Waypoint Joins NH ECE Strategy Advocacy Coalition
One of the Foundation’s strategies within our statewide early care and education (ECE) priority is to enhance advocacy coalitions that will help shape equitable ECE policies.
As part of that effort, we are excited to announce that Waypoint, the respected statewide human services agency, has been awarded a three-year grant from the Couch Family Foundation to implement early care and education public policy advocacy work alongside other key partners across the state.
Waypoint and its staff are engaged in many state leadership positions and have a unique, field-level ECE perspective through providing early childhood and family support services, including family resource centers, early intervention supports and services, and home visiting programs. Their work as a direct service provider will help inform policy recommendations.
“Our goal is to serve as a liaison between ECE stakeholders and the families that are directly impacted by what’s happening in the field,” notes Waypoint’s Deputy Director of Advocacy Emily Lawrence. “We can take our experience as a direct provider to the advocacy level,” she said.
Such experience is grounded in Waypoint’s broad range of ECE programming as the largest provider of home visiting services for families in New Hampshire and operating the Children’s Place and Parent Education Center in Concord. Waypoint knows first-hand the challenges of operating a child care center under the current ECE system. Due to staffing challenges, in August Waypoint will pause operation of its child care center at the Children’s Place.
“We’re not closing the child care center permanently, but we’re assessing what we need to do to sustain it long-term,” Lawrence said. “Unfortunately, this situation reflects what we’re seeing across the state, which is why our increased ECE advocacy efforts are so important to build a more effective, sustainable system.”
Over many years, Waypoint has taken a lead role in advocating for prevention services in the state and brings this expertise and experience to work on ECE issues. With Elizabeth Belsito joining as its first ECE Project Coordinator, Waypoint will continue to build relationships between their ECE advocacy and programming and the children and families they serve.
“It’s important that we coordinate and collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders towards long-term ECE system goals for the state. We’re excited to join our ECE partners who are already in place and who have done such effective work. Our goal is to support and expand advocacy efforts seeking to transform ECE in New Hampshire to better meet the needs our of youngest Granite Staters and of the ECE workforce that nurtures them,” said Lawrence.