Welcome to the ECI Monday Musings. It is a compilation of information, practical advice, training announcements, and/or success stories. Monday Musings is intended to disseminate information to Early Childhood Iowa Stakeholders in a timely fashion. (We may on occasion send out a separate newsfeed with information if it needs immediate attention or if for a specific audience.)
Please let us know if you have something you would like to contribute or have suggestions or comments at jeffrey.anderson@iowa.gov
FOUR LITTLE NUMBERS. ONE AWESOME WAY TO STAY HEALTHY!
October is Healthiest State Month! Throughout the month we will celebrate 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count! There are a number of ways for you to participate.
Each week in the month of October will be dedicated to each of the individual numbers in 5-2-1-0. Learn more about what each number means and why it is important here.
Are you celebrating with us? Share your 5-2-1-0 fun on social media with the hashtag #HealthyChoicesCount. Sites that show their participation will be entered to win prizes. (More information about our social media contests can be found in our Healthiest State Month Toolkits.)
October 1-7, 2018
Focus on getting 1 hour of physical activity each day. Participate in the 8th Annual Healthiest State Walk on October 3.
Focus on eating 5 fruits or vegetables each day. Participate in Local Foods Day, sponsored by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, on October 11.
The event will feature Sen. Tom Harkin as a keynote speaker. Read more.
“The Evolution of Child Care and Where YOU Fit In”
The Department of Human Services(DHS) is offering a new training opportunity. Hear from DHS on the evolution of child care services in Iowa over the years and where YOU fit into the puzzle of early childhood development. Join us for a 2-hour professional development opportunity to discuss the history of child care, early childhood brain development, how you are supporting the workforce, and why you are so important to us. Trainings scheduled as of 10/1/18: 2018 Fall Institute 10/5/18 Waterloo 10/10/18 Dubuque 10/11/18 Fort Dodge 10/16/18 Creston 10/18/18 Cedar Rapids 1/14/19 Burlington 4/4/19 For more details about the training and to enroll please use the Iowa Child Care Provider Training Registry: https://ccmis.dhs.state.ia.us/TrainingRegistry/Home.aspx
Scam Targets Food Assistance Recipients
The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) has been made aware of a potential scam targeting Food Assistance recipients who use electronic benefit transfer (EBT). There have been reports of recipients receiving a text message which advises them their EBT funds are expiring and immediate deposit is required. It then asks them to click on a link to “apply” for benefits, at which point it asks for personal information.
Iowa does not use mobile messaging to share information with EBT recipients. This is a scam. Recipients are advised NOT to click on a link or provide any personal information.
Visit dhs.iowa.gov for information on DHS and its programs.
Children's System State Board Listening Posts
Area Education Agencies (AEA) are hosting listening posts at locations across Iowa on behalf of the Children’s System State Board (Children’s Board) established by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April. The focus of the listening posts is to understand what children’s mental health services families and local entities feel need to be available locally. The Children’s Board will review the information gathered from these listening posts as part of its charge to review existing resources and develop a strategic plan with specific recommendations to create a statewide system to help children with mental health issues. The strategic plan is due to the governor by November 15, 2018.
View the locations and agenda for upcoming listening posts here.
Federal News
Safe to Sleep: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month
October is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month. SIDS is the leading cause of death for children during their first year of life.
The US Department of Health and Human Services leads the Safe to Sleep campaign to remind parents, caregivers, along with child care and health care providers how to create safe sleeping environments for infants to reduce the risk of SIDS. For more information visit the Safe to Sleep website.
October is Head Start Awareness Month
First created in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan, Head Start Awareness Month is an opportunity to share at the local, state and national level the power of Head Start.
As President Reagan said in his proclamation, Head Start “has earned recognition and support for its success in early childhood education and development.” Continuing this awareness and bringing new awareness to Head Start’s mission is not only critical, but also fun. This October, join NHSA in building knowledge of and support for Head Start’s whole-child and whole-community approach to supporting families on their path to success.
Public policy is best informed by syntheses of all the available evidence rather than by considering each new study as it arrives in a vacuum--as all too often happens.
A new paper published in Economics of Education Review examined the effects of universal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) on child development and children's later life outcomes with a large body of international evidence. Researchers synthesized findings from recent studies that exploit natural experiments to attempt to identify the causal effects of universal ECEC arrangements. They used 250 estimates from 30 studies conducted between 2005 and 2017.
In Do Children Benefit from Universal Early Childhood Education and Care?, researchers report results showing high-quality arrangements consistently generate positive child outcomes. Publicly provided programs produce more favorable effects than privately provided (and mixed) programs. They do not find that effects fade out in the long run and but do find that gains of ECEC are concentrated within children from lower SES families.
