CHIP Priority Area
For every child to grow up in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment, parents and caregivers need access to resources, services, and support.
In this priority area, two goals were selected:
Goal 1: Enhance Access to Family Resources
Enhance access to resources and support for families in a way that creates belonging, addresses stigma, and connects families with existing resources.
Objective 1:
Align in our understanding of parental/familial need for support resources within the Missoula community.
Strategies for Objective 1:
Community partners selected the following strategies to achieve this:
- Use surveys and listening sessions to understand how parents and caregivers connect to early childhood and family support services.
- Host an Early Childhood Stakeholders meeting to review relevant data.
- Utilize the Foster Child Health program at Missoula Public Health to increase health care access for youth in foster care.
Objective 2:
Improve means to connect low-resource families to support services in the community.
Strategies for Objective 2:
Community partners selected the following strategies to achieve this:
- Expand existing resource fairs for early childhood and parental support services.
- Improve use of 211 to connect to resources.
- Increase awareness of LIFTS online resource guide.
Healthy Start Missoula oversees Goal 1.
Goal 2: Reduce Stigma for Family Support Services
Use data and community-driven advocacy to create a culture of openness and acceptance around seeking help and accessing familial support services.
Objective 1:
Cultivate empowered parent advocates and leaders for action.
Strategies for Objective 1:
Community partners selected the following strategies to achieve this:
- Provide education and advocacy to parents through the Parent Leader Training Institute.
Objective 2:
Promote the use of data to inform policy, program improvements, and access.
Strategies for Objective 2:
Community partners selected the following strategies to achieve this:
- Include questions for the next Community Health Assessment (CHA) to determine how parents access services.
- Use Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) data to educate community about benefits of positive childhood experiences.
- Determine which KEA questions should be included in the next CHA.
Zero to Five of Missoula Count oversees Goal 2.