After our last strategic planning sessions, the Foundation developed guiding principles that help us stay aligned to both our mission and our strategic initiatives. These principles also offer insights to grant seekers regarding what AWSF ‘believes’ about disability. After spending the last year+ at the table with early childhood educators and providers, I believe that an additional guiding principle is appropriate.

This principle would reflect the daunting task of those working with our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to develop their social, emotional, and academic pathways. The growing needs of our infants and toddlers combined with the already ‘in crisis’ system (quality childcare, staffing, strain on the workforce) impacts us all – even if you are not directly involved. We are seeing more and more children with under-developed skills of self-regulation, emotional management, and beginning academics. Young children who have experienced trauma are finding even daycare and preschool an unsuccessful experience.

I was given the honor and opportunity to address the childcare shortage, specifically as it pertains to parents of little ones who struggle, in a recent OpEd in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. In an effort to not repeat myself in this article, please hop over to the link if you want to read more.

To sum it up, my own guiding principle surrounding early identification and intervention is that:

Quality early identification and infant/toddler intervention sets the stage for children to achieve their greatest potential and increases the opportunities for social, emotional, and educational success.

Whether or not these thoughts become a formal statement, I hope that every parent, grandparent, employer, and concerned person everywhere pays attention to the critical need of better early childhood options. We need to make our childcare staff, early childhood educators, therapists, and administrators feel valued. Explore what you can do in your community to support quality options for ALL of our littlest and most vulnerable members. Their social, emotional, and academic needs should be a priority.

We are happy to have members of the community use our universally designed meeting space for free. Periodically we supply the Community Food Pantries set up by Forward Indiana. We have set up a bin in our office to take donations for these pantries. If you're using our space and your group would like to help, bring us nonperishable food, hygiene items, formula, or winter supplies (hats, gloves, scarves, or hot hands) and we will be sure these valuable pantries are restocked.