhood education, and what these issues can mean for building a community where children and families grow strong.
Tim Pennell from Third Sector Capital Partners discussed the economic arguments for why early investments in children are so important, and the long-term returns a community can receive (from a criminal justice, education, and workforce standpoint) when a child’s early years are prioritized. The session also provided a discussion of Pay for Success as a viable model for making greater investments in early childhood development, and provided some examples of private sector partnerships that have helped communities around the country to address their challenges.
Task Force Updates
The 2016 Summit also featured updates from the four community driven task forces that were launched at the conclusion of the 2015 Summit (you can find a synopsis of the 2015 FF Task Forces here):
Improved Quality and Affordable Childcare for All
This task force focused on defining what quality childcare means specifically for our community, how it should be measured, and how childcare providers can best adopt these philosophies. As we have seen from other communities, establishing what quality means at a local level can help parents make better decisions about where to send their kids, while also allowing providers a roadmap for how to improve the services they provide.
The Task Force created a Quality Rating and Improvement system, which the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend is piloting over the next 18 months.
Family Friendly Workplaces & Culture
This taskforce focused on defining the role that employers in the public, private and non-profit sector, play to adopt practices, philosophies, and cultures that strengthen families and that allow parents to prioritize investments in children. As policies and practices can look very different for small businesses than for large corporations or government agencies, this committee helped develop guidelines and action steps for workplaces of every kind to learn how they can best impact this issue with their own specific resources and capacities.
The Task Force created the Family Friendly Survey that will aim to get insight from the business community into how they foster a workplace that is Family Friendly; as well as creating The Family Friendly Report.
Greater Community Investments in Children and Families
This task force explored how we as a community increase the investments we make in our children, specifically through developing, replicating, and expanding worthwhile programs and initiatives that positively impact the development of children, and in turn the future trajectory of their lives. All over the state and country we see models of how communities have driven change and prioritized the needs of children and families, from social impact bonds to public relations campaigns. This committee was given the task of developing the appropriate path forward that falls in line with the values and amenities of our community, and that allow for us to plan more intentionally for our economic future.
Part of this Task Force’s work including identifying innovative funding opportunities, and hosting the Business Leaders Breakfast.
Resources and Training for Parents and Families
This task force helped define how best to address the needs of parents and families, while developing programs and events that connect them to the resources they need to ensure the best future for their children. One major goal of this committee was to help create a Parents and Families Expo that allows people in the community to interact with childhood development experts, public and non-profit support programs, and a supporting network of other parents and community leaders that can help them learn and adopt best practices.
The Task Force hosted the 2015 Family First Week and Family First Expo in November of 2015, as well as hosted an Evening of Family Engagement and Empowerment Event.
The Call to Action
At the end of the 2016 Community Summit on Children, the Mayor sent out a call to action; asking attendees to commit to joining one of three 2016 Family First Task Forces.
Those Task Forces are:
Driving Family Engagement and Empowerment
Parents, caregivers, and families want the best for their children, but sometimes do not have access to the resources or knowledge that is vital for making the necessary investments during the early years of their child’s life. Building on the work of last year’s Family First Week and Family First Expo, we will work with parent focused organizations to continue to help connect families with needed local resources, and to help create a Parent Peer Ambassador Network that can help disseminate lessons, ideas, and support for the challenges facing families and their children.
Achieving Longevity for Tallahassee’s Quality Rating and Improvement System
To build on last year’s development and piloting of a local Quality Rating System for Childcare providers, we will work with the Early Learning Coalition and childcare leaders to support and scale the program. By exploring Pay for Success partnerships and other innovative funding strategies, this effort will seek to increase the investments our community makes toward helping both parents and providers to ensure that worthwhile investments are being made in their children’s early years, and helping our community become a place where universal access to quality early education is available to all families.
Creating a Work Culture that Celebrates Children and Families
Family-friendly workplaces or employers are those whose policies and culture make it possible for employees to more easily balance family and work, and to fulfill both their family and work obligations. Family friendly workplaces have shown themselves to be extremely valuable for children, parents, and elders, while at the same time helping employers to increase worker productivity, morale, and longevity. In an effort to spread the philosophy and importance of a family friendly work culture in Tallahassee, we will work with partners in the public, private, and non-profit sector to help create a public awareness campaign that can convince more employers to change and adjust their policies in ways that helps workers to invest in children and families.
2015 Highlights
Mayor’s Summit on Children
On March 27, 2015, Mayor Gillum hosted the Mayor's Summit on Children. The goal of this summit was to convene community and business leaders from a broad cross section of the City to better frame the economic and societal costs related to early childhood education and development, and to take the work currently being done in our community to the next level. Full coverage of the summit can be found here: 2015 Mayor's Summit on Children.
The Community Call to Action: Family First Task forces
On the heels of the 2015 Mayor’s Summit on Children came the creation of four Family First Task Forces, brought together to develop innovative strategies for driving better outcomes for our families, and to improve work being done to address our greatest challenges. The four task force committees were charged with taking a thorough and intentional look at several issues and opportunities in our community to better prioritize, invest, and strengthen children and families. These task forces are:
- Improved Quality and Affordable Childcare for All
- This task force is focused on defining what Quality Childcare means for our community, how it should be measured, and how childcare providers can best adopt these philosophies. The Task Force has recommended the creation and implementation of a Quality Rating and Improvement System for Tallahassee.
- Family Friendly Workplaces & Culture
- This taskforce is focused on defining the role that employers in the public, private, and non-profit sector can play to adopt practices, philosophies, and cultures that strengthen families and that allow parents to prioritize investments in children. As policies and practices can look very different for small businesses than from large corporations or government agencies, this committee will help develop guidelines and actions steps for workplaces of every kind to learn how they can best impact this issue with their own specific resources and capacities.
- Greater Community Investments in Children and Families
- This task force is exploring how our community can increase the investments we make in our children, specifically through developing, replicating, and expanding worthwhile programs and initiatives that positively impact child development. Current efforts are geared towards how the community can help invest in the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and Community Schools Initiative that is being pursued by the City Commission.
- Resources and Training for Parents and Families
- This task force helped create the Family First Expo and Fun Day that allowed community members to interact with childhood development experts, public and non-profit support programs, and a support network of other parents and community leaders to help them learn and adopt best practices. The Expo was the closing event of Family First Week.
Family First Week
In partnership with the Early Learning Coalition, Whole Child Leon, Bond Community Health Center, Inc. and Who We Play For, Family First week built on the work of Mayor Gillum's Family First Initiative. The week featured events and commentary from experts, parents, and community leaders focused on lifting the message of early childhood development, and the linkages it shares with the community issues we face such as crime, unemployment, and education inequality.
Events included:
- Whole Child Leon free bi-annual developmental screenings
- Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Race 4 Readiness
- FSU College of Medicine and the Office of the Mayor First Words/Autism Navigator’s Briefing
- Family First Expo and Fun Day