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Dear Friends of Ready Ready,
The N.C. General Assembly has approved Medicaid expansion after years of debate. The legislation has gone to Governor Roy Cooper for signature, but that can only happen once the state budget is approved probably this summer.
Gov. Cooper has long advocated for Medicaid expansion, and 2.9 million N.C. residents are enrolled in traditional Medicaid coverage. It’s believed the expansion could help 600,000 more.
Our friends at NC Child highlight five ways Medicaid expansion helps children:
- Parents with children at home would receive affordable health coverage.
- Expanding Medicaid can help address health disparities for people of color - who are more likely to be uninsured.
- Parents can’t work and take care of their children when they’re not healthy. Health coverage protects families from medical debt.
- Families with two parents and two children who earn $1,200/month are caught in a coverage gap. They make too much for Medicaid but not enough to buy private health insurance. Medicaid expansion will allow more of them to receive coverage. This leads to greater household economic security.
- When parents and caregivers have health insurance, their children are more likely to be covered.
The Cone Health Foundation and Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust helped fund a study by The Center for Health Policy Research at George Washington University on how expanding Medicaid would benefit the economy. The report estimates that Medicaid expansion would be an engine for economic growth that would create 37,000 new jobs in North Carolina – including more than 2,700 In Guilford County alone.
We applaud the N.C. General Assembly’s actions and look forward to a healthier future for our youngest children and their families.
Sincerely,
Charrise Hart
CEO
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Ready Ready’s early literacy work featured on Fox8
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Making books more accessible in the community is part of Ready Ready’s work. A recent High Point Community Foundation grant to boost early literacy helped feature our mission on Fox8.
“When our families are more engaged, our children are more confident,” Project Manager: Ages 3-5 Coretta Walker explained. “They are more likely to be on track for kindergarten readiness which is one of our North stars. The second is reading successfully at the third-grade level.”
You can watch the video to learn more.
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WGHP Fox 8 featured Ready for School, Ready for Life in several newscasts in late March 2023. Click on the video to play it.
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CEO Charrise Hart joins the inaugural 2023 Rockwood Fellowship
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 Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) Chief Executive Officer Charrise Hart has been named to the inaugural class of the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s 2023 Prenatal-to-3 Leaders Fellows. The fellowship cohort was selected in partnership with Pritzker Children’s Initiative and features leaders working in the prenatal to age 3 field.
The fellowship brings together cross-sector, local, and state early childhood leaders. According to the organization's website, these professionals play an integral role in maintaining the overall health and wellness of our young children, families, and communities. Learn more on our website.
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Guilford Parent Leaders learn at California conference
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Guilford Parent Leader Network members Eugene Penn, Paulette Bernard, and Katina Allen, along with Ready Ready’s Family Engagement Manager Yuri Alston and Parent Liaison Sanaa Sharrieff, focused on leadership in Santa Ana, California, on March 20-23, 2023.
“I enjoyed every moment of the summit,” said Penn. “The men I’ve met at the summit changed the outlook on my life – seeing there are more men willing to fight for what’s right in the community.”
The EC-LINC Parent Leadership Network (PLN) Summit theme is “Nothing About Us Without Us,” and was chosen by the national PLN steering committee. Attendees learned about career pathways focused on transforming communities and parent leadership, systems change, and connecting parent stories.
“I was looking forward to hearing from other parent leaders about their career pathway experience at the conference,” said Alston. “I came away with more knowledge about how parent leaders can take their parenting or volunteer skills to build a strong resume and how organizations should allow parents to create positions that meet their strengths and needs.”
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Do you know a parent or caregiver in Guilford County with a child between 0-8? Tell them about the Guilford Parent Leader Network (GPLN). The GPLN is integral to the decision-making structure for Ready for School, Ready for Life. Families who participate are valued consultants, partners, and change agents who work on priorities important to their families and other families in Guilford County.
We gather on the third Monday of the month from 7-8:30 p.m. The next meeting is Monday, April 17, 2023. We are currently holding these meetings via Zoom. When meetings resume in person, we provide child care to alleviate barriers to participation.
If you’d like to attend or want more information, please contact Yuri Alston, family engagement manager, at (336) 579-2977 ext. 2008 or yuria@getreadyguilford.org.
The GPLN has also launched Fathers Ready to Grow, a group of fathers who meet to offer support and networking. If you’d like more information on joining, please get in touch with yuria@getreadyguilford.org.
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Ready Ready staff shares history and mission with Leadership Greensboro
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CQI Manager Kelli Crawford, Director of Communications Stephanie Skordas, and Project Manager Ages 3-5 Coretta Walker shared Ready Ready’s work with the Leadership Greensboro Class of 2023 at Bennett College on March 15, 2023. It was Leadership Greensboro’s education day. The class traveled around Guilford County to explore different topics. We were honored to kick off the meeting with updates on our system-building work for Guilford County children ages 0-8 and their families. VP of Public Will Building Heather Adams is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Greensboro, and Family Engagement Manager Yuri Alston is a current class member.
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Mark your calendar for PlayDaze
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Ready Ready, The Basics Guilford, and Greensboro Parks and Recreation have teamed up for a PlayDaze event at Barber Park.
PlayDaze celebrates the value of play and is designed to provide diverse play oportunities for all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. Please join us in Barber Park on Saturday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
So far, activities include a variety of outdoor play activities, museum exploration, reading opportunities, animal adventures, food trucks, and more! If your organization would like to join us or you have a suggestion about a group we should connect with, please contact Literacy Coordinator Megan LeFaivre at the links below.
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Basic Guilford Focus: Talk, Sing, and Point
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Because language learning is a collaborative process, research has found that children benefit greatly from serve-and-return interactions with caregivers. With serve-and-return, the parent responds to and builds on—the child’s efforts to communicate. Responsiveness in language learning can predict language and IQ outcomes up to 10 years later in the child’s life.
An easy way to add more conversation to your time with your child is to talk about what you’re doing and what is happening around you. Have conversations as you walk around the neighborhood, drive in the car, or buy groceries. Point at new things you both see and name those things to introduce new words to your child. Click here for more ideas on how to Talk, Sing, and Point with the children in your life.
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Get Basics tips delivered via text or email
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Get science-based insights to boost your child’s brain development. You don’t need an app. No monthly fee! Monday’s texts tell you a scientific fact about your child’s development, and Wednesday’s text gives you an idea for an activity to do with them.
These messages are customized for your child’s age and will help you support your baby’s growth during the critical years of 0-3. If email is better for you, get a tip each Tuesday from The Basics Guilford. Click here to opt-in to texts and/or emails from The Basics.
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Would you like to be trained in The Basics Guilford?
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As we share information about the Basics across Guilford County, we need your help. We’re offering virtual or in-person training on the Basics for teams of five or more at organizations that interact with young children. Each session lasts 30-45 minutes. To schedule a training session or learn more about Ready Ready and the Basics Guilford, please get in touch with Literacy Coordinator Megan LeFaivre at meganl@getreadyguilford.org.
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Meet our new staff members
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Danielle DeShazor-Tabb joined Ready Ready in March as Project Manager: Prenatal-Age 3. She has five years of public health experience and is excited to support maternal and child health as well as equitable access to quality resources. Learn more about Danielle on our website.
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Heather Jaynes serves as Ready Ready’s Executive Coordinator, also joining the team in March 2023. She is a PMP-certified Project Manager with over seven years of experience in the non-profit and wealth management worlds. Learn more about Heather on our website.
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Partner Spotlight: Child First
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Child First helps families build strong, nurturing relationships that heal and protect young children from the devastating impact of trauma and chronic stress. The program uses a two-generation approach, providing mental health services to parents, guardians, and children through home visits and connecting them with resources, information, and support to make healthy child development possible.
“We use a team approach to help caregivers and their children ages 0-5. The caregiver isn’t always a biological parent, and sometimes it’s multiple caregivers,” said Anita Faulkner, LCMHCS and Family Solutions owner. “In many cases, there are kinship care placements. Many of the children we serve have parents who are incarcerated or may not be available due to substance abuse or other factors, and they have many different housing situations.”
Family Solutions is one of two host agencies in Guilford County for Child First. The other is Family Service of the Piedmont. Each agency has four teams of clinicians and a supervisor, so there are 18 new staff members focused on this issue, according to Faulkner. “Our teams have trained together since we began the program in June 2022. I think it’s an excellent example of community collaboration and how Ready for School, Ready for Life is bringing local organizations together to meet these gaps in services,” Faulkner said.
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Our mission
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is a collaborative effort to build a connected, innovative system of care for Guilford County’s youngest children and their families.
Equity Statement
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) promotes equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion, which are woven through our mission, values, and principles. We stand against racism in all of its forms. Ready Ready will work with our community to address the structural inequities that drive disparate child and family outcomes and work towards an environment where equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion are core values. When we are working to address these structural inequities, Ready Ready will be bold in our actions.
When Guilford County Black and Indigenous children and families of color (BIPOC) feel welcomed, heard, respected, safe, supported, and valued, all of our community and our society benefit.
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