Midterm Reflections

How would you describe in detail your service learning site?

Where are you serving?

I am working with Mile High United Way in Denver in conjunction with the Early Childhood Learning Partnership of Adams County (ECPAC).

What does the agency do?

The Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County is one of 31 local early childhood councils statewide that are working in collaboration with the Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor through the Colorado Departments of Human Services, Education and Public Health and Environment to implement the Early Childhood Colorado Framework in order to ensure that the community works together to support the success of young children and families. ECPAC provides a venue for coordinated governance, planning, resource development, leadership, education and shared accountability in order to achieve outcomes specified by the Early Childhood Colorado Framework in the areas of Early Learning; Family Support and Parent Education; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Health.

Who are the clients and what needs are served?

Underserved, preschool aged children in Adams County are served by having high quality early learning supports and environments, and comprehensive health care. Families are served by having a meaningful community and parenting supports. Early childhood professionals are served by having the knowledge, skills, and supports to work effectively with, and on behalf of, families and children.

What is the agency funding support?

ECPAC has gradually grown in size and scope since 2004. The Partnership has received over $2,000,000 in grants since 2005, and implemented a wide range of programming related to the areas of early learning, health, mental health and family supports. In 2007, ECPAC became part of a larger statewide infrastructure of collaborative early childhood councils through the Colorado Lieutenant Governor's Office, an alliance that brought further vision, funding and state-level support to ECPAC's work.

What is it about the community partner that calls you to work with them?

Why are you engaged with this agency?

The ECPAC provides a strong collaboration and support network for underserved preschool aged children and their families in the community where I reside. They view the child in a holistic perspective taking into account the whole picture of learning, family support, parent education, social, emotional and mental health and physical health. I believe these families and children need outside support to enable learning to take place in the classroom and to give these children a bright future.

What is your passion here?

I have always been passionate in working with underserved women, infants and children. My passion was realized when I worked as a staff RN in Labor and Delivery, Post Partum and the Well Nursery. I have done many volunteer hours with underserved children including shots for tots, volunteering at a pregnancy center and performing sports physicals for various schools and providing physicals for homeless children and their families. While I am caring for the entire family in family practice now, I am passionate about the health and well fair of the children. The ECPAC is the perfect site to gain a broader understanding of how I can have an impact on the health care system that effects these preschool children in Adams County.

What are you currently doing with this organization and how do you see it evolving as you sustain your commitment with them?

What is your role in this service learning experience?

As I am incorporating my service learning hours into my application to practice hours, I will have two projects that I am working on. One project is a community needs assessment. The needs assessment is comprehensive covering four domains: early learning, family support and parent engagement, social and emotional health and physical health. The needs assessment includes a data review of demographic and population indicators, focus groups and partner surveys. A second project I am working on is part of an ongoing grant project funded by the Colorado Trust. The ECPAC is working with partners to plan, pilot and evaluate a system of service referrals from early childhood education sites to community based primary care service centers. I will serve as a project leader in the area of health assessment. I will focus on the health related referral systems as there will also be dental, mental health and physical education components.

What hours did you spend at the site and what activities where performed?

I have spent approximately six hours in meetings working on the specific components to the referral system and collaborating with community partners to initiate the referral system. I have spent another 4 hours researching the most recent data indicators to add updated information to the community needs assessment.

What are the opportunities there ?

There are continuous grant projects that are going on at ECPAC. The current Health Integration grant that I am working on implementing is expected to take approximately two years. This timeline allows me to be involved over the next year for a long term project.

What can you see yourself doing more long-term?

The Health Integration grant will be piloted in a few preschools before it is fully implemented. Since this grant project is expected to take approximately two years, I will be able to work with ECPAC until I graduate. I can see myself being involved with this organization in the future to serve as the "health expert" in system wide changes for the underserved pediatric population.