Do You Have a Child Age 0-5?

The Allegheny County Early Childhood Collaborative presents

Every Step Counts!

Every Step Counts!

• Is an easy-to-use guidebook geared for parents and caregivers with a child ages newborn to 5.
• Is a handy reference source for professionals who work with families and young children.
• Is a community-wide effort to support our region's youngest citizens and their families, by connecting them to the information and help they may need for a great start in life.

Produced by the Allegheny County Early Childhood Collaborative, a group of over 40 local agencies and organizations, and the University of California Berkeley's School of Public Health, the guidebook contains the latest research-based information on over three dozen subject areas from Becoming a Parent' to Child Care and Preschool', and all the stages in between. Additional sections on family health and well-being round out this first edition of the guide, developed specifically for our region and its families.

Each section of Every Step Counts! provides a high-level overview of important topics, as well as simple Things You Can Do' tips. There is also a Where To Find Help' section, directing parents and professionals to state and national resources focused specifically on a particular topic.

In addition, included in the back pocket of the guidebook is the most recent version of our Allegheny County Community Pages, a local resource directory of dozens of local organizations that provide additional information, services and support in over forty topic areas. This directory is updated quarterly to include additional resources available to families and professionals in our region.

The family of every baby delivered at a participating Allegheny County hospital will receive a free copy of the guide and directory upon discharge. Providers throughout the region are also receiving copies, including pediatricians, child care providers, WIC and Family Support Centers, YMCA locations, libraries and various other schools and agencies. Our hope is to connect the greater community of professionals who work with young children and families, to support the valuable work currently done on their behalf.

You may copy sections of the guidebook and directory for use and distribution, as long as they are given for free. If you have suggestions for additional listings in our Community Pages directory, or would like to join the Allegheny County Early Childhood Collaborative, please contact us at (412) 586-0880.

If you are interested in obtaining the Every Step Counts: Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Young Children in Pennsylvania, you can call 412-586-0880 to purchase a copy for you or someone you know.

The books are available by mail for $9, including shipping and handling, or for $6 in the Gift Shop at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.

View List of Current Collaborative Members

Project Description

Being a parent is sometimes overwhelming, and being a parent of a newborn can be scary. Such a wide variety of information exists across such a broad spectrum of subjects, that it is difficult to know what is best for one's baby. From where and how the baby eats, sleeps, plays, learns and grows, parents are overwhelmed by information and self-proclaimed experts, in addition to well-meaning family and friends. Yet the key points are often missed amid all the noise, and parents are still left with unanswered questions and uncertainty, and with no idea of what support is available and how they can access that help to support the healthy growth and development of their young children.

As resources continue to shrink for supportive services, it is important that effective and efficient information is available to support parents and caregivers. If as a community we intend to raise healthy and productive citizens, we must ensure that parents of young children have a basic understanding of what to expect, what to do, and how and when to access the resources available to help them in caring for their children.

To meet this objective, Child Watch created the Allegheny County Early Childhood Collaborative to join together local agencies serving children ages 0-5 and their families. The first project of this group is a communication program to support parents of children ages 0-5 and their caregivers and providers. The group created and is now distributing an information kit to the parents of all newborns in the county through prenatal and postnatal programs throughout the region. Building upon a program previously administered statewide in Pennsylvania, and currently underway throughout Alabama, Arizona, California and Kentucky, the newborn kit contains a guide book written by Health Research in Action at the University of California, Berkeley, and an easy-to-access list of local resources available to help parents with a variety of questions.

By partnering with local community providers across a wide variety of disciplines, including health, education, early intervention, family support and other human services, the kits are being distributed prenatally or post-partum to all parents of newborns as well as to all local providers working with children ages 0-5 and their families.

Use of these kits has been extensively studied in California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, and the results are resounding. In one study, over 80% of mothers receiving the kits use them, with knowledge gains about parenting and child development much greater when comparing them to mothers who did not use the kit.

It is often the case that extensive resources are spent to treat and support extremes in our community, with the majority of parents left to learn how to raise their children on their own. As society changes and the informal support structures upon which past generations have relied are scattered by geography and the reality of a changed economy, it is becoming even more important for every parent to have reliable and accessible resources to support them in their efforts to raise healthy, happy and productive children.

Moreover, if our community invests in proven, preventive programs early in the lives of our children, our society can avoid the costs of more extreme and expensive problems in the future. The Allegheny County Early Childhood Collaborative Newborn Parent Kit is a smart investment in the health and well-being of our children, and in the future of our community. Teaching parents what to expect, what to do, and where to turn is a simple way to empower them to do what they instinctively know: protect and nurture their children while encouraging healthy development. By linking together local resources in a way that considers a whole child's needs, and pulling back together agencies separated by disciplines, we will do better in support of our children and families. For each family of our newest community members, we can enable them to gain core knowledge about childhood and parenting, while connecting them to the rich array of resources already available in Allegheny County.