12.16.24
Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat: Help Me Grow-Kansas and Family Leadership
The Family Leadership Team held its September Parent-Caregiver Fireside Chat in-person as part of the annual Parent Leadership Conference, a free event designed to help and strengthen the voice of Kansas parents, hosted by KCSL and other sponsoring agencies. This engaging session was dedicated to discussing a wide variety of topics identified by participants, from family and community needs to family voice opportunities, and support needed for caregivers, foster parents, and kinship care.
The round-table discussion with parents from across Kansas included topics such as family advocacy network for parents across the state with connection to state legislation to elevate needs and concerns; resources for ages 5 and beyond with emphasis on pre-teen and teens; trauma training for child care providers, school employees, and first response units; and the ever-ongoing ask for a family “hub” where parents can easily find what they need, when they need it.
The Family Leadership Team and members of Help Me Grow-Kansas ended the day with a Books, Balls, and Blocks event in the evening, which included backpacks with social-emotional and developmental health activities for parents and children to engage with one another, books provided by the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and information about hosting a Help Me Grow-Kansas Books, Balls, and Blocks event in their own communities.
The visual notes drawn by Sara O’Keeffe for the Parent Leadership Conference summarize the round-table discussion report out by Kansas families about needed resources in the state to better equip families for the challenges they face.
The next Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat will be held in 2025. More details to come! Please continue to connect through helpmegrowks.org and allinforkansaskids.org for all the latest parent and provider information, resources, and support.
This event is led by the Family Leadership Team, in alignment with the All In For Kansas Kids Strategic Plan, with support from the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (KU-CPPR) and Help Me Grow Kansas (HMG-KS). All parents and caregivers in Kansas help support thriving families! If you were unable to attend and have a valuable resource to share, please email Rachel Gardner at rachelgardner@ku.edu. If you are interested in learning more and/or being a part of the Family Leadership Team, please contact Cora Ungerer at cora.ungerer@ks.gov.
Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat September Fireside Chat (PDF)
12.16.24
Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat: Help Me Grow-Kansas and Family Leadership
The Family Leadership Team held its September Parent-Caregiver Fireside Chat in-person as part of the annual Parent Leadership Conference, a free event designed to help and strengthen the voice of Kansas parents, hosted by KCSL and other sponsoring agencies. This engaging session was dedicated to discussing a wide variety of topics identified by participants, from family and community needs to family voice opportunities, and support needed for caregivers, foster parents, and kinship care.
The round-table discussion with parents from across Kansas included topics such as family advocacy network for parents across the state with connection to state legislation to elevate needs and concerns; resources for ages 5 and beyond with emphasis on pre-teen and teens; trauma training for child care providers, school employees, and first response units; and the ever-ongoing ask for a family “hub” where parents can easily find what they need, when they need it.
The Family Leadership Team and members of Help Me Grow-Kansas ended the day with a Books, Balls, and Blocks event in the evening, which included backpacks with social-emotional and developmental health activities for parents and children to engage with one another, books provided by the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and information about hosting a Help Me Grow-Kansas Books, Balls, and Blocks event in their own communities.
The visual notes drawn by Sara O’Keeffe for the Parent Leadership Conference summarize the round-table discussion report out by Kansas families about needed resources in the state to better equip families for the challenges they face.
The next Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat will be held in 2025. More details to come! Please continue to connect through helpmegrowks.org and allinforkansaskids.org for all the latest parent and provider information, resources, and support.
This event is led by the Family Leadership Team, in alignment with the All In For Kansas Kids Strategic Plan, with support from the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (KU-CPPR) and Help Me Grow Kansas (HMG-KS). All parents and caregivers in Kansas help support thriving families! If you were unable to attend and have a valuable resource to share, please email Rachel Gardner at rachelgardner@ku.edu. If you are interested in learning more and/or being a part of the Family Leadership Team, please contact Cora Ungerer at cora.ungerer@ks.gov.
Parent & Caregiver Fireside Chat September Fireside Chat (PDF)