Early Start CT Local Governance Partners

Introducing Local Governance Partners (LGPs)

Local Governance Partners are a critical component in OEC’s vision for Connecticut’s early childhood system. Instead of managing funding, as has been the case for School Readiness Councils, the LGPs will act as the community’s early childhood hub and focus on building trusted partnerships with families, providers, and the broader community. The LGP will also be a place for families and community members to get involved in shaping a plan for their community’s approach to supporting the holistic needs of families and children birth to five years old. 

The first six months of work will focus on establishing the foundational pieces of the LGP. In addition to building relationships with the community, the work will include but not be limited to: 

• Hiring a Liaison, and additional staff if needed
• Identifying a Parent Ambassador, if your community does not already work with one 
• Establishing the Community Table 

OEC will also fund an LGP Intermediary — an organization that helps manage and support all LGPs. This group will be a bridge between local partners and the state. It will help make  sure services stay aligned with the Early Start CT vision.

The Local Governance Partner will have four distinct parts:

• Fiduciary – the entity responsible for signing the contract with the LGP Intermediary and distributing the LGP budget to fund the liaison, Parent Ambassador, and LGP Community Table activities.  
• Liaison – one or more individuals who are employed year-round to coordinate and assist the efforts of the LGP to deliver services and activities, supervise the Parent Ambassador(s), and visit Early Start CT programs to support and enhance quality and compliance. 
• Parent Ambassador – a parent leader and trusted messenger who spreads the word about the programs and services provided within each community and engages parents and caregivers in designing and implementing the LGP work.
• Community Table – a body made up of community stakeholders who are committed to working towards a vision that all young children in Connecticut are safe, healthy, learning, and thriving. The LGP Community Table is responsible for engaging parents, offering training and technical assistance opportunities to local early childhood providers, and conducting a data-driven needs assessment and community plan, with the guidance of the LGP Intermediary and OEC (see below for more details). 

How LGPs support you

Engage Families

• Leverage and pay a stipend for a Parent Ambassador who will act as a trusted partner to Liaisons and co-designer of strategies to bring family voice into all aspects of the LGP (more details to come) 
• Develop family-centered programming and help families navigate the early childhood systems and build functional ECE networks  
• Create intentional space for families at Community Table meetings by scheduling with parent availability in mind and creating agendas that prioritize family engagement 

Engage Providers

• Visit Early Start CT programs twice a year to support quality and assure compliance using a standardized template designed by OEC with input from the field 
• Connect providers to existing OEC resources, including quality improvement and professional development 
• Fund professional development opportunities not currently offered by OEC, to meet the unique needs of providers and the community  

Engage the Broader Community

• Convene stakeholders at least six times over the year through Community Table meetings or other activities to share updates, discuss challenges, form partnerships to take collaborative action on identified need, and celebrate wins
• Complete OEC’s Local Needs Assessment with support from OEC and national consultants, including: 
  • Pulling data for your specific town from sources shared by OEC 
  • Responding to narrative questions with input from families, providers, and others  
• Create a community plan, including: 
  • Identifying gaps and trends related to young children and families based on the needs assessment
  • Implementing collaborative action steps and solutions to address the gaps identified 

Built on what’s already working

LGPs build on successful programs like:

• School Readiness Councils
• Local Early Childhood Collaboratives (LECCs)

These programs have already laid a strong foundation. Under Early Start CT, they’ll evolve into LGPs.
Communities will receive at least as much funding as they currently get from OEC for School Readiness and LECC work — and possibly more. We’re still working out the exact amount of funding.
This funding will support LGP activities, including community planning led by the Advisory Board.