National Affiliate Organizations
Midwest Learning Center
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Strengthening Families:
The Midwest Learning Center for Family Support (MLC) has continued its role as a key partner organization within the Strengthening Families Illinois initiative. MLC has developed 3 additional trainings that it is rolling out through all of SFI’s Learning Network programs (approximately 60 early childhood programs): “Recognizing and Responding to Signs of Family Stress”, “Communicating with Families”, and “Developing Collaborative Relationships between Early Childhood and Child Welfare Professionals.” In addition, a jointly developed curricula on “Trauma and Children’s Exposure to Violence” is being completed and will be launched for training at the beginning of next fiscal year.
In addition to the instructional design and facilitation of the SFI trainings, MLC has played a role in increasing trainer capacity around the state on the Protective Factors curriculum helping ensure its availability through all of the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and Child Care Licensing Supervisors in Illinois and the 6 SFI learning networks, as well as the All Our Kids Networks across the state. Additionally, Training of Trainers have been conducted with the Mental Health Consultants, the University of Illinois Extension Office Family Life Educators and learning network trainers.
MLC staff members also serve on multiple workgroups of the SFI initiative, which puts them in a position of leading several other professional development areas related to Strengthening Families Illinois. For example within the SFI Building Resiliency workgroup, MLC is chairing a sub-group that is adapting and combining curricula on Trauma and Children’s Exposure to Violence for early childhood providers. The goal is to develop a training that can be used across all state agencies. Representatives from each state agency in Illinois serve on this committee.
Furthermore, as members of the SFI Professional Development and Training workgroup, MLC staff has been central in developing a Quality Assurance Process around all SFI curricula that also included a training sequence for burgeoning learning networks or individual centers, trainer criteria, and qualifications. This process was rolled out to all qualified trainers in July 2007.
Lastly, MLC staff has participated in the SFI developed Parent Café’s, served as facilitators of Parent Café’s and hosted the Café’s within Family Focus centers.
Mission:
The mission of Family Focus, Inc., our parent organization, is to promote the well being of children from birth by supporting and strengthening their families in and with their communities. The mission of the Midwest Learning Center is to develop learning opportunities for family support practitioners and those from other fields wishing to apply family support approaches to their day-to-day practice.
Our work informs national conversations and thinking about training and family support practice, as well as knowledge transfer of research based best practices in the family support field.
The Midwest Learning Center builds the capacity of the family support field by advocating for the investment in human capital and expanding access to quality learning opportunities at all levels.
Work:
Continued programmatic development and growth and influencing the field of family support both now and in the future is at the core of the Midwest Learning Center for Family Support at Family Focus, Inc. The goal of the Midwest Learning Center is to create innovative training and program development to ensure that family support practitioners in programs and systems nationwide have adequate training and an understanding of family support and early childhood.
- The work that the Midwest Learning Center does with Family Focus staff serves as a model for educational development for professionals, community staff, and parents throughout the field.
- Integrate lessons garnered from theory and research with the practical application of family support approaches. Sharing what we learn with other family support professionals across the country.
- The Midwest Learning Center fosters synergy between centers, supporting collaboration and cross training in best practices for meeting the needs of every participant group, and strengthening Family Focus’ capacity to share what it learns with others.
- The Midwest Learning Center provides extensive training and program development for our three target groups: Family Focus staff, other family support professionals across the country and parents.
Reach:
The focus of the Midwest Learning Center is to develop curricula and customized training, program development and technical assistance on an as needed basis with agencies and organizations across the country. The MLC has a national Advisory Committee members serve as University Faculty, Policy Advisors, and Program Executives.
In the past year the Midwest Learning Center at Family Focus has trained close to 3,000 professionals in either private or public organizations; i.e., The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Illinois Department of Human Services, Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children, Ohio Department of Health, etc.
Midwest Learning Center website
Find Strengthening Families trainings available through the Midwest Learning Center in the Training Marketplace