Welcome to the sixth issue of the Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Innovation Forum newsletter. Stay tuned each month for the latest conversations, stories and resources for advancing and promoting child wellbeing. We look forward to connecting with you NOW and in the future!

Bienvenidos a el sexto edicion de nuestro boletin para el Foro de Innovacion NOW. La frase del mes es una de Justicia Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "El cambio real, el cambio duradero, ocurre paso a paso". Asegúrese de registrarse para la Cumbre Nacional de Liderazgo Comunitario virtual 2020 ya que el registro anticipado cierra hoy. Mañana es la hora del café de la comunidad NOW a las 6pm ET, únete a nosotros. ¡Así que estan atentos al Foro de innovación NOW!

Celebrate with Us! Two Years of the NOW Innovation Forum

Two years ago we launched the NOW Innovation Forum to foster shared learning and connect communities across the country that are working to ensure all children and their families achieve optimal health and wellbeing. We invite you to share how the Forum has supported you and other ideas you have to strengthen this resource! Share your input in this brief 5-10 minute feedback form: http://bit.ly/NOWforum_2yrs 

In The Arena with NOW Podcast

• NEW! Episode 12: Episode 12: Brazelton Touchpoints Center: Honoring the Strengths and Expertise of Children and Caregivers: This podcast episode brings us back home to Boston, Massachusetts, where the Brazelton Touchpoints Center is committed to shifting mindsets and mental models to honor the dignity of children and their caregivers as a key strategy for creating a sustainable world where children grow up to be thriving adults in their local community. Listen here >>

• Episode 11: Family Engagement Network: Supporting Families is the Key to Successful Workforce Development: All the way from Pima County Arizona, join us in a conversation with the Family Engagement Network and learn about the critical pieces to a successful workforce program that centers on the needs of families as a route to empowerment. Listen here >>

Webinar:

• Partner Spotlight! Brazelton Touchpoints Center: Supporting Father Involvement and Co-Parenting Webinar Series: Join Brazelton Touchpoints Center for a free webinar series that will explore how early childhood programs, home visitors, health and mental health providers, and community agencies can support father engagement and co-parenting. We will share strategies, tools, and outcomes from the Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) Program, an evidence-based research and intervention program that has increased father involvement in families that are culturally and economically diverse. 

  • Webinar 1: 9/29 Focus on Father Involvement and Co-parenting: Why It Matters @ 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT

  • Webinar 2: 10/20 Parent and Child Voices: The Importance of Fathering and Co-parenting @ 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT

  •  Webinar 3: 11/17 From "Second Shift" to "First Shift": Supporting Fathers as Central to Family Life @ 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT

• Webinar Archive: Community-Driven Policy Advocacy: Upholding the Dignity of Immigrant Children and Families Change:  On July 30, we learned from amazing advocates across the country who are working to dismantle structural racism not only within the immigration system, but other sectors, institutions, and programs that serve immigrant children and families. Spanish audio and summary materials coming soon. View Archive >> 

• Webinar Archive: Operationalizing Equity Through Participatory Data Storytelling: View archive materials from our April 30 webinar, Operationalizing Equity through Participatory Data Storytelling. Learn from speakers who discuss why equity matters for data storytelling, share strategies for data visualization and participatory processes, and provide a virtual walk through of Vital Village’s Community Housing Data Tool and Child Wellbeing Tracker. Spanish audio and summary materials are available.  View archive >>

Latest Blogs

• As Schools Reopens, Don’t Forget The Hidden Victims of Police Violence: Children, by Dr. Renée Boynton-Jarrett, Marisha L. Humphries and Stephanie M. Curenton. Published by members of the RISER Network, a group of scholars examining issues of health equity, wellness and positive development for Black children's education and health (both physical and mental).

• Asking mental health to take a backseat during the coronavirus pandemic is a dangerous proposition, by Julia Slayne, Vital Village Networks Emerging Leader.  A critical piece, this blog calls attention to the COVID19 pandemic and its impact on children's mental health. 

• Let’s Get Counted: The 2020 Census, by Tiffany Rodriguez, Catherine Luo & Lucas Sensius, the Vital Village Network. A blog written to empower the Vital Village communities with information about the Census and direct actions to help get your community counted.

• Submit a resource or tool to the NOW Innovation Forum Resource Library. The resource library is a space created for you to lift up the work of yourself, your coalitions and your community. Share data tools, infographics, reports and other tools centered on advancing community equity. Submit here >>

• “A Pandemic Within a Pandemic: How Coronavirus and Systemic Racism Are ​Harming Infants and Toddlers of Color.”  This timely, eye-opening brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) will give you much to think about as you work to build back a better system for young children and families. The brief calls out the wide ranging disparities in health outcomes and economic stability and offers recommendations to tackle historically racist and discriminatory policies and address longer-term policy reform. Read more >>

• “Adversity In Early Childhood: The Role of Policy In Creating and Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences” is a new report from the Center for American Progress containing new data on the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among young children from birth to age three, and the variances by state. The report offers policy implications among its key findings, along with recommendations that policymakers should implement policies that reduce the prevalence of adverse events, mitigate their negative effects and develop resources for practitioners and communities to effectively embed adversity screenings within a broader system of support. Read more >>

• “Early Childhood Matters: Recommendations for Messaging and Policy for Early Childhood Brain Development” is a new report from our colleagues at TexProtects based on a survey of the state’s policymakers. While this report focuses on what messages resonate with Texas policymakers, the information to be learned from this report is relevant to all advocates across the country working with policymakers to move forward early childhood policy priorities. Read more >>

#VillageinMind

The NOW community hopes to stay connected and lift up the work and stories of all of our members. Follow and tag us on Twitter, @NOW_WellChild & @Vital_Village, so that we can virtually highlight the community led transformation you are leading.