The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana has received a $200,000 grant from the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to pilot new strategies to increase access to and improve the quality of publicly funded early childhood care and education. It is one of six communities across the state selected to guide this work.
 
The six communities, called Ready Start Networks, will spend the next two years developing new local governance structures; assessing local demand for early care and education; providing resources and training to teachers to improve classroom quality; implementing fundraising strategies; and sharing their findings with state leaders to inform future policymaking.
 
In Morehouse and Richland parishes the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana will do this by:
Building upon the foundation of the existing early childhood community networks in Morehouse and Richland parishes which are made up of publicly funded early care and education programs. We will invite additional early childhood stakeholders such as parents, business and community leaders from each community to work together to find creative solutions that will improve quality and access to early care and education.
 
“We are honored to be selected as a Ready Start Network for both Richland and Morehouse parishes. We know that learning doesn’t start at age four, in fact learning starts at birth. If we wait to provide early learning opportunities until preschool or kindergarten, we have waited too long because ninety percent of brain development occurs before age four. Therefore, it is essential that we provide quality learning experiences for Infants and Toddlers too.  We are excited to get communities working together to increase opportunities for our youngest learners to thrive and arrive to school ready to start.”
 
To learn more about the Ready Start Community Networks, click here.

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and Delta Community Action are recipients of grants for the early childhood education pilot program Ready Start Networks.

The Louisiana Department of Education announced the grants this week and awarded the organizations $100,000 for each parish they serve.

The Children's Coalition of Northeast Louisiana will be spearheading these Ready Start Networks in Richland and Morehouse parishes. Delta Community Action Agency will be leading the pilot program in Madison Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Education says the networks are, "coalitions of individuals committed to creating and implementing a bold local vision for early childhood education."

For Delta Community Action, they say that means they'll be able to really get hands-on with the education in their parish. The non-profit says they focus on early education for kids from birth to 5 years old.
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"Research shows that 90% of children from birth to five, their brain is developed during that period," explains Manny Duque, the Operations Director for Delta Community Action. He says that's why it's important to put an emphasis on education at that age.

Edible gardens have been installed at Building Bridges Daycare & Learning Center on Gum Street in Winnsboro.

These garden beds are part of the Greauxing Gardens initiative through a partnership with the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and LSU AgCenter Ouachita Parish. 22 child care centers across Northeast Louisiana received beds, dirt, seeds and supplies to begin growing food to incorporate into the children's meals. Nutritionist Cindy George is providing support. ​

FRANKLIN PARISH, La. - (4/10/19) Today was a big day for about 170 little ones in Franklin Parish.

The Franklin Parish Public Library unveiled their 'Talk, Read, Play Everyday in Franklin' project. 

The partnership between the Children's Coalition and the Franklin Parish Public Library is all in an effort to put a book in every child's hand. 

The COMO foundation awarded $4,000 to the early childhood education hub. 

MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) – The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Louisiana announced the results of a program that supports teen parents and improves pregnancy outcomes.

In 2015, UnitedHealthcare donated $50,000 to the Coalition to support a weekly online resource for pregnant teens and teen parents called “Nurturing Skills for Teen Parents.” 

The program is part of the Jus4Me website, available to students at middle schools and high schools Ouachita, Union, Madison and Morehouse parishes.

Among teen parents and expectant mothers who participated in the program in 2015 and 2016, all babies born to program participants were of healthy birth weight, with an average of 7 pounds. Also:
52 teen parents (48 mothers and 4 fathers) improved their parenting skills through weekly classes held at six school sites in four parishes during the 2015-2016 school year;
97 percent of teen mothers in the program continued school during and after their pregnancy;
89 percent of teen mothers at sites with the school-based health centers used the health and referral services regularly; 
20 percent of teen mothers at sites with school-based health centers enrolled in home visiting support. (Nurse Family Partnerships)

Allison Young, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Louisiana, shared the program results during a presentation at Carroll High School in Monroe. Guests and community leaders attended the event to hear first-hand the program’s positive impact on the community.

Jus4Me supports pregnant teens and teen parents, and improves teen pregnancy outcomes, through various initiatives and resources including weekly 50-minute evidence-based parenting sessions at school sites for pregnant teens and teen parents during the school year, and partnerships with School-Based Health Centers, local nonprofits and school staffs to develop policies and enhance access to health and educational services for pregnant teens and teen parents.

“Working together with our school and community partners, we were able to make significant contributions to improving pregnancy health among 100 percent of local participating teens by fostering shifts in attitudes, knowledge and behaviors that contribute to healthy pregnancy outcomes,” said Lynn Clark, executive director, Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. “We thank UnitedHealthcare for supporting the important work that Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana has done and will continue to do to help teen parents and address pre-term births in the state.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 15 percent of Louisiana’s babies are born before term, the second-highest rate in the nation, compared to the national average of 11.5 percent. Babies born before term are at a higher risk of developing health complications that can adversely affect vision, hearing, heart rate, blood health, immune systems and breathing. Due to the efforts of the Children’s Coalition of Northeast Louisiana and the Jus4Me program, the number of preterm births to teens is beginning to decrease.

“Through Jus4Me, the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is providing teens with evidence-based programming that improves pregnancy outcomes and the system that supports them,” said Young. “Organizations like the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana are addressing this issue to improve the health of young women and their babies, particularly in Northeast Louisiana where preterm births are highest. UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to support Jus4Me to provide local teens with a valuable resource that will improve pregnancy outcomes.” 

National data suggest that teen pregnancy among youth ages 10 to 14 is on the rise. Babies born to teens younger than 15 are more than twice as likely to be low birth weight because of the increased stigma around younger pregnant teens, which often discourages them from seeking prenatal care. Local data suggest that these younger teens are more likely to have repeat births. A survey administered as part of 2015-2016 programs in Ouachita, Madison and Union parishes showed that more than half of teen parents in the program who had more than one child already were first pregnant in middle school.

The UnitedHealthcare Community Grants Program offers free expert guidance to help organizations make their funding efforts more effective. For more information, visit www.uhccommunitygrants.com.
UnitedHealthcare serves nearly 875,000 people in Louisiana with a network of 164 hospitals and more than 17,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.
About The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana
The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is a membership-based 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating communities where children and families thrive. We address the needs of children and youth ages 0-18 in four main areas: Early Care and Education, Healthy Living, Parent Education and Youth Development. The need for an organization that could quickly move between and work within other non-profits to meet community needs was first identified in 1998 at a regional Summit on Youth. There was a clear recognition of how much stronger our communities would be if organizations collaborated and became partners in solving and meeting the needs of children. The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana came into being as a result of this visionary thinking. In addition to several state and federal programs that support children and families in our region, the Coalition is the Early Head Start awardee for Ouachita Parish, the Family Resource Center for Region 8 and the Child Care Resource and Referral for Region 9.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

Twenty spots are available in a program that brings pre-kindergarten education to early child care centers in Monroe.Monroe City Schools partnered with the Children's Coalition of Northeast Louisiana to receive a Federal Pre-K Expansion Grant. The grant places Monroe City Schools teachers in two classrooms at Little Flower Academy and one at Majestic Youth Development.
Maureen Gallagher, director of operations and early childhood with the Children's Coalition, said the students receive the same education and services as they would at a public school campus, including access to speech and occupational therapists.
Gallagher said the classes partner with other city schools so the students and the teachers feel more connected, and Jacqueline Matthews, the early childhood coordinator for Monroe City Schools, said the students wear the uniform colors of their partner schools. She said the classes are like those at Lincoln, Clara Hall or Lexington elementary schools.
Matthews said there are 16 open slots at Little Flower Academy and four at Majestic Youth Development.
Anyone out there with a child who will be 4 by Sept. 30 of this year should take advantage of this free opportunity," Matthews said.
The slots are open to 4-year-olds who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Monroe City Schools is one of six districts in Louisiana that was chosen to be part of a national program that places certified teachers at neighborhood child care centers.

MONROE, La (KNOE 8 News)- One organization is taking great strides to help reduce the number of teen pregnancies and help support teen parents. 
UnitedHealthcare presented a $50,000 check to the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. 
Northeast Louisiana has one of the highest teen birth rates of 55.6 births per one thousand teens. 
The grant will help improve teen pregnancy outcomes and give those who are pregnant a resource to be better educated. 
"Well one of the missions of United Healthcare is to help people live healthier lives and as we did our research we are not just a medicaid provider we actually look for areas of need in the state where we can actually improve health outcomes," says Dr. Ann Kay Logarbo, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare. 
"This check will help us continue our efforts with parent education and strategies for young mothers and we have an evidence based program that we use on all of our services, nurturing families and triple P is one of the curriculums with use with girls," says Gatha Green, parent education director for Children's Coalition of Northeast Louisiana.

The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana on Wednesday received a $50,000 community grant from UnitedHealthcare to help support teen parents and improve pregnancy outcomes for Louisiana teens.
The grant will help improve teen pregnancy outcomes through the school site, Jus4Me, which places the evidence-based “Nurturing Skills for Teen Parents” at the heart of a weekly site-based program for pregnant teens and teen parents.
The project will serve pregnant teens in Ouachita, Union and Madison parishes, and will be located in four high schools.
UnitedHealthcare representatives gave the grant funding to the Children’s Coalition on Wednesday during a ceremony at Carroll High School.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 15 percent of Louisiana’s babies are born before term, the second-highest rate in the nation compared to the national average of 11.5 percent. Babies born before term are at a higher risk of developing health complications that can adversely affect vision, hearing, heart rate, blood health, immune systems and breathing.
Northeastern Louisiana has a teen birth rate of 55.6 teen births per 1,000 teens, more than twice the national average teen birth rate of 26.6 per 1,000.
In Union Parish, the growing Hispanic population has a birth rate of 98 per 1,000, almost five times the state average. Repeat births for teens in Union Parish are some of the highest in the region at 20 percent. The teen birth rate in Ouachita Parish is 57.8 per 1,000, and 50 per 1,000 in Madison Parish.
The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is a membership-based nonprofit organization dedicated to creating communities where children and families thrive. It addresses the needs of children and youth ages 0-18 in four main areas: early care and education, healthy living, parent education and youth development.