Children's Forum introduces new

corporate membership program

The Children’s Forum is proud to announce our inaugural Forum Forward Corporate Membership program that provides an exclusive opportunity for organizations to collaborate among a cadre of business executives, policy experts, stakeholders, and leaders in the early care and education community! This new level of membership is ideal for organizations that wish to strengthen their early learning impact at both statewide and national levels.


Designed to align with our mission, Forum Forward increases organizations’ early learning influence through promotional services, educational opportunities, and networking events.

We are thrilled to partner with the following Founding Members of Forum Forward and encourage you to learn more about their programs and services by clicking on their logos!

For more information, visit the Forum Forward website at https://flchild.com/forum-forward or call 850-487-6300.

INCENTIVE$ now available in Marion County

The Early Childhood Educator INCENTIVE$ Florida program is now available in Marion County! In partnership with thEarly Learning Coalition of Marion County, the INCENTIVE$ program rewards child care teachers for doing what they love – nurturing young minds in child care programs!


INCENTIVE$ provides early childhood educators with annual stipends between $450 and $5,000 as they further their education and maintain continuous employment. The greater their education level, the higher their annual stipend.

Child care teachers may be eligible for INCENTIVE$ if their center or home is a School Readiness or VPK contracted site. Click here to learn more about eligibility requirements.


Appy for INCENTIVE$ today by clicking on the button below or visting incentives-fl.com.

Apply for INCENTIVE$

Children's Week news and events

As the organizing partner for Children's Week, we can't wait to celebrate with you February 25 - March 1, 2024.


Please check out some important announcements and event information below to see all the ways that you can join in on the fun!

Purchase tickets

Join us at the Advocacy Dinner & Awards Ceremony

Monday, February 26, 2024

5:00- 8:00 PM

Donald L. Tucker Civic Center


Presented by Aetna Better Health® of Florida, this special evening includes a networking and cocktail hour with meet & greet, inspirational speakers, entertainment, and presentations of the 2024 Advocacy Awards winners. This event is one you won't want to miss. Tickets are on sale now, so click the Purchase tickets button to secure your seat today!

Nominations extended for Children's Week Advocacy Awards


The deadline to submit nominations for the 2024 Chiles AdvocateRising Star Advocate, and Youth Advocate awards have been extended to January 8th, 2024.


Recipients of these prestigious Children’s Week awards have dedicated their time, energy, and resources to advocate on behalf of young children, their peers, and community members. Award receipients will be honored at the Advocacy Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

Submit an award nomination

Now Accepting Celebration of the Hands Artwork!


Unleash your creativity and send in your artwork to be included in our larger-than-life display in the Capitol Rotunda. Click the button below to download our toolkit and get started now! Thank you to our friends at Humana Healthy Horizons® in Florida for sponsoring this event.

Download a toolkit

A Help Me Grow® Florida family shares their story

Did you know that Help Me Grow® Florida, (HMG), a system administrated by the Children's Forum, promotes the healthy development of children ages 0-8 by providing access to free developmental and behavioral screenings?


Through a centralized access point, HMG supports families by offering developmental monitoring, follow-up services, parenting information and available community resources.


The following success story is one of many that HMG receives from the families they serve. 

Visit https://helpmegrowfl.org/ to learn more about HMG.

Florida Early Childhood Advocacy Fellowship (FECAF) program coming in 2024!

The Children’s Forum is excited to announce that the second round of the Florida Early Childhood Advocacy Fellowship (FECAF) is coming in 2024! The program, formerly known as the Early Childhood Policy WORKS Advocacy Fellowship, seeks to elevate voices from within the early care and education field and empower emerging advocates to expand their influence on public policy and decision-making. Through the fellowship, participants will learn best-practices for advocating at the local, state, and national level. 

 

With the aim to overcome the challenges and barriers facing advocacy and engagement in the field, a group of 15 participants will network and build relationships among each other as well as other leaders in the field. They will collaborate both virtually and in-person.

 

Advocates at all levels are invited to apply for the Fellowship which will be available early next year. Stay tuned! For more information or to ask questions, please contact our team at ECAdvocacy@thechildrensforum.com or call 850-487-6300.

The Forum was honored to assist the Early Learning Coalition of the Emerald Coast at their Strategic Planning Board Meeting! Along with the Association of Early Learning Coalitions, we collaborated on a plan with the Coalition to improve early learning systems in Okaloosa and Walton Counties.


The Children’s Forum is a proud partner and supporter of Florida's early learning coalitions. We welcome opportunities to connect with Coalitions to enhance the early learning landscape in our state.

The Children's Forum proudly collaborated with the UF Lastinger Center for Learning to host a round-table discussion to improve Florida’s math educatiopn practices.

 

Since 2002, the Lastinger Center has gathered information and input from educators, families, and young people around the state in order to more effectively advocate for significant changes to Florida's educational policies.

 

As part of their 2023 Listening Tour, the Lastinger Center visited ten locations around the state of Florida to survey and acquire experiences, outlooks, and viewpoints of early learning and K–12 education in Florida, with a particular focus on math instruction.

 

Using the data collected, the Lastinger Center will create reports and strategies for legislators and elected state leaders to help improve Florida’s education system.

 

You can help the Lastinger Center reach their goal of 10,000 survey responses. If you are interested in sharing your math education experiences with their team, please visit: Listening Tour Survey - Adults or Listening Tour Survey - Students.

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