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Lantern - Community Partners Information Presentation

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Lantern - Community Partners Information Presentation

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Yakima - 268 families receiving Lantern, Kittitas, 17 families receiving Lantern

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At Lantern, we believe that every child and family deserves the opportunity to thrive, and we work tirelessly to make this vision a reality. By sharing expert-curated tips, activities and vital, trusted information, we empower families to support their children’s healthy development. Our content is accessible to all, embracing diversity and inclusivity, and is available in English, Spanish and Arabic at a 6th-grade reading level.

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Parents don’t need expensive toys, apps, or flashcards to help their kids build language skills.

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Health Provider Outreach - Presentation Slides

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Health Provider Outreach - Presentation Slides

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The Partner Toolkit was created to provide communication tools to support partners with their communications about Help Me Grow Washington. Help Me Grow Washington partners include anyone who is part of the network: parents, caregivers, service providers, employers and professionals of all kinds who focus on connecting families to the local resources they need.
Help Me Grow WA Universal Messaging

Help Me Grow WA Localized Messaging

This messaging will be helpful when describing Help Me Grow Washington in specific counties or regions in the state.

Digital and print materials are available below to download. Please email us if you have any questions or feedback; we welcome suggestions on new materials!

Digital Materials

Help Me Grow WA Logos

Social Media Graphics

Print Materials

Help Me Grow Flyers

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The Partner Toolkit was created to provide communication tools to support partners with their communications about Help Me Grow Washington. Help Me Grow Washington partners include anyone who is part of the network: parents, caregivers, service providers, employers and professionals of all kinds who focus on connecting families to the local resources they need.

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Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer

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Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer

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This is the home page for Kittitas County Public Health. Our missions is to protect and promote the health and the environment of the people of Kittitas County.

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Big Thanks!

This project would not have been possible without the many advocates, experts, and WCFC Early Childhood Network members who provided valuable time, input, and skills. Special thanks to the following individuals who participated on the Fair Start for Kids Act Communication Workgroup:

Toolkit design & content creation

Colleen Condon, Molly Curtiss, Molly Draben, Cadie Dye, Debbie Ham, Brittany Hartikainen, Katie Maisch, Eiledon McLellan, Melissa McPheeters, April Messenger, Linden Obel, Nancy Spurgeon

Toolkit translation

Marina Medrano

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Fair Start for Kids Act Communication Toolkit - Washington Communities For Children

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This project would not have been possible without the many advocates, experts, and WCFC Early Childhood Network members who provided valuable time, input, and skills.

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Marina Medrano, Lindsay Boswell, Azucena Salazar, Keri Nguyen, Vanessa Frias

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Education:
Medical School at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Oklahoma

Experience:
Dr. Shockley worked 1 year in Pediatric Urgent Care at Children's Hospital of Oklahoma Emergency Department. She also Worked 3.5 years at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Wapato, WA, taking call at Toppenish Hospital for newborns and pediatric admissions.

Why CWFM:
I love to work with families as a whole, that means integrating behavioral health and social assistance with traditional medicine. I also love to teach!

Courtney aspires to:
"Improve the health and wellbeing of kids and teens and to empower them to pursue their dreams. "

Hobbies:
Reading, Hanging out with my kids, Traveling, All things DISNEY!

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Courtney Shockley, MD | Community Health of Central Washington

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Education: Medical School at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.Residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Oklahoma Experience: Dr. Shockley worked 1 year in Pediatric Urgent Care at Children's Hospital of Oklahoma Emergency Department. She also Worked 3.5 years at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Wapato, WA, taking call at Toppenish Hospital for newborns and pediatric admissions.

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Why Early Learning is Important:

Research has shown that children who are able to participate in early learning programs perform better throughout their years of schooling. Early learning programs focus on six areas of kindergarten readiness:

Social-Emotional - Children do better in school when they can regulate their emotions, establish positive relationships with others, and constructively participate in group settings.

Physical - The early years are important for the development of fundamental gross-motor and fine-motor skills needed to be active learners.

Language - Children need to understand increasingly complex language and use language to express their thoughts, ideas, needs, and feelings.

Cognitive - Children are more successful in school when they have positive approaches to learning, and are able to attend, engage, and persist to solve problems.

Literacy - A child's progress in reading and writing is one of the best predictors of whether the child will function competently in school and in life.

Math - Research shows that math is the number one predictor of future success in reading and math.*

*Duncan, Greg. University of California, 2007. Early Childhood Longitudinal studies. "The strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. Early math skills have the greatest predictive power."

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Research has shown that children who are able to participate in early learning programs perform better throughout their years of schooling. Early learning programs focus on six areas of kindergarten readiness: Social-Emotional - Children do better in school when they can regulate their emotions, establish positive relationships with others, and constructively participate in group settings.

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Eva Chavez or Suman Pandey at YVFWC, Lincoln

Amanda Lee at YVFWC in Toppenish

Stephen Pearson at Central WA Family Medicine

Central WA Family Medicine Branch in Ellensburg

Sarah Ortner BHC at Ellensburg

Questions for consideration:

How can we do outreach in Kittitas?

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Science-backed early learning for children from birth to age 5.

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Vroom helps you add science-backed early learning moments to mealtime, bathtime, bedtime or anytime. By helping your child learn now, you get them ready for school, friends and life.

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

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Help Me Grow Central Washington is a network of parents, caregivers, service providers, and professionals of all kinds. Thanks to this strong network we are able to help people and make our communities better. You can support Help Me Grow Central Washington in several ways:

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Give your child the brightest future possible.

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Washington Communities for Children (WCFC) is a network of coalitions dedicated to improving the wellbeing of children, families, and communities. Ten WCFC Regions across the state that have trusted relationships with over six-hundred organizations and individuals. Trusted partners include early learning providers, social service agencies, early intervention services, child welfare organizations, libraries, juvenile courts, school districts, public health agencies, higher education, families, and many others.

MISSION

Connecting local and statewide efforts to improve the wellbeing of children, families, and communities.

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Washington Communities for Children (WCFC) is a network of coalitions dedicated to improving the wellbeing of children, families, and communities. Ten WCFC Regions across the state that have trusted relationships with over six-hundred organizations and individuals.

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Last Meeting Padlet (click the image below to go to our last meeting's Padlet)

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Last Meeting Padlet (click the image below to go to our last meeting's Padlet)

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Across the nation, Help Me Grow offers families seamless access to community services and supports so they can easily connect to the resources they need, when they need them.

The Help Me Grow Washington network represents a growing, powerful coalition of communities and individuals invested in building an organized system of community resources to help children grow up healthy.

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The Help Me Grow Washington network represents a growing, powerful coalition of communities and individuals invested in building an organized system of community resources to help children grow up healthy.

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Resources | Investing in Children Coalition

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New parents often need assistance when preparing for the birth of a child and caring for them after birth until age five. You can benefit from specially trained professionals who will show you how to get medical, social, educational, and other parenting resources to build a strong network of support for yourself and your child.

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Opportunity: HMG Central WA Provider Engagement Project

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Opportunity: HMG Central WA Provider Engagement Project

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WithinReach is looking for child healthcare providers to partner with Help Me Grow (HMG) Central WA to strengthen local outreach and communication. This project aims to bridge the gap between clinical care and community resources by utilizing providers as trusted voices for families.

Ways to Participate

Providers can choose from several engagement levels based on their interest and availability:

Public Awareness & Advocacy: Co-present with HMG staff to inform partners and caregivers about the benefits of the HMG system.

Storytelling & Content: Participate in interviews or blogs to share firsthand experiences in addressing the needs of children and families.

Strategic Consultation: Act as a healthcare representative to advise on implementation, community resource mapping, and outreach design.

Professional Development: Represent HMG in specialized training opportunities.

Support & Compensation

To respect the time and expertise of our partners, this project provides:

Financial compensation for participation.

Dedicated staffing support to minimize the administrative burden on the provider.

Timeline & Next Steps

Deadline: Funding for this phase ends July 31, 2026. We are looking to recruit and begin activities as soon as possible (starting in April).

Action: If you are interested in participating or learning more, please reach out to Jackie Litzau at JackieL@withinreachwa.org.