Partnering to Foster a Resilient Community

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

Over the past 4 years, Miami-Dade County’s (MDC) Heads Start (HS)/Early Head Start (EHS) program (administered by the Community Action and Human Services Department) has partnered with Reach Out and Read (ROR) Florida to identify and strategically target medical providers who serve the 6,310 HS and 1,238 EHS children to promote anticipatory guidance specific to early relational health. These medical providers that serve the most vulnerable children in our community receive children’s books and resources to share with families during their well child visits. When HS and EHS families visit their pediatricians who are ROR providers, they receive these books and information regarding building healthy relationships directly from the experts that they trust. Through our partnership with ROR Florida the program also created a Health Summit to connect key stakeholders in the community around a shared mission of promoting positive relationships between parents and children as a strategy to buffer against toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences. To provide our families the tools to find solutions to address the challenges they face while building upon the strengths and resilience of our community, this summit offers strategic conversations about how professionals, educators, and medical homes can support strong family relationships and reduce barriers to quality care. Community partners, stakeholders, researchers, funders, public health leaders, advocates, and parents collaborated while experts led discussions on early brain development, trauma informed practices, impacts of COVID-19, and building resiliency through relationships. The 500 participants in the summit also had the opportunity to engage with experts and visit exhibit halls to obtain resources (including books, fact sheets, videos, handouts, etc.) from community providers.