NCECF and NC Child released two requests for proposals (RFPs) to support the NC Initiative for Young Children’s Social-Emotional Health. The initiative will hire a racial equity consultant and family input consultants. Applications are due June 19.
The initiative seeks to partner with local family service organizations and/or informal family-led groups to collect input from families who have had children involved in the state’s social-emotional health system to inform the initiative, including:
- Families’ experiences accessing and navigating the system, both positive and negative
- How the system is supportive
- Points where the system breaks down and gaps in services
- What families would change to improve the system
The initiative seeks to partner with a racial equity consultant to facilitate the use of a racial equity framework in the initiative’s work.
Background on the initiative:
NC Child, in partnership with the NC Early Childhood Foundation, the ABCD State Advisory Group, and in collaboration with multiple early childhood leaders, launched the NC Initiative on Young Children’s Social Emotional Health (“the initiative”) in Fall 2019. The initiative strives to operationalize recommendations from the Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action Framework, and build a robust, evidence-based, and accessible early childhood social-emotional health system in North Carolina over the next four years.
Young children’s social-emotional development is critical to their long-term health and well-being, and significantly impacts their ability to learn, establish healthy connections with others, manage their emotions, and grow into capable adults. To support positive developmental trajectories for every child, North Carolina must develop a robust system of promotion/family support, prevention, intervention, and treatment services to support children’s social-emotional well-being.