Early Childhood

Committees | Service Providers | Grant Contracted

Office for Children and Families Early Childhood initiatives seek to improve the development and future of all young children. This is accomplished by encouraging strong, nurturing families, healthy thriving children, and readiness to learn.

Committees:

The Clackamas County Early Childhood Committee (CCECC) is a standing subcommittee of the Commission on Children & Families. Their goal is to promote positive child development, quality child care, parent education, and family stability for young children age prenatal to 9 and their families. The committee consists of community members, area service providers and representatives from local government agencies. They encourage increasing quality child care child, abuse and neglect prevention and intervention, and the development of nurturing and positive parent/child interaction. The Clackamas County Early Childhood Committee works to strengthen our communities and encourage partnerships between numerous community groups, schools and public or private organizations. CCECC is responsible for:

• Serving as advisers in the planning, implementing, and assessing of state and federally funded program services.
• Development and recommendation of Early Childhood policies.
• Monitoring, evaluating, and addressing quality assurance issues of funded Early Childhood Programs.
• Provide input and develop ideas for improving child care training support services for providers and parents.
• Reviewing, analyzing, and implementing strategies and ideas for improving the Clackamas County early childhood structure.

Please join us at our next CCECC meeting to observe and participate as we address these important issues.

If you have questions contact Karen Gorton at 503-650-5680.

The Healthy Start Advisory Committee (HSAC) is a committee of The Clackamas County Early Childhood Committee

Healthy Start Advisory Committee (HSAC) is responsible for:

• Providing input and direction in meeting the standards of Healthy Families of America (HFA) related to outreach and screening for Healthy Start of Clackamas County (HSCC) services.
• Supporting HSCC in fund raising to meet Oregon Commission on Children and Families 25% match requirements (5% being cash) as needed.
• Serving as advisers in the planning, implementing, and assessing of HSCC program services.
• Development and recommendation of HSCC policies and programmatic modifications to the Clackamas County Early Childhood Committee (CCECC).
• Monitoring, evaluating, and addressing quality assurance issues.
• Reviewing and analyzing participant satisfaction with programmatic services.
• Reviewing and analyzing HSCC program structure, developing programmatic recommendations for CCECC & Commission consideration.

Please contact Erin Deahn at 503-496-3937 if you have any questions.

The Clackamas Early Childhood Coordinating Council (CLICC) is an informal group of educators, parents, and early childhood advocates that meet monthly to network and discuss issues facing children and their families. These meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in visiting or attending, please contact Julie Stewart, at the Clackamas Education Service District at 503-675-4000.

Family Education and Support Network (FESN) is a multi-faceted, regional network of providers who work to enhance the ability of parents and caregivers to stimulate, protect and nurture children & youth.  The FESN is working to change the culture of parenting and child/youth development in order to lower the incidences of child abuse and neglect, increase effective parenting and improve family health and well-being.  By uniting organizations across the tri-county region (Clackamas, Multnomah & Washington Counties), the Network coordinates parent education trainings, strengthens linkages among providers and improves access to support for all families.

This comprehensive network includes components targeting all parents, caregivers and professionals involved in the healthy development of children, youth & families.  Created and developed by a network of providers in January 2008, the Family Education and Support Network’s vision is to support, empower and advocate for families by developing a sustainable and collaborative network of parenting providers, resources and opportunities available to everyone.  Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month from 9:00am – 10:30am in room 255, at the Public Services Building, 2051 Kaen Rd, Oregon City OR 97045.  For more information contact Karen Gorton at 503-650-5680.

Early Childhood Service Providers:

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Clackamas County: Administration of the CASA Program
Court Appointed Special Advocates are trained community volunteers who provide a voice for abused and neglected children as they make their way through the court system. The goal is to achieve a safe, permanent home for each abused child as quickly as possible. For information, contact Barbara Johnson, 503-723-0521.

Clackamas Women's Services: Domestic Violence Prevention and/or Intervention Services
Clackamas Women's Services is partnering with the local branch of Services to Children and Families to provide services to children and families experiencing abuse and domestic violence. These services include: crisis intervention, safety planning, assistance with restraining orders, parenting education, family violence information and support and access to other community services. For information, contact Melissa Erlbaum, 503-722-2366.

Clackamas Education Service District, Child Care Resource and Referral: Early Childhood Care & Education Consultant
The Early Childhood Care & Education Consultant is available to help stabilize child care availability and to improve the quality of child care in all child care settings and environments. The ECE Consultant through training sessions and individual consultations, teach child care providers on best practices; offer guidance techniques and appropriate interventions; assist the providers with basic business practices including guidance on taxes, bookkeeping and marketing; and develop and provide curriculum development resources. Consultation support in these core areas may come in the form of training, one-to-one technical assistance, or coaching. Consultants may work with child care providers in the child care settings, modeling appropriate child development techniques as they interact with children. Through this close working partnership child care providers learn to recognize potential early childhood issues. For more information contact the Clackamas Child Care Resource and Referral at by telephone at (503) 675-4100 or TOLLFREE at (866) 371-4373, or by e-mail at ccr&r@clackesd.k12.or.us

Clackamas Education Service District, Child Care Resource and Referral: Child Care Mental Health Consultant
The Mental Health Consultant works with child care providers to help them better observe, understand, and respond to children’s needs. They do this by: helping care providers increase their awareness and understanding of the impact of their interactions with children; directing that awareness and understanding toward programmatic and individual behavioral expectations; identifying children at their earliest points of need and providing services to them and their families; and helping care providers and parents work with children with challenging behaviors. Consultation support in these core areas may come in the form of training, one-to-one technical assistance, or coaching. Consultants may work with child care providers in the child care settings, modeling appropriate child development techniques as they interact with children. For more information contact the Clackamas Child Care Resource and Referral at by telephone at (503) 675-4100 or TOLLFREE at (866) 371-4373, or by e-mail at ccr&r@clackesd.k12.or.us

Early Childhood Grant Contracted: 

Children’s Center of Clackamas County, Sex Abuse Prevention Training:

The Children’s Center of Clackamas County will conduct outreach throughout the county and provide 16 community presentations to over 120 individuals on the importance of sex abuse prevention and how to report suspected abuse. Based on the Best-Practice Program, Darkness to Light, trainings will be presented to help prevent child abuse in our community. Participants will learn about the seven Steps to Protecting Our Children and what child sexual abuse is, how to talk about it, and how to become involved in preventing abuse.  Staff will take attendees through each step individually, and provide you with a pamphlet for reference.  I addition, Organizations can request an individualized training based on Sexualized Behavior Problems, Teaching Boundaries, Reducing Trauma, Supporting Caregivers, and Offender Grooming Habits.  For more information contact the Children’s Center of Clackamas County by calling 503-655-7725 or e-mail office@childrenscenter.cc.

Clackamas Education Service District, Child Care Resource and Referral: Child Care Health Consultant:
Trained Child Care Health Consultants provide direct support to child care providers through training and telephone and on-site consultation regarding child health, safety, and the promotion of health social and emotional development to improve child health.  Services demonstrate improved health outcomes for children through immunization review, referral to community health resources, including nutrition, and increased provider skill and self-efficacy.  For information contact Diane Smith at 503-675-4000.

Clackamas Community College, Child Development Associates Degree:
Clackamas Community College (CCC) will conduct a Child Development Associates Degree (CDA) course to a minimum of 20 enrolled CCC students for three consecutive terms during the 2008-09 academic year. CCC will provide oversight and administration of the CDA program and act as academic advisor to college students enrolled in a CDA cohort (re: college testing, reading and writing, GEDs, etc.).  For more information about this program contact Patricia McIlveen at 503-657-6958 ext. 2240.

Clackamas County Child Care Director’s Training:
A grant has been awarded to the Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children to provide five scholarships to Clackamas County Child Care Directors to attend a year-long training that focuses on child development, business practices, child care setting (environment) improvement, and behavior management. To learn more contact Merrily Haas at 503-233-0190 or OregonAEYC@covad.net.