PEI Provider News Volume 7, Issue 28

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A PEI Newsletter Volume 7, Issue 28

Welcome to PEI Provider News! Our weekly e-newsletter to providers combines provider resources, stories of interest, exclusive educational opportunities, and grant information. In this issue:

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COVID Updates

Texas has opened up Phase 1C of COVID vaccinations. All Texans 50 and older, can now sign up for vaccines. Visit the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Newsroom for more information. 

Texas school and child care personnel are now eligible to receive the COVID vaccine. With the federal directive, the following education and child care personnel are now eligible to be vaccinated in Texas:

  • Those who work in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools;
  • Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff, and bus drivers); and
  • Those who work as or for licensed child care providers, including center-based and family care providers.

Do not show up at a vaccine hub without first signing up or checking the provider’s instructions for schedulingVisit the DSHS COVID Vaccination webpage for more information. 

Even after you get a dose of the vaccine, continue to wear face masks, practice social distancing and regular handwashing to slow the spread. 

Coronavirus Resources for PEI ProvidersInformation on the COVID-19 virus for providers.

Tell us how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting you. We want to hear your stories about how the ongoing pandemic is affecting you and your life.

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Training Needs Assessment Due April 1

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Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) is committed to ensuring our grantees have the training and professional development they need to navigate Texas families’ needs.

In order to ensure that PEI is offering the support you need to create opportunities for partnerships with families, we are asking you to complete the survey below to determine what topics require additional focus and support. 

Please take 15-20 minutes to complete this survey by April 1st.

You can complete the survey on behalf of your overall organization’s input or share the link with your staff and subcontractors to fill out on their own.

Training Needs Survey


For additional questions, please email PEITraining@dfps.texas.gov.

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Call for Presenters - 21st Annual Partners in Prevention Conference

Prevention and Early Intervention is now accepting applications for presenters for our 21st Annual Partners in Prevention (PIP) Conference. This year's conference will blend virtual and in-person opportunities for presentations, and will take place at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas on November 2-4, 2021. Conference sessions should be designed for participants to take away concrete skills and ideas to connect what they have learned with the families they partner with. 

The application process has moved online. Application deadline is April 1, 2021.

Apply Now


Start the conversation on your social media accounts! #pipcon2021

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Parenting Tips Calendar Call for Artwork

Our Call for Artwork is underway, and we're already getting some amazing creations. We encourage all grantees to participate in submitting their child and youth art for the 2022 Parenting Tips Calendar by May 1st

Check out this beautiful example sent to us by the El Paso Center for Children below!

FAMILY Example

We’d love to see what "strong Texas families" look like to the children you support in your community. Artwork should be at least 8.5x11 (the size of a standard sheet of paper) and should have a focus on highlighting the strength and diversity of Texas families.

For more information, questions, support brainstorming, or to express interest, contact Tom Stephan.

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Training Tuesdays

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Join us every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month as we explore current, relevant topics based on state trends, featuring PEI speakers and guest experts.

Making PEIRS Reports Work for You - Tracking Services in PEIRS

Date: March 23rd
Time: 2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. CST
Register

Join PEI’s Research and Evaluation Team as we highlight reports in the PEI Reporting System that help you track the services you entered in PEIRS and the services you deliver by month.

The first half of the webinar will highlight tools for all PEI providers and the second half will highlight tools for those with the home visiting tab.

Child Abuse Prevention Month Panel: A Community Response to Nurturing Families

Date: April 6th
Time: 2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. CST
Register

Children thrive in safe, stable, nurturing families and communities. Behind many families that succeed there is a strong community that provides ways for the family to meet their own needs. Join DFPS in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month for a one-hour panel session with faith-based and parent leaders as they discuss strategies to support and engage all families where they live, work, play and worship and build strong communities. 

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Connect with the PEI Learning Hub

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To take these courses: Type or paste the course names below into the search bar on the PEI Learning Hub:

  1. Click on the course and select “request”
  2. On your transcript select “launch” to begin
  3. When the video is complete, go to "completed" courses in your transcript
  4. Select "evaluate" to provide feedback

For questions, contact PEITraining@dfps.state.tx.us.

PEIRS Home Visiting Tools

This is a presentation specifically discussing Home Visiting tools, including the Timeline, Checklist and Detail Forms. The intended audience is PEI Home Visiting providers and PEI staff.

Unconscious Bias

Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social groups, genders and identities. This course offers insight into understanding unconscious bias about gender, and and offers tools to help dismantle stereotypes and promote equality. 

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Essentials of Home Visiting Courses

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Essentials of Home Visiting - Free Webinars coming soon.

The Essentials of Home Visiting live webinars will soon be available on the Essentials of Home Visiting Portal at no cost to you. Be on the lookout for a detailed announcement in April!

Free Be Strong Families COVID-19 Daily Webinars 

Be Strong Families is hosting a series of webinars in English (12:00pm CDT) and Spanish (1:30pm CDT) daily. Check out their website for topics including grieving experiences and expectations, family storytelling workshop, self-care for caregivers, financial resilience, and candid experiences of COVID-19. 

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External Training Opportunities

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Webinar: Mother-Friendly Worksite Program

Date: March 23rd
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. CST
Register

A Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite (MFW) is a workplace that has received the DSHS MFW designation for creating a lactation support policy and environment. Employers who adopt mother-friendly policies often find that new moms return to work sooner, miss work less often, have higher morale, and are more productive.

Webinar participants will:

  • Learn about the public health, business, and legal cases for providing employee lactation support
  • Receive information on the tools and resources offered through this program
  • Discuss unique solutions to meet an organization and employee’s lactation needs
  • Learn how earning the Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite designation helps to distinguish an organization as an “Employer of Choice”
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Save the Date - State of Babies Yearbook Release

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Date: Thursday, April 22nd 
Time: 1:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. CST
Register for Updates

Join ZERO TO THREE on April 22 for the virtual release of the State of Babies Yearbook: 2021. The organization will discuss findings, tell the story behind the data, and lay out the strong, permanent, national policies that ensure families and their babies thrive.

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Share Your Work!

If you have any events or news that you would like to share in the next e-newsletter please email PEINews@dfps.texas.gov

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