Insert Title Here

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• 1,825

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Building Partnerships with Foundations

• Quick overview of Smart Start Colorado
• How we came to be partners
• Why form partnerships
• Keys to success
• Likely challenges

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Every day counts in the life of a young child !

• Smart Start Colorado wants to help parents make
  the most of those first 1,825 days. We are a
  statewide alliance of early childhood
  partnerships working together to create a
  comprehensive system for young children, birth to
  age eight, and their families.

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• Our vision ALL children are valued and thriving
• Our motto Ready for school and ready for life

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Early Care and Education
Children
Family Support and Parent Education

Health Care and Medical Home
Child and Family
Mental Health
School and Community
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Who Are Colorados Young Children?

• 409,544 under age 6 (2000 Census)
• 13 live in poverty
• 59 with all available parents working
• 200,000 annual live births
• 9 (18,000) low weight births
• 19 live in immigrant families (Kids Count 2006)

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What Is a System? (Example Health)

• Direct Services
• Pre-natal care
• Well-baby visits
• Nutrition (WIC)
• Post-partum counseling
• Health insurance
• Genetic screenings
• Hearing, vision screenings
• Routine dental care
• Immunizations
• Mental health consultation
• etc etc etc

• Infrastructure
• Recruitment and training
• Practitioner standards
• Consumer information
• Data collection and management
• Adequate funding and reimbursement rates
• Referrals
• Care coordination, case management
• Technical assistance
• Community support
• Regulation
• Policy

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To Start Eight Goals

• Program Quality and Standards
• Program Availability
• Parent and Family Engagement
• Professional and Workforce Development
• Public Engagement
• Systems Oversight
• Accountability
• Funding and Finance

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To Start From Planning to Implementation

• Accomplishments
• Developed the SSC Strategic Plan
• Formed task forces
• Opened the Office of Professional Development
• Built a website with parent information
• Completed policy audit
• Drafted outcomes
• Proposed a governance model
• Signed an MOU with the ECSR Commission
• Represent the one voice

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Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation

• Supports the positive development of children
  through grants and partnerships within Colorado
• Created in 1962 since 1996 focus has been early
  childhood education
• Currently over 85 of grants go to early
  childhood
• Leads local EC Funders Group

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A Little History

• EC Funders Group met regularly to self-educate on
  EC issues 10-12 Colorado-based foundations no
  pressure to fund specific projects
• Piton Foundation joins Early Childhood State
  Systems Team
• 2 joint mapping projects statewide and Early
  Care and Education in Denver
• 2 funding collaborations Colorado Childrens
  Campaign and Educare/Qualistar
• Susan joins Funding Finance Task Force and
  Licensing Workgroup
• Grants for a few initial Smart Start Colorado
  projects (private/public funding mix)

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The Early Childhood State Systems Team

• Clayton Early Childhood Resource Institute
• Colorado Association for the Education of Young
  Children
• Colorado Child Care Association
• Colorado Childrens Campaign
• Colorado Consolidated Child Care Pilots
• Colorado Department of Education, Prevention
  Initiatives
• Colorado Department of Human Svcs, Division of
  Child Care and Division of Mental Health Svcs
• Colorado Department of Public Health and
  Environment, Prevention Services Division
• Colorado Foundation for Children and Families
• Colorado Early Childhood Credential Office
• Colorado Head Start Association
• Colorado Home Visitation Coalition
• Early Childhood Summit
• Family Voices of Colorado
• Harambe
• Invest In Kids
• JFK Partners, CU Health Sciences Center
• Head Start State Collaboration Office, Office of
  the Lieutenant Governor
• National Child Care Information Center

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Current Joint Work Funding

• Public engagement
• Parent engagement
• Financial modeling
• Local outreach
• Standards and outcomes
• Preparing to become a legal entity

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Current Joint Work NON-Funding related

• Policy work (e.g., Commission)
• Peer-to-peer information sharing
• Supporting each others priorities (e.g.,
  Licensing recommendations)
• Problem solving
• Strategizing

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Why Create True Partnerships?

• Exponential opportunities thought and money
• Better use of money
• Better final product

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Keys to a Successful Partnership

• Trust
• Time
• Shared Vision
• Involvement beyond writing checks

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How to Develop Trust

• Among funders joint work, guilt-free atmosphere,
  shared credit
• Between funders and grantees no snow jobs,
  follow through, respect opinions not just
  dollars, show progress

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Challenges to Successful Partnerships

• Final outcomes vs. short term benchmarks
• Perceived (and real) wasted funds on squishy
  infrastructure back to benchmarks
• Boards and donor intent keep talking!
• Diverging vision over time keep talking and
  keep eyes on the prize

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We Are Just Starting

• On our to do list
• Open our doors broaden our coalition to include
  more parents and local voices
• Build champions get business leaders and
  elected officials on board
• Formalize our work create a unified
  organizational and governance structure at the
  state and local levels
• Consistency create a core set of aligned
  standards and outcomes for programs,
  professionals and children/families
• Invest cost out a quality system and identify
  funding strategies
• Support provide technical assistance to local
  communities to do systems building work at county
  and regional levels

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Imagine the Future

• How will we know we have succeeded? Three
  examples
• When all children have access to quality health
  care (physical, mental and oral) and to quality
  programs before they enter kindergarten
• When all parents feel valued and are able to do
  their jobs to the best of their ability and
• When early childhood development is an accepted
  part of the public trust

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• Those who say
• It cannot be done
• Should not interrupt
• Those who are doing it
• -- Chinese Proverb

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Thank You to Our Funders

• Chambers Family Fund
• Colorado Childrens Trust Fund
• Colorado Department of Education
• Colorado Department of Human Services, Division
  of Child Care
• Colorado Department of Public Health and
  Environment, Prevention Services Division
• Donnell Kay Foundation
• Head Start Association
• Head Start State Collaboration Office, Lt.
  Governors Office
• Making Connections Denver
• The Piton Foundation
• The Rose Community Foundation
• Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation
• Tony Grampsas Youth Services
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
  Maternal and Child Health Bureau

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Contact Information

• Teri Pinney
• Director, Smart Start Colorado
• Colorado Dept. of Public Health Environment
• 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
• Denver, CO 80246
• 303-692-2386
• teri.pinney_at_state.co.us
• www.SmartStartColorado.org

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Contact Information

• Susan Steele
• President, Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation
• 1666 S. University Blvd. Ste B
• Denver, CO 80210
• 303-744-1688
• ssteele_at_buellfoundation.org
• www.BuellFoundation.org