With the end of the year approaching, the Franklin/Grand Isle BBF Regional Council has made incredible strides to offer the community a multitude of supports and efforts towards supporting early childhood and families. The council has really delved into the on-going Action Plan, discussed how projects can meet the needs of the community, and partnered with one another to help reach collective impact goals. The council, under a newer Regional Coordinator, has really come together in the last year and this development in solid, community partnerships has been a shining example of collaboration.
The Franklin/Grand Isle CIS Services Early Intervention team (out of our local Parent Child Center-NCSS), CIS Coordinator and Early Childhood and Family Mental Health-PCC Team Leader attended the VICC Data, Determinations and Continuous Quality Improvement Meeting on November 15th in Waterbury. While the day focused on the state’s collective CIS Early Intervention data, our Franklin/Grand Isle Early Intervention Team was recognized as one of the most consistently improved regions in the Early Intervention Part C transition process! And, one of their very own Developmental Educators, Meghan Swan, was honored for her superior work with families, knowledge of the Early Intervention system, and the incredible skillsets she brings to each family she works with. This group practice is a huge highlight for Franklin/Grand Isle counties and we are so happy to have them supporting our early childhood population.
The BBF Regional Council is in the final stages of finalizing our budget to support several region-wide initiatives. One of those projects is to re-design the family visitation spaces at our local Department for Children and Families. The spaces will include new furniture, games and activities for caregivers to engage their children, and resources for different organizations around Franklin/Grand Isle counties to continue building resilient communities. Our DCF partners have been patiently anticipating this project and our council anticipates scheduling the re-model in December before the end of the year. Stay tuned and check out our BBF Facebook page and the BBF website Franklin/Grand Isle page for pictures of the updated spaces.
The council table has been buzzing in the last few months around the need for concrete supports, specific to winter gear for children throughout the region. With the hopes of meeting children’s needs and the ability to improve access to winter clothes across the region for children, the council has secured a portion of its council funds towards purchasing winter gear to supplement another local winter coat drive beginning at the end of November. The ability to meet an immediate need of the community and to simultaneously support a collaborative partner in their efforts has created an incredible opportunity to engage in collective impact work during this busy winter season.
On November 14th, a few of our council members participated in and supported other community providers in our region’s Universal Pre-School Community Forum and it was a huge success for the Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. With over 20 early care providers, early educators, and other collaborative partners, our community was able to come together to share successes, challenges and hopeful next steps in Universal Preschool for the region, as well as for the rest of the state. A group of our council members supported on-going conversations around how we can all continue to support all of our UPK partners, to include financial support towards EMTSS trainings in the near future. More to come, so stay tuned!
