Join the Partnership!
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The Partnership in ActionHamden's Partnership for Young Children examines what young children and their families need and what is required to improve the effectiveness of our service delivery system. We are a group of professionals, parents, and grandparents working together to ensure that our young children are healthy, successful learners, and have stable, economically self-sufficient families so they may grow up and reach their full potential. We believe that all members of the community need to partner to effect system wide change in order to impact the education, development, health and care of young children.
We are an independent collaborative group with United Way of Greater New Haven serving as our fiduciary. Our funding comes from a variety of sources: CT Office of Early Childhood Hamden Public Schools Town of Hamden United Way of Greater New Haven The Partnership also provides oversight for the School Readiness and Preschool Development Grants through which funding is provided to decrease the cost of early care and education for eligible families. |
Future Endeavors
Organizations within Our PartnershipClick here for a list of organizations represented in the partnership and our organizational chart.
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Areas of Focus
Early Care & Education - Birth to 9 Years Old
We Know:
Hamden has 28 Center based early care and education programs; 16 of them serve infants and toddlers as well as preschoolers. Hamden currently has 4 center based programs that receive state grants allowing for eligible families to receive financial support for child care. Hamden families at or below the poverty level are eligible for free early care and education in family child care homes through Early Head Start coordinated by All Our Kin. Hamden would benefit from center based Early Head Start slots. |
We are Working on:
It is difficult to understand the options for childcare / preschool and other special services so the Partnership has developed a plan to have personal and technological support to parents. The next step is to find some funding! To plan most effectively, Hamden Public Schools needs families to register their children for Kindergarten in the spring. Many children in Hamden are not registered at that time so Hamden Public Schools and the Partnership are working to get the word out and encourage all families to register their children. Affordable infant and toddler child care is very difficult to find. We are exploring whether options such as Early Head Start or Scholarships is a viable solution. |
Family Access and Information
Click Here to View Committee Notes and Materials
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We Know:
There are a lot of resources and supports for families with young children but they aren't all connected. Just because you get connected to one resource doesn't mean you will be linked to other things that might help or interest you. It takes considerable investigation to understand the options for childcare and preschool. This is especially true when looking into programs that offer lower cost options. Despite the best of intentions, supports aren't always designed in a way that meet families needs. More parent voices are needed in the planning and evaluation of community resources. |
We are Working on:
The Partnership regularly brings together representatives from a wide range of programs. As we work together to build a connected, effective, efficient system of services we are also learning about one another We have been exploring several strategies to engage more families in the work that we do, expand the community's knowledge of resources for young children and provide personal assistance as parents search for childcare. We are seeking funding to bring those plans to life. |
Transition to Kindergarten
We Know:
Prior to kindergarten children are educated and cared for in their homes, in a wide variety of settings and a variety of caregivers. Data gathered from Hamden parents has shown that that in the year prior to kindergarten, children were involved in over 100 settings. Once children enter kindergarten we know generally the educational experiences they are having, have access to their families and begin to understand their strengths and needs as a group. There is a wide range of development at the time of kindergarten entry in addition to a wide age range. There are also differences between the design, expectations of preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Regulations for licensed center based preschool programs require 1 staff for every 10 children; no such regulation exists in kindergarten. Bridging the two worlds and meeting the children's diverse needs is a challenge. Registration for public kindergarten is very early in the spring. Registration is the only way the district will know how many children will be coming into the system; these numbers are very important for planning. But for families who often chose their childcare/preschool based on work issues and other factors, aren't thinking about registering 6 months in advance for Kindergarten |
We are Working on:
Improving the materials and process for registering for kindergarten. Making it easier to obtain forms by distributing them around town and recommending changes to the forms so they are clear and are collecting the needed the information. Using the K registration forms to help us understand the type of care and educational experiences children had prior to kindergarten. Bringing together preschool and kindergarten staff to expand understanding of the educational approaches in each setting and to help all expand and embrace best practices that help align practices and expectations Coordinate visits by preschool programs to public school kindergarten classrooms, allowing children to see what "kindergarten" really is. |
