Community Parenting Support Saturation Project
In partnership with Rockford Public School District 205, Alignment Rockford brings together strategic partners from corporate, civic, political, religious, and social entities to challenge and address systemic barriers and equitably impact the growth, development, and academic achievement of Rockford Public School students.
Alignment Rockford was selected to implement the CPSS framework and to lead early childhood community collaboration in Rockford, Illinois.
Alignment Rockford provides essential support to the Ready to Learn collaborative, which is implementing the Community Parenting Support Saturation (CPSS) framework throughout the Rockford region. The collaborative’s focus is on designing and implementing effective parenting interventions that reach all families with young children.
Ready to Learn offers a range of valuable opportunities for families, including:
This initiative builds upon existing efforts such as the Early Development Instrument (EDI) project and Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, aiming to strengthen the collaborative’s approach and create a broader movement for early learning in the community.
A public campaign to reach parents of children younger than five-years-old, The Basics shares five evidence-based parenting and caregiving principles about what is important for children’s development and learning experiences based on those principles. Alignment Rockford uses Basic Insights texting and Ready to Learn with The Basics kits to saturate the community with The Basics messaging.
A platform for text messaging, Basics Insights provides simple, science-based tips and community messages to parents of children ages 0 to 5. Ready to Learn with The Basics kits include a developmental toy, a magnet with Basics Insights information, and a Basics Rockford activity book with a QR code that leads to the community’s single point of entry referral system.
In partnership with UW-Health Swedish American Health System and OSF Saint Anthony, Alignment Rockford distributes Ready to Learn with The Basics Rockford kits to families in the hospital’s labor & delivery departments and clinics. Ready to Learn with The Basics Rockford kits are also distributed to parents who participate in Discovery Center classes. Alignment Rockford has distributed kits to over 3,500 mothers of newborns.
A research-based parent education program, Circle of Security supports and strengthens secure parent-child relationships. Facilitators provide guidance to parents utilizing Circle of Security content in fostering a deeper understanding of attachment and parenting dynamics.
An evidence-based program originally developed for Spanish-speaking parents with young children called Abriendo Puertas, Opening Doors takes a two-generation approach to build parent leadership skills and knowledge to promote family well-being and positive outcomes for children. Alignment Rockford supports partners Rockford Public Schools, Brightpoint, and Rockford Rescue Mission as they implement Opening Doors. Both English and Spanish classes are available to Rockford families.
A series of evidence-based programs that promote young children’s social, emotional, and academic competence, The Incredible Years preschool program for parents is used by Alignment Rockford partners Rockford Public Schools and Brightpoint.
Alignment Rockford recently updated its website, creating a single point of entry for Rockford families who are seeking information about services and community events. In partnership with Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Alignment Rockford will integrate its own web-based coordinated intake form with the community’s Integrated Referral and Intake System (IRIS).
Alignment Rockford has been a community champion for the Winnebago and Boone County IRIS onboarding and will serve as data managers of the system when it is fully launched at the end of 2023.
In its strategic planning, Alignment Rockford’s Ready to Learn team identified the following areas of focus for the next three years:
Alignment Rockford will use countywide EDI data to identify neighborhoods with large numbers of children scoring in the “vulnerable” range across one or more of the five EDI domains and target services to those families. Community Parenting Support Saturation (CPSS) funds and strategies will help SPARK build a culture of early learning in Aurora that is data-driven and advances equity for all families in the community, giving every child the opportunity to thrive when entering kindergarten.
You can support Rockford’s littlest learners. Become a funding partner and help sustain our efforts in Rockford, Illinois!
Alexander Bui, Director of the Community Parenting Support Saturation Program
Aziza Hummeid, Program Manager
Share information about our program, provide Ready To Learn kits to families you serve, and attend in Opening Doors and Incredible Years trainings.
Larissa Currier-Brown, Ready to Learn Project Manager
