Triple P Elkhart County Parent Newsletter - June 2024

This month in Triple P: Resources for a fun and safe family summer!

This month, we'd like to take a moment to celebrate the unofficial start of summer! With school years ending and families making plans for the warm season, we want to shine a light on some of the great resources we have in Elkhart County to keep kids safe and engaged with activities for the next few months. In no particular order:

Public libraries always have great activities for kids and families, and summer is no exception! Wherever you live in the county, you're not too far from a library, and many of our local libraries have summer reading programs and ways for kids to win books and other prizes! Click on the following links to check out upcoming programs and events at local libraries near you: Bristol Public Library, Elkhart Public Libraries, Goshen Public Library, Middlebury Public Library, Nappanee Public Library, and for our friends near the borders of the county, Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library and Syracuse Public Library.
Our county has great public parks and recreation programs, from day camps to trail hikes, sports, playgrounds, and so much more, not far from anywhere in Elkhart County! Check out what's happening at the public parks this summer in Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee, and at the Elkhart County parks as well!
Our partners at the Strengthening Indiana Families Resource Center in Elkhart have a full calendar of free events for parents and families. Click here to look at what's going on this month, including Triple P Home Safety workshops in English and Spanish!
Another friend and partner of Triple P, the Tolson Center for Community Excellence in Elkhart, has free activities for people of all ages happening all the time! Check out what's coming up at this link.
Another great resource for families looking for things to do near home is the Elkhart County Convention Bureau and Visitor Center. These folks are great at finding all the attractions, events, festivals, camps, and more happening everywhere in the county. You can check out the Experience Elkhart County site any time to see what's going on, or you can even visit their center on the north side of Elkhart and collect an armful of brochures, magazines, and other guides chock-full of ideas to keep your family entertained and connected all year round.

As always, you can find information about all upcoming Triple P workshops and group sessions in the community at TriplePElkhartCounty.org and in this newsletter. Read on for more updates!

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Parents needed! Give your opinions on our local healthcare needs and earn a gift card

Our partners at Beacon Community Impact are looking for community members to participate in a community health needs assessment. There are three opportunities for people to share their thoughts in a confidential setting, in English or in Spanish, on Monday, June 17. Participants will be given a $25 gift card as a thank you for their time.

Click either image of the flyers above to view/download a PDF flyer with more information in English or Spanish, or you can register for a group here (English and Spanish).

Participate in an online study to help create better parent resources!

The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago—home to Parent Nation—is developing a powerful new survey tool that measures parents’ knowledge and beliefs about early childhood development. This tool, which is called SPEAK-CAT, will ultimately help researchers, clinicians, and other professionals understand what parents know about their children’s development—and how to best support them. It will bring us one step closer to our vision of a Parent Nation in which all parents and caregivers receive tailored and personalized resources to help their children thrive.

We are seeking participants for a paid online study to help us refine and validate the SPEAK-CAT tool.

If you are interested, you will start by filling out an online survey (linked below) to see if you are a good match for the study. If you qualify, you will be invited to an initial study session, where you will complete a variety of survey items about your parenting beliefs and practices for approximately 40 minutes. If your child is old enough, you will be invited to two other sessions, which involve a brief recorded play session with your child with some additional surveys and activities (about 25-60 minutes) and an interview with a live researcher (about 30-40 minutes), both over Zoom.

As a thank you for your time, you will receive a $15 gift card following the first session. Participants who complete all three sessions, will receive up to $80 in total compensation.

If you are interested in participating, please complete the following screener https://redcap.link/e2qppv4e.

Thank you for your consideration,

The TMW Center Team