SD ECCS December 2024 Update
Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems: ECCS
Ensuring a strong start for all children can reduce vulnerabilities and prevent ACEs, but it requires collaboration and co-ownership of strategies and solutions. This newsletter provides updates on SD ECCS activities and also provide external learning opportunities, resources and news to increase our shared understanding and ability to ensure a strong start for all South Dakota children.
Investing in children, empowering healthy communities.
Make plans to join us for the 2025 Children’s Day at the Capitol! Annually, organizations with an interest in bettering the lives of children and families will gather during the legislative session to inform the public, lawmakers, government staff and other advocates about our work.
January 15-16, 2025 | State Capitol Rotunda
Tentative Schedule of Activities
Wednesday, January 15
- 9:00am to 12:00pm – Attend committee hearings (optional)
- 10:00am to 1:00pm – Informational booths in the Rotunda
- 10:30am to 10:45am – Children’s Day group photo on Rotunda steps
- 11:00am to 12:00pm – State of the Judiciary in House Chambers
- 12:00 to 1:00pm – Cookies and coffee provided in the Rotunda
- 1:00pm – State of the Tribes in House Chambers prior to legislative session
- 5:00pm to 7:00pm – SD Afterschool Network Reception at St. Charles Lounge in Pierre
Thursday, January 16
- 9:00am to 12:00pm – Attend committee hearings (optional)
- 10:00am to 1:00pm – Informational booths in the Rotunda
- 11:30am to 12:30pm – Lunch provided in the Rotunda
- 12:00pm to 12:30pm – Children’s Day Program: Watertown Early Childhood Investments
- 12:45pm to 1:00pm – Children’s Day group photo on Rotunda steps
- 1:00pm – Children’s Day recognition in the chambers, attend legislative session
Customize Your Children’s Day at the Capitol Experience
Event sponsors are integral to bringing a united focus on the well-being of children during the legislative session. Sponsors are recognized in all print and online materials for the day’s activities.
- Event Supporter: $200 | Booth space on Wednesday, January 15 (cookies provided in Rotunda with no program). Limited to 7 organizations, 2 spots remaining.
- Event Partner: $400 | Booth space on Thursday, January 16 (lunch and program provided in Rotunda). Limited to 7 organizations, 0 spots remaining.
- Event Sponsor: $1,000 | Booth space on Wednesday and Thursday, January 15-16. Limited to 3 organizations, 2 spots remaining.
Learn more and register at SDCPCM.com/Childrens-Day
Bright Lights Webinar
The Bright Lights webinar series will feature innovative collaborations across the comprehensive early childhood landscape. This webinar series showcases the successes and outcomes achieved through collaborative, cross-sector or agency efforts designed to ensure a strong start for children.
Make plans to join us online on December 17 at 12:00pm CT for “How Huron is bringing joy and play to children through a collaboration with Toy Lending Library” presented by Anelis Coscioni, Toy Lending Library; Rhonda Kludt, Toy Lending Library Board Member; and Gayle Kludt, Kiwanis Club of Huron/Huron Public Transit.
https://sdcpcm.com/events/eccs-bright-light-1217/
Welcome New ECCS Family Leadership Group Members
The ECCS Family Leadership Group received 60 applications from parenting adults with young children who wished to join. The current members reviewed applications and selected the following individuals to join them:
- Nikki Pays, Summit
- Janet Whiting, Porcupine
- Elizabeth Young, Lincoln County
- Claire Mars, Hot Springs
- Lisa Reyes, Sioux Falls
- Ashleigh Young, Rapid City
- Cassie Long, Pierre
The ECCS Family Leadership Group provides input into the ECCS work and also helps provide family voice to other projects and initiatives across the state upon request. If you would like to learn more about the ECCS Family Leadership Group, please contact Darbi Hunt at [email protected].
Other Partner Updates and News
SD Childcare Task Force Report Release Webinar
January 10 from 12-1:30pm CT, 11-12:30pm MT.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUuceCurz8sGtWl-r59rPer7I9y4898txQx
Please join the South Dakota Child Care Task Force and The Hunt Institute for the release of the South Dakota Child Care Task Force Report. The South Dakota Child Care Task Force was launched in 2023 and convenes varied stakeholders including policymakers, early childhood experts, child care agencies representing child care centers and Family Child Care homes, and representatives from philanthropy and higher education. The purpose of the Task Force is to develop practical and sustainable solutions to the state’s child care crisis that are aligned with the state’s economic, political, and cultural landscape.
The Hunt Institute, a nonpartisan educational policy institute established by four-term North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, is a trusted technical assistance partner to states supporting policy initiatives in child care and early learning, K-12 education, teacher diversity, and higher education. This report was developed by the South Dakota Child Care Task Force and The Hunt Institute to lay the groundwork for stakeholders in South Dakota to develop effective solutions to the lingering child care deficit in the state.
Avera Research Institute MARCH Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence Summit
Save the date for Avera Research Institute’s annual MARCH maternal health research center of excellence summit. The summit will take place March 4 with the option for a half day workshop on March 5 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center & Arena. Registration will officially open soon.
The keynote speaker is Deb Kilday, a Senior Advisor for Maternal and Infant Health, within the Office on Women’s Health (OWH), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kilday is nationally recognized as a subject matter expert in maternal infant populations. She has been instrumental in the launch of national campaigns uniting thousands of U.S. hospitals, health systems, providers and organizations to transform healthcare for women and infants.
External Resources and Learning Opportunities
Community-Based Doula Policies Across States
Community-based doulas are one of 12 evidence-based policies included in the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center’s 2024 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which details states’ progress toward implementing policies that are proven to impact the prenatal-to-3 system of care. Community-based doulas are trained social service professionals who provide non-clinical emotional, physical, and informational support to expectant parents, starting during pregnancy and continuing throughout the postpartum period. When integrated into a larger system of supports for expectant parents, community-based doulas can improve child health and development outcomes, parenting behaviors, and birth outcomes including preterm birth, low birthweight, and neonatal intensive care unit visits.
The South Dakota Department of Social Services is going to include doula services as a Medicaid reimbursable service through the BabyReady Program. To learn more about BabyReady, visit this site, and sign up for the South Dakota Doulas newsletter here.
Building for Babies: State Policy Self-Assessment Suite
ZERO TO THREE released a self-assessment tool that helps states evaluate their infant-toddler policies, understand key policy areas, and identify priorities. The tool also provides resources and examples of innovative state initiatives.
Let’s Connect!
If you would like to learn more about the SD ECCS efforts, provide feedback, or share more about your efforts to ensure a strong start for South Dakota’s youngest children, please email [email protected]. Are you working on some of these goals and strategies–or could they be included in your plans and activities? We’d love to learn more, collaborate, and celebrate your work.
