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Welcome to PEI Provider News! Our weekly e-newsletter to providers combines provider resources, stories of interest, exclusive educational opportunities and grant information.
Special thanks to all our providers who responded to our survey in May about how you like to receive news and information from PEI. We're always looking for ways to improve our communications - please email us if you have thoughts, suggestions, or items of interest!
Coronavirus Guidance from DSHS and the Governor is available online for all Texans as we respond to the pandemic. Information changes weekly; it's a good idea to bookmark this page for the most up-to-date, accurate information on current response efforts.
Help and Hope COVID-19 resource page: Visit HelpAndHope.org to find updated resources for providers and the general public.
Coronavirus Resources for PEI Providers: Information on the COVID-19 virus for providers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made changes to the guidance on the risk of COVID to pregnant women. According to a study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published last week, pregnant women with COVID-19 were more likely than non-pregnant women to be hospitalized for the disease and increased risk of preterm birth.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women be counseled about the potential risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and measures to prevent infection. Pregnant women are advised to keep going to prenatal care appointments, following current safety measures as listed on the CDC website and talking to a health care provider about how to stay healthy.
 Join us from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time each Tuesday as we explore current, relevant topics based on state trends, featuring PEI speakers and guest experts.
July 14: Safe Babies Evaluations and Resources
Safe Babies began five years ago as an evaluation of hospital-based prevention programs for infants. Since then, the program has evolved to cover a host of resources for families during the transition to parenthood. This webinar will discuss the results of these evaluations, how you can access these resources and the future course of the Safe Babies initiative.
July 21: Selecting a Caregiver
What's the best way to help choose a caregiver that will keep children safe? We'll explore the answer to that question, and provide detailed insight and guidance on:
- Different types of child care settings
- Using the DFPS website for finding child care and information about caregivers/centers and tips for a successful child care search
- Illegal operations
- How to maintain safety of children in child care
- Seeking help with child care for friends, family members and baby-sitters
- Interview questions to ask a potential caregiver
- Protective factors to consider for potential caregivers
Communicating Effectively
Effective communication is one of the most important life skills we can learn – and yet it’s not something most people put a lot of effort into. We accept that some people are naturally good at public speaking or are really good at getting their point across in meetings. The truth is, effective communication is a skill, and like any skill, with practice you can improve. This course will provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence to be an effective communicator.
To take the course: Type or paste the course names above into the search bar on the PEI Learning Hub.
• Click on the course and select “request.”
• On your transcript select “launch” to begin.
• When the video is complete, go to "completed" courses in your transcript.
• Select "evaluate" to provide feedback.
For questions, contact PEITraining@dfps.state.tx.us.
PEI is excited to announce a series of free trainings facilitated by Be Strong Families. These trainings will be conducted virtually, and open to all PEI providers statewide. Space is limited to 30 participants per option so register today. Each participant will be emailed training materials.
Making Effective Referrals
Everybody needs help sometimes; when the right assistance comes at the right time, it can be lifesaving. This workshop teaches participants how to implement a client-driven, partnership-based approach to Information & Referral Services (I&R) where the focus is on building parents’ skills to research and access services as they both build their knowledge of what's available in the community. This two-day training will be offered two separate times.
Choose only one option below:
Vicarious Trauma/Vicarious Resilience
This training uses several training modalities to assist participants in understanding how other people’s trauma impacts our wellbeing, whether the other people are our friends, clients or foster kids. Learning how vicarious trauma affects us is the first step to improving our wellbeing and ability to sustain positive relationships. The workshop begins with learning about and identifying our own signs of trauma exposure response and our emotional triggers. Participants practice strategies for de-escalating their own and others’ emotional responses at the moment. Further, they are introduced to Journey to Vitality, a framework for wellness. Understanding how wellness increases our ability to respond to trauma in a healthy way. This 2-day training will be offered two separate times.
Choose only one option below:
For more information email: PEItraining@dfps.state.tx.us.
Be Strong Families COVID-19 Daily Webinars (free)
Be Strong Families hosts a series of webinars in English (12:00 p.m. CDT) and Spanish (1:30 p.m. CDT) daily. Check out the website for topics including grieving experiences and expectations, family storytelling workshop, self-care for caregivers, financial resilience and candid experiences of COVID-19.
There are two more Fatherhood Fridays left; the next summit date is July 10th.
All times are from 10:30 a.m. until noon. Click the date to register.
Questions? Contact cfrpevents@austin.utexas.edu.
CFRP and Texas DFPS Prevention and Early Intervention have developed a single online source for policymakers, administrators, and program providers to learn about the research on the importance of fathers and find concrete tools to advance their day-to-day work. The Texas Fatherhood Resource Hub has five sections of content:
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Dads Matter – the connection between father involvement and positive outcomes for children, and the key predictors of father involvement
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Preparing Your Organization to Serve Fathers – resources to help organizations facilitate father inclusion, recruitment, and retention; and specific resources on young fathers (ages 18-24) and fathers participating in home visiting programs
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Building a Father-Friendly Community – the steps organizations can take to build a community coalition focused on working toward a long-term, measurable goal to improve the community and create systems-level change
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How Texas is Supporting Fathers - resources and trainings to support organizations as they serve fathers, a sample of programs and services working with fathers in Texas, and links to parenting and legal resources that organizations can share with the families they serve
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Serving Fathers Across the U.S. – information on programs and services in other states; research on the effectiveness of fatherhood programs; and resources, trainings, curriculum, and funding opportunities available to support organizations that serve fathers
Join First3Years and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), in partnership with DFPS PEI and the Texas PN-3 Collaborative, for a webinar series on early relational health.
Early Relational Health (ERH) describes the positive, stimulating and nurturing early relationships that ensure both emotional security and connections that advance physical health and development, social well-being and resilience. The four-part session breakdown is below:
- Session 1 will explore the science behind early relational health and opportunities to support infants, very young children and their families through ERH.
- Sessions 2 and 3 will highlight efforts in child welfare, home visiting, child health, early education and systems level work to integrate relational health into the fabric of their work with families.
- Session 4 will conclude with a focus on Sustaining Support and Resources for ERH through a Policy lens.
The series starts tomorrow: register now.
PEI's 20th annual conference for prevention and early intervention professionals will be virtual. We look forward to exploring a new way to offer the quality resources and educational opportunities you've come to expect from PIP while keeping everyone safe.
PEI is finalizing the format of the virtual conference, and will provide regular updates via our newsletters. If you have any questions or concerns about the impact on your budget please reach out to your program specialist or contract manager.
PEI previously released an addendum to the Fiscal Year 2020 Business Plan updating its procurement schedule. We wanted to let our PEI Community know that both the Texas Nurse-Family Partnership Program (TNFP) and the Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES II & III) RFAs will be posted later than anticipated.
- The TNFP RFA is slated to be posted in the Fall of 2020. Applicants will have 60 days to submit their applications.
- The HOPES II & III RFA is slated to be posted in the Fall of 2020. Applicants will have 90 days to submit their applications.
We expect contracts will be in place for both TNFP and HOPES II & III to begin September 1, 2021. Please send any questions you may have to PEIContracting@dfps.state.tx.us and share this notice with any members of your community who may be anticipating the release of these RFAs or would be valuable partners.
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