Implementing Strengthening Families:Kansas’ Experience

University of Kansas Institute for Educational Research & Public Service

Jackie Counts, MSW

Rebecca Gillam, LMSW

How we are connecting the efforts

Connecting to Other Initiatives

• Kansas Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (KECCS) Plan

• Kansas Strengthening Families Plan (KSFP)

• CBCAP (Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention) Programs

• Protective Factors Survey

• Early Childhood Initiative

What’s Worked

• Getting started

• “Strengthening Families” reaches a broad audience

• Visual roadmap

• Organize around content

• Neutral convener

Contributions to ECCS

• Cross-pollination with EC and SF• SF has a wider audience• SF has resonated in an unexpected way with

legislators• Has strengthened Goal 5 of the plan—Family

Supports• Has strengthened collaboration on the state

and community level• Integrates goals in both plans

Contributions to SF

• Cross-pollination with EC and SF

• Opened the door for new partnerships

• Gave prevention a place at the table

• Opportunities for funding

• Coordinated prevention efforts both within field and across fields

• Integrates goals in both plans

Financing

• CBCAP Funding• Early Childhood Block Grant

– $11.1 million (FY08-FY09)– Administered by the Children’s Cabinet– Driven by accountability-measures and research-

based programming, as well as a focus on at-risk children and underserved areas

• Early Childhood Initiative, National Alliance of Children’s Trust Funds

Next Steps

• ECCS and SF Parent Involvement Research Initiative

• Results-based Accountability

• Model Community Collaborations aligned with ECCS and SF

www.ksfplan.org

KECCS WEBSITEwww.keccs.org

Contact Information

• Kansas Strengthening Families Plan– www.ksfplan.org– Kansas KECCS Plan www.keccs.org

• James Redmon, Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund– James.Redmon@srs.ks.gov

• Jackie Counts, University of Kansas– jcounts@ku.edu

• Rebecca Gillam, University of Kansas– rgillam@ku.edu