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Our weekly e-newsletter to providers combines grantee resources, stories of interest, exclusive educational opportunities, and grant information. In this issue:
 2022 Provider Directory: This directory provides a resource list for all PEI programs statewide broken down by program and region. Download a copy today. Questions about your listing? Email us.
Child Maltreatment Fatalities and Near Fatalities Annual Report: This comprehensive report is compiled annually by PEI's Office of Child Safety.
CYD Grantee Resource List: Looking for program guidance and documentation? Check out the new CYD Grantee Resource list on the DFPS website. Additional information and presentations will be updated as they are made available.
DFPS Partners with Multiple State Agencies to Launch Website to Streamline Early Childhood Services for Texas Parents
 The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has announced their new Early Childhood Texas website. The site serves as a streamlined resource for Texas parents to find information about early childhood services available through the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and DFPS.
The new website serves as a one-stop-shop to connect Texas parents with access to a variety of free or low cost services and resources, available through different state agencies and different programs.
Learn more.
 Get Parenting Tips Posters are now available for order. This set of twelve posters features positive parenting stories, children's art, and tips endorsed by The Texas Pediatric Society. Posters can be ordered in English and Spanish. Order a set for your office space today!
Order your 2022 Get Parenting Tips Calendars and Activity Books today!
The Get Parenting Tips Calendar is filled with helpful tips for parents and caregivers of children of all ages. It’s available in English and Spanish, and endorsed by The Texas Pediatric Society. Calendars are shipped for free in quantities of 100 calendars per box.
Activity Books feature artwork, puzzles and language learning activities, and each box comes with crayons for children.
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 The website for 2022 National Child Abuse Prevention Month has launched! The website includes a wealth of information and resources (outlined below) that can aid you in your campaigns.
The NCAPM website:
- Provides information About NCAPM, including child maltreatment data, information about Protective Factors and ACEs, and links to last year’s NCCAN resources.
- Continues to feature Resources, including the Prevention Resource Guide, Conversation Guides, and prevention-focused videos and print products.
- Offers enhanced Spread the Word resources and tools, including new graphics such as customizable WE CAN graphics, GIFs, and an Op-Ed template and sample press release for the media.
Stay tuned for the PEI Child Abuse Prevention Month Toolkit!
Each year, Prevention and Early Intervention offers grantees social media posts and messaging to share on your professional and personal social media. Be on the lookout for our Child Abuse Prevention Month Toolkit coming soon.
In the meantime check out our year-round social media resources for the following:
 To take these courses: Type or paste the course names below 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.
Basics of Home Visiting
Home visitors are committed to the best possible life for babies and their parents. During this course, you will learn how your strengths and motivations will help you achieve this goal and connect with families of all kinds. This course serves as an introduction or valuable refresher on fundamentals such as how to plan for home visits; set goals with families; and handle the unexpected challenges your job presents. Note: This Achieve OnDemand learning experience qualifies for .3 IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Managing Social Media in the Workplace
Social Media can be an amazing tool when managed properly, but there are still risks, especially when working with the public. Learn ways to manage the impact and risks of staff social media use at work.
 Access the Essentials of Home Visiting live webinars through the Essentials of Home Visiting Portal free of cost.
Use this link to register for any webinars from Start EarlyTM
Exploring Values and Beliefs Around Parenting
Date: March 8th
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. CST
Register by: March 7th, 12:00 P.M. CST
We all come to the table with our own beliefs about parenting. This webinar covers how to acknowledge and monitor those beliefs and address how they may impact the work we do with families. This webinar complements the Foundations of Infant Mental Health in Home Visiting self-paced course.
Home Visiting Boundaries
Date: March 16th
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. CDT
Register by: March 15th, 12:00 P.M. CDT
As a home visitor, how does setting and maintaining boundaries with the families you support enhance your work with them? In this webinar we will discuss various situations that call for establishing boundaries, strategies for establishing supportive boundaries with families, and the role of reflective supervision in setting and maintaining boundaries. This webinar complements the Basics of Home Visiting self-paced course.
Virtual NFSN Standards of Quality Certification
This two-day virtual certification training details how the nationally adopted Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening and Support can enhance work with families. Whether you are setting up a new program or strengthening an existing one, the Standards provide a blueprint for implementing best practice.
PEI and FRC host the NFSN Standards of Quality Certification training. Participants who complete the full session will receive a certificate from the National Family Support Network that is valid for two years.
Due to high demand, registration is limited to 4 participants per agency for each training session. If you have additional staff wanting to participate please email PEITraining@dfps.texas.gov with a list of staff and their email addresses; as we have availability we will reach out to them.
For more information on this training, please see the NSFN website here: https://www.nationalfamilysupportnetwork.org/standards-training.
Dates/Times (this is a two-day training)
March 22nd from 9:00 A.M. – 3:30 P.M. CDT, and
March 23rd from 9:00 A.M. – 2:45 P.M. CDT
Register
March 29th from 9:00 A.M. – 3:30 P.M. CDT, and
March 30th from 9:00 A.M. – 2:45 P.M. CDT
Register
 Maximization: What Is It? How Do We Do It?
Funds Maximization is vital and essential to serve Texas families well and for the success of our partnership. Join PEI’s Contracting and Program Teams to gain a better understanding of PEI’s overall Funds Maximization efforts. As a PEI grantee, managing your program’s budget is a priority in our ongoing efforts to maximize PEI dollars in each community. This webinar will provide practical tips, tools, and ideas grantees can use when considering funds maximization work. Also, this webinar will help you understand the process PEI uses to review and evaluate budgeted line items and transfer requests. Together we can achieve more!
Please sign up for the webinar specific to your program area:
Early Childhood - MIECHV Grantees
Date: March 22nd
Time: 9:30 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. CDT
Early Childhood (MIECHV)
Early Childhood Grantees (Excluding MIECHV Grantees)
Date: March 22nd
Time: 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. CDT
Early Childhood (NO MIECHV)
FAYS and SYSN Program Grantees
Date: March 23rd
Time: 9:30 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. CDT
FAYS/SYSN Grantees
Youth and Family Grantees (Excluding FAYS and SYSN Program Grantees)
Date: March 23rd
Time: 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. CDT
Youth & Family Grantees (NOT FAYS/SYSN)
In Case You Missed It: TANF Pandemic Basic Needs Money
PEI was recently allocated a portion of these funds to aid specific programs (HOPES, FAYS, SMVF, and FRCs) in providing certain non-recurrent, short-term benefits for needy families with dependent children. An applicant should have a method for assessing and documenting family need and for administering these funds to participants. If you have administered basic needs assistance prior to this, your process should suffice. The webinar took place on February 23rd and the recording is available on the link below:
Registration is required to view the recording.
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. You can complete the survey on behalf of your overall organization’s input or share the link with your staff and sub awardees to fill out on their own.
Please take 10-15 minutes to complete this survey by March 25th.
 The Power of Prevention: Promoting Healthy Development in Children
Date: March 8, 15, & 22
Time: 10:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. CDT/CST
Register
On Tuesdays in March, the 2nd annual HHS Office of Disability Prevention for Children Statewide Virtual Conference will host a series of free webinars to highlight key topics on preventing intellectual and developmental disabilities in children.
The goal is to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, including community-based and government organizations, health care professionals, educators, families, caregivers, and others to discuss and learn about strategies for creating positive change in the lives of children and families across Texas.
Two hours of continuing education credits/contact hours are available for each day of the conference. A total of eight credits/contact hours will be awarded for attending all four days.
Trauma Transformation Team Webinar Series
Texas Health and Human Services Commission presents 2022 Trauma Transformation Team Webinar Series titled “Trauma-Informed Practice from Information to Application” that will take a deeper dive into the six principles of trauma informed care and how to apply them in the workplace. The first webinars are on Wednesdays from 2:00 - 3:30 P.M. CDT:
- April 20th
- June 15th
- August 17th
- October 19th
- December 21st
For more information, contact: Holly Fullmer at holly.fullmer@hhs.texas.gov www.MentalHealthTX.org
Unspoken: Debunking Myths and Delivering Strategies to Foster Relationships with Underserved Communities
Date: March 9th
Time: 11:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. CST
Register by March 2nd
TIEMH has invited all Help Me Grow Texas Communities to “Unspoken: Debunking Myths and Delivering Strategies to Foster Relationships with Underserved Communities” training. This training event focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Families and community stakeholders, of all demographics, are necessary to understand needs, identify solutions, advocate for change, and create an environment where children and families thrive. Unspoken thoughts and practices, at the core of our culture and climate, often determine whether family and community engagement relationships fail or flourish.
If registration has filled, please add your contact information to our interest list here.
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Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation:
Equity from the Start
March 21-23
This free, virtual conference is specifically geared towards IECMHC consultants, supervisors, managers, consultees, parents, leadership, and funders, but all are invited to attend. Join us to access a range of presentations related to implementing infant & early childhood mental health consultation and promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion for infants, children, families, and the workforce.
Join for:
- Over 50 professional learning sessions,
- Opportunities to connect with other individuals in the field of IECMHC,
- On-Demand access through May 30, 2022.
Spots are limited
If you are unable to make the live event, please do not register as spots are limited. All recordings and handouts will be available one week following the Conference at our website, www.iecmhc.org/conference.
HRSA Discretionary Grant Opportunity: Catalyst Infant Health Equity
- Open to State/City governments, for-profit and non-profit organizations
- Goals- reduce infant mortality and address racial/ethnic disparities
- Priority to counties/jurisdictions with larger numbers of excess infant deaths (deaths contributable to disparity) will be considered priority areas
- $500,000 per award (2.5 million appropriated)
- Recipients are expected to implement action plans that address the social determinants of health (i.e., environmental, social, and economic conditions), and/or the structural determinants of health (e.g., institutions, systemic barriers, policies) that contribute to disparities in IM. The policy and systems change strategies in such action plans should be targeted and specific to reducing disparities among the racial or ethnic group(s) with the highest IM rates or excess infant deaths (i.e., priority population) in a target county/jurisdiction. The plan must be implemented in partnership with cross-sector state and/or local partners (including agencies that administer the State Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program), community members, and individuals with lived experience
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. An order contains four tests, and there's a limit of one order per residence.
Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.
How to Order
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Visit the CovidTests.gov website, or
- Call 1-800-232-0233 (phone line is open from 8 a.m. to midnight ET seven days a week, and offers assistance in more than 150 languages).
The tests available for order:
- Are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR
- Can be taken anywhere
- Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
- Work whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms
- Work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines
- Are also referred to as self-tests or over-the-counter (OTC) tests
If you need a test now
- Locate providers in your area using Vaccines.gov or texting your zip code to 438829 (822862 in Spanish) to find a nearby clinic.
- Residents can also call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000) for more information regarding COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
- Visit the Texas DSHS and HHSC websites for more updated statewide COVID-19 information and resources.
Thoughts, comments or suggestions to make PEI Grantee News work better for you? Send them to PEInews@dfps.texas.gov!
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