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Strengthening Families Update: January 11, 2010 In this update: From CSSP: Research Briefs Summarize Studies Relevant to Strengthening Families The BUILD Initiative: The First Seven Years Save the Dates: Webinars Introducing the NEW Strengthening Families Online Self-Assessment Follow us on Twitter, Join our Facebook Group, Read our Blog From CSSP: Research Briefs Summarize Studies Relevant to Strengthening Families The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) created five research briefs summarizing seminal studies or areas of research and their relevance to Strengthening Families and released them at the Strengthening Families Leadership Summit in October, 2009. The one-page research briefs, which are all available online, cover the following topics: The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, which shows a direct correlation in negative experiences in childhood and poor outcomes in adulthood Childhood Stress across the Lifespan, on the different degrees of stress that children experience and its impact throughout life Infant Mental Health and Social-Emotional Compentence, about the development of normal social-emotional capacities and signs of abnormal development Resilience in Childhood, which addresses the factors that influence resilience among young children that enable some to function successfully in difficult contexts Risk and Protective Factors, on the dynamic relationship between different types of risk and protective factors for families CSSP is seeking your feedback on these and future research briefs. If you have not already responded to our brief survey, please take a moment to do so. CLICK HERE FOR THE BRIEF SURVEY. The BUILD Initiative: The First Seven Years Seven years after its inception, with eight state partners, the BUILD Initiative has made great strides in coordinating state early childhood systems around achieving positive results for the youngest children and their families. As a Strengthening Families national partner organization, BUILD infuses the Protective Factors framework and Strengthening Families principles into its work. A new essay from Charles Bruner and Michelle Stover Wright looks back at the developoment of the BUILD Initiative, identifies successes and challenges, and pinpoints knowledge gaps to be addressed as states move forward. Bruner and Stover Wright write: “As the original BUILD states start their seventh year, all current BUILD states can look back and see significant advances in their early childhood systems building efforts. While there have been setbacks as well as advances, the BUILD Initiative has enabled early childhood leaders to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right capacity to create and take advantage of new opportunities.” Read the complete essay and learn more about the BUILD initiative at www.buildinitiative.org. Save the Dates: Webinars Introducing the NEW Strengthening Families Online Self-Assessment The new Strengthening Families Online Self-Assessment is coming soon! The Self-Assessment been generalized to apply to all settings where young children and/or their families are served, and a new online interface will allow people at all levels to use the tool and access important data. CSSP will be hosting introductory webinars for those interested in learning more about how the new Self-Assessment can support their work when it is released in February 2010. Save the date and plan to attend one of these introductory webinars (invitations will be sent at a later date): February 16, 2010, 2:30 - 4:00 Eastern Time and March 3, 2010, 2:30-4:00 Eastern Time. These webinars will be most appropriate for state Strengthening Families partners, Children’s Trust Fund staff, trainers, and those who will support multiple programs in using the Self-Assessment. Training for individual program-level users will be available on-demand when the new online Self-Assessment is released. PDF copies of the and supporting tools, a staff survey and the Protective Factors Survey for parents, are available on the Strengthening Families website. Follow us on Twitter, Join our Facebook Group, Read our Blog Connect with Strengthening Families on the web in a variety of ways: Follow us on Twitter, at StrengthenFams, where we post news items and resources. Join the Strengthening Families Facebook Group to connect with others around the country. Read the Strengthening Families Blog on our website. Look for guest bloggers, new materials, and more.