July ICS eNews

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Expanding Access to Doulas

Improves Birth Outcomes in Rural Areas

Doula support has many positive effects for new moms and babies.

"2.2 million American women live in maternity care deserts -- with no hospital or birth center with obstetric care, or obstetric providers."

The ICS Policy Research team has released a new report detailing the positive impacts of expanding access to doulas in rural South Carolina.

Doulas contribute to a number of positive outcomes during and after childbirth for mothers and their babies. They provide crucial emotional support and advocacy during childbirth, and lead to a number of positive birth outcomes including:

• Lower rate of C-sections
• Shorter labors
• Fewer birth complications
• Better childbirth experience for mothers

However, access to maternal care in rural areas is a tremendous challenge. Read our blog post and full report to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of expanding access to doulas.

2023 Annual Report:

ICS Makes An Impact Across The Nation

Explore our 2023 Annual Report to learn how we've helped young children thrive.

We have officially released our 2023 Annual Report!

Explore our 2023 Annual Report to learn more about how ICS has helped children succeed across the nation through early childhood policy, research, systems change, and more.

ICS helps children and families thrive by empowering and supporting the organizations and systems that work directly with children, to help maximize their impact. Learn more about our mission here.

Highlights of Annual Report

• 48 initiatives & projects
• 26 states served
• Over 26.5 Million children served through IMPACT Measures Tool
• Over 500,000 children served through outreach on measurement & evaluation
• Provided 210 early childhood professionals with continuing education at the Desmond P. Kelly MD Nurturing Developing Minds Conference
• Co-created Human Resources and Administration’s ECDHS Evidence to Impact Center with ZERO TO THREE, American Academy of Pediatrics, and other leading organizations
• Provided measurement & evaluation support to a Robin Hood FUEL for 50 Challenge winner and 17 other early childhood organizations across 9 states

ICS at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC)

ICS team presents findings on equity in early childhood assessment at the NRCEC 2024 Conference: Dr. Aimée Drouin Duncan, Dr. Caroline Martin, and Dr. Allison Kimble-Cusano.

ICS team member Dr. Aimée Drouin Duncan and ICS Board member Dr. Carlomagno Panlilio join a reunion of Dr. Brenda Jones-Harden's Prevention and Early Adversity Research Lab.

Dr. Ruth Friedman presents at the NRCEC 2024 Conference.

Members of the ICS team presented at this year's National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC), hosted by the US Administration for Children and Families. The ICS presentation focused on equity in early childhood assessment, discussing how the IMPACT Measures Tool can be harnessed to increase equitable child assessment practices.

The NRCEC is a biannual conference that highlights early childhood research. The goals of the NRCEC are to:

• Identify and disseminate research relevant to young children (birth to 8 years) and their families;
• Encourage collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to build evidence that informs policy and practice; and
• Foster discussion of research priorities, gaps, and needs.

Learn more about the NRCEC 2024 Conference here.

"Learn the Signs. Act Early."

Upcoming Webinar from CDC and ECDHS

Join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems: Evidence to Impact Center on Thursday, August 8, 4-5:30 PM EDT, for the webinar:

Engaging Families to Support Early Childhood Development in the Health Center Exam Room and Beyond: CDC’s FREE “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Resources Can Help.

When health centers practice family-engaged developmental monitoring, it can enhance their efforts to improve screenings, identify delays and disabilities, and encourage families to follow up when referred to services. This webinar will spotlight CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program and its free resources to help providers and staff engage and empower families as critical partners in developmental monitoring.

Partners from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau and Bureau of Primary Health Care will also join for introductory remarks

This event is tailored for federally qualified health center providers and staff but is also beneficial for anyone who interacts with, or supports programs for, young children and their families.

ICS Out and About

ICS Palmetto Engagement and Policy Director Deborah DePaoli

Keynote Speaker at Untangling ECE Conference

Our very own Deborah DePaoli will be Keynote speaker at the upcoming Untangling Early Childhood Education Conference on August 16-17 in Greenville, SC. Deborah serves as ICS's Palmetto Engagement & Policy Director.

Register here: https://untanglingece.com/

Megan joins WYFF4 News Greenville

Megan on WYFF4 Greenville News

Megan Carolan recently joined Greenville's WYFF News 4 to discuss child care as part of their "4 Ways We Win" series this month. She discussed the barriers to child care in South Carolina, and how the ICS and United Way serve the Greenville community to catalyze positive change for children and families, including building systems change at the community level, and advocating for children and families through the Early Childhood Common Agenda (ECCA).

View the video series here:

https://www.unitedwaygc.org/4-ways-we-win/

Visiting Alex Morris

Visiting Tim Scott's office

ICS and ECCA Congressional

Visits in SC

ICS and Early Childhood Common Agenda (ECCA) advocates recently made multiple congressional visits, with more on the horizon. They visited Congressman Joe Wilson's District Director Alex Morris, as well as Senator Tim Scott's Office. The ECCA advocates for positive changes for children and families through policy change in South Carolina.

Learn more about the Early Childhood Common Agenda (ECCA) here.

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ICS works on behalf of children from prenatal to age 8.

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