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What is Rooted in Relationships?

Rooted in Relationships works to improve the social and emotional development of children from birth through age 8 across Nebraska. The initiative builds on the early childhood and child well-being work of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, targeting specific service systems and partners within communities. Rooted in Relationships is an initiative that partners with communities to implement evidence based practices that enhance the social-emotional development of children, birth through age 8. One part of this initiative supports communities as they implement the Pyramid Model, a framework of evidence-based practices that promote the social, emotional, and behavioral competence of young children, in selected family childcare homes and childcare centers.  In addition, communities develop and implement a long-range plan that influences the early childhood systems of care in the community and supports the healthy social-emotional development of children.

Key Community Activities:

1. Convene local partners to develop a long-range plan to support the social-emotional development of young children, including, community assessment, systems building and coordination of existing systems and services.

2. Implement the Pyramid Model, an evidence-based framework developed by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) in center and home based childcare settings.

3. Identify at least one other system in their community involved with young children and their families (health, mental health, child welfare, parent engagement etc.) and work with that system to build upon successful work they’re already doing.

4. Evaluate with outcome-based assessments and standardized achievement tools.