Client: Minnesota Departments of Education, Human Services, and Health
Project: These state agencies committed to continuous improvement of the early childhood Parent Aware standards and indicators as part of the federal grant funding their work.
To ensure that key stakeholders’ voices were heard, we designed and implemented a statewide engagement to learn about challenges and recommended improvements from early childhood education teachers, childcare providers, advocacy groups for children and families of color, higher education, pre-K educators, trainers, center directors, and others.
We used a partner-based model to build trust and ensure inclusive participation, supported by individual and small-group training sessions and a comprehensive Host-facilitator Guidebook. Through in-person sessions, interviews, community conversations, and online tools, we gathered and analyzed nearly 8,000 contributions in response to 26 questions, from almost 1,000 participants throughout the state.
The resulting comprehensive analysis (and 233-page final report) directly shaped final recommendations to the state Commissioners of Human Services, Education, and Health for approval and statewide implementation.
