Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners components include:
- Access to Health & Medical Home
- Early Care and Education
- Mental Health and Social Emotional Development
- Parent Education
- Family Support
Collaborating Partners components:
Access to Health & Medical Home
Access to medical homes providing physical and child development services for all children in early childhood including special health care needs and assessment, intervention, and referral of children with developmental, behavioral and psychosocial problems.
Services for children from birth through first grade that support children's early learning, health, and development of social competence. Focus on childcare, Head Start, Early Head Start, 4K and 5K services to children with disabilities as well as children who are homeless or in poverty.
Mental Health and Social Emotional Development
Availability of services to promote healthy social emotional development, services to address the needs of children with mental health problems and service delivery pathways to facilitate entrance of at-risk children into appropriate child development and mental health delivery systems.
Parent education services that provide support to parents in their role as prime educators of their children.
Family support services that address the stressors impairing the ability of families to nurture and support the healthy development of their children.
Collaborating Partners includes:
- Endorsing Partners: State, regional, and local state departments, agencies, associations, or groups that have formally endorsed the WECCP vision and mission.
- Participating Partners: State, regional, and local state departments, agencies, associations, groups, and individuals that are committed to membership on WECCP state or regional teams, participate in events, and actively work toward the vision and mission.
- Interested Partners: State and local agencies, associations, groups and individuals that are not able to commit to endorsement or participation but are interested in the efforts and want to receive information through the state or regional list serve.
- State level: action team, steering committee, and overall state wide network;
- Regional level: action teams, team facilitators, and regional networks.
- Communication and networking systems include: state and regional action team meetings, networking conferences (video conferences/web casts), a Web site, state and region specific list serves and collaborative conferences; and a work plan with goals, objectives, and action steps.
The WECCP infrastructure is currently being reorganized to align with the vision and structure of the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC). The previous WECCP State Action Team and its steering committee no longer exists. The WECCP Braided Funding Committee is currently taking the lead in the WECCP work. The ECAC Steering Committee is currently considering interdepartmental staff and ECAC committee structures to sustain the previous role of the WECCP State Action Team. For more information contact:
Jill Haglund, WI Department of Public Instruction; jill.haglund@dpi.wi.gov
Linda Leonhart, Head Start Collaboration Office; Linda.Leonhart@wisconsin.gov
Katherine McGurk, WI Department of Children and Families; Kathy.McGurk@wisconsin.gov
Jane Penner-Hoppe, Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council; Jane.PennerHoppe@wisconsin.gov
1. Regional Action Team: Roles and Membership
The WECCP Regional networks include anyone in the specific regions participating in regional level action team meetings, on committees addressing regional work plan activities, attending network events and/or receiving information through list serves. Roles of the Regional Teams include:
- Bringing State Action Team information and support to represented programs, stakeholders, constituencies, and networks.
- Bringing information, best practices, and recommendations to State Action Team.
- Identifying tasks and implementing actions in conjunction with State Action Team
- Planning and implementing Mini-grant priorities.
- Providing a forum for regional communication.
The Regional Action Teams utilize Regional Action Team Facilitators to provide facilitation for the regional action team and network, guide direction, priorities, and work plans and is comprised of a Community Collaboration Coach and CESA Early Childhood Coordinator in each region. Roles of the Regional Action Team Facilitators are to:
- assure representative of component areas
- convene Regional Action Team meetings and develop agendas
- host and/or facilitate network meetings/conferences (video/web cast)
- guide direction and priorities through work plans
- oversee mini-grant implementation
- assure regional representation at State Action Team meetings
- The designated facilitators will be supported by state level commitment for providing financial support to activities in the region and will be the direct line of communication with the State Level Steering Committee.
Regional Action Teams Membership
The Regional Action Teams are comprised of representatives from the areas of early care and education, health, mental health, parent education and family support and include representatives from the following agencies:
- Birth to 3 RESource Training and Technical Assistance
- CESA Early Childhood Coordinator/Program Support Teacher
- Child Care Resource and Referral
- Children's Trust Fund Family Resource Centers
- Regional Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Center
- DHS Regional Day Care Licensing
- DHS Regional Public Health Offices
Head Start Programs Based on regional networks, representatives from other agencies, programs, or efforts may be part of the Regional Team including:
- Local Early Childhood Councils
- Higher Education (UW and Technical Colleges; Private Colleges/Universities)
- PI 34 Licensing Resource and Support Centers
- WI Native American Tribes
- University Extension Agents
- WI State Parent and Educator Initiative (WSPEI)
WECA Affiliates Regional Committees: Each Regional Network Team determines the committees needed based on self-identification and strategic planning processes.
Early Learning
- Jill Haglund, jill.haglund@dpi.wi.gov
- Kath McGurk, Kathy.McGurk@wisconsin.gov
- Linda Tuchman, tuchman@waisman.wisc.edu
- Jeanette Paulson, jpaulson@wecanaeyc.org
Healthy Children
- Loraine Lucinski, Loraine.Lucinski@dhs.wisconsin.gov
- Linda Tuchman, tuchman@waisman.wisc.edu
- Dana Romary, Dana.Romary@dhfs.wisconsin.gov
Supporting Families
- Jennifer Jones, jennifer.jones@wisconsin.gov
WECCP Plan (pdf)
Governor's Early Care and Education Advisory Council (ECAC)
Mission
Wisconsin communities, agencies, associations, and state government will work together as a system of high quality comprehensive early childhood services for every child and family who wants to access them.
Vision
All children in Wisconsin will receive the necessary services and family supports to attain their optimal developmental potential during the critical early years from birth through age five.