First Things First programs and partnerships are changing outcomes for young children in Arizona. To build on this progress and focus on priorities for the next phase of our mission, FTF convened a statewide Early Childhood Task Force in 2016-17 to help set the strategic vision for the ensuing five years.
Process and Outcomes
Taking a systems change approach, the Arizona Early Childhood Task Force will:
- Focus broadly on early learning and development, children’s health, and family support and early literacy;
- Prioritize efforts to increase coordination, address infrastructure and capacity needs of the system, leverage partnerships and increase resources to achieve scale;
- Build on the strengths and accomplishments of the early childhood system; and
- Actively engage regional council members and state and community stakeholders in the process.
The Task Force is comprised of a diverse group of key leaders from various sectors across Arizona. It is being co‐chaired by Nadine Mathis Basha, Board Chair of First Things First, and Don Budinger, Chairman and Founding Director of The Rodel Foundations. The Task Force will meet for a total of five (5) meetings with the purpose for each meeting outlined below. To ensure that the Task Force stays focused on high‐level priorities, sub‐committees will be created to allow for the development of more specific recommendations in the areas of Early Learning, Children’s Health, and Family Support/Early Literacy and Research and Evaluation. In addition, throughout the strategic planning process, First Things First’s Regional Partnership Councils will be engaged through online surveys and regional area forums to provide feedback on ideas and decision points made by the Task Force and sub‐committees. The end result will be an ambitious yet attainable statewide plan for advancing the work of First Things First and Arizona’s early childhood system over the next five years. This work will help us collectively hold ourselves accountable so our work will result in positive, measureable outcomes for our youngest children.
Timeline
- September 2016: Convene First Things First Leadership Forum and deploy statewide survey to all regional partnership council members. Use data and perspectives collected to help inform the Task Force’s initial conversation in November.
- November 2016: Assessment of Arizona’s early childhood system—where it is and where we want to go; and review and discussion of latest data and key drivers for system change.
- December 2016: Define priority roles for First Things First and desired outcomes.
- January 2017: Finalize priority roles and desired outcomes. Convene First Things First regional area forums across the state to provide direct input and perspective on progress of the Task Force to date.
- February‐April 2017: Convene sub‐committees to define goals and objectives for addressing the FTF priority roles and desired outcomes.
- May 2017: Review recommendations from the sub‐committees.
- June 2017: Finalize strategic direction to present to the First Things First Program Committee and Board.
Roster
Nadine Mathis Basha
Co-Chair, Early Childhood Task Force
Chair, First Things First BoardDon Budinger
Co-Chair, Early Childhood Task Force
Chairman & Founding Director, The Rodel FoundationsLyn Bailey, Ed.D
Assistant Superintendent
Washington Elementary School DistrictMary Baldwin
Community Investor
Boeing CompanyRene Bartos, MD
Vice President of Systems of Care, Medical Director
Mercy Care PlanDeal Begay
Vice Chair
Cocopah Indian TribeVictoria Begay
Enterprise Account Manager
Frontier CommunicationsAndrea Benkel
Director of Early Childhood Education
Summit School of AhwatukeeDavid Bradley
Senator
State of ArizonaKeri Campbell
Senior Director of Preschool Services and Co-Curricular Tuition Programs
Great Hearts AcademiesHeather Carter
Representative
State of ArizonaTerri Clark
Arizona Literacy Director
Read On ArizonaPatrick Contrades
Vice President
Arizona Business & Education CoalitionAmy Corriveau
Deputy Human Services Director
City of PhoenixMarilee Dal Pra
Vice President of Programs
Virginia G. Piper Charitable TrustLavonne Douville
Senior Vice President Community Development
United Way of Southern Arizona and TucsonRiley Frei
Superintendent
Bullhead City Elementary School District and Colorado River Union High School DistrictAnnapurna Ganesh, Ph.D
Faculty, Early Care and Education Program
Mesa Community CollegeJohn Giles
Mayor
City of MesaNeil G. Giuliano
President and Chief Executive Officer
Greater Phoenix LeadershipErin Hart
Chief Operations Officer
Expect More ArizonaDarren Hawkins, D.Min.
Senior Pastor
Sierra Vista Presbyterian ChurchShalom Jacobs
Deputy Director of Field Operations
Arizona Department of Child SafetyJessica Jarvi
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel
Alliance Bank of ArizonaVerna Johnson
Health Program Specialist
Inter Tribal Council of ArizonaLeah Landrum Taylor
Assistant Director for the Director’s Office
Arizona Department of Economic SecurityLaurie Liles
President and Chief Executive Officer
Arizona Grant Makers ForumDarlene Little, Ed.D
Chief Executive Officer
Tanner Community DevelopmentErin Lyons
Chief Executive Officer
Child-Parent CentersShana Malone
Critical Initiatives Project Manager
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment SystemLiz McKenna, MD
Pediatrician, Healing Hearts Pediatrics, PLC
Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of PediatricsJoyce Millard Hoie
Executive Director
Raising Special KidsFranciso Muñoz
Tribal Council Member
Pascua Yaqui TribeDana Naimark
President and Chief Executive
Children’s Action AllianceJill Norgaard
Representative
State of ArizonaKaren Ortiz, Ph.D
Vice President and Program Director for Early Childhood Education
Helios Education FoundationMarie Peoples, Ph.D
Chief Health Officer
Coconino County Health DepartmentSuzanne Pfister
President and Chief Executive Officer
Vitalyst Health FoundationBryant Powell
City Manager
Apache JunctionPam Powell, Ed.D
Chair of Teaching and Learning, College of Education
Northern Arizona UniversityKim Russell
Executive Director
Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health CareNicol Russell
Deputy Associate Superintendent of Early Childhood Education
Arizona Department of EducationSheila Sjolander
Assistant Director Public Health Prevention Services
Arizona Department of Health ServicesLaurie Smith
Board of Advisors
The Arizona Community Foundation of the Gila ValleyRuth Solomon
Member
First Things First BoardBrian Spicker
Senior Vice President, Community Impact
Valley of the Sun United WayKelly Townsend
Representative
State of ArizonaGinger Ward
Chief Executive Officer
Southwest Human DevelopmentRobert Weigand
Senior Lecturer, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
Arizona State UniversityRichard Yarbough
Administrator
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church
First Things First Staff
Marilee Dal Pra
Chief Executive Officer
Michelle Katona
Chief Program Officer
Facilitation Team
Lori McClung
Advocacy & Communication Solutions
Scarlett Bouder
Advocacy & Communication Solutions
Sharon Flannagan-Hyde
Flanagan-Hyde Associates
Resources
- Career and Professional Development Network Overview
- 2012 Family and Community Survey
- Roster – Arizona Early Childhood Task Force
- FTF 2016 Annual Report
- FTF 2015 Building Bright Futures: AZ’s Early Childhood Opportunities Report
- AZ Auditor General’s Special Audit Report Summary and FTF’s Response
- Frequently Asked Questions
Meeting Materials
June 14, 2017
May 23, 2017
- 05-23-2017 Board Meeting Notice-Committee-Amended
- 2017.0126_Task_Force_Meeting_Minutes
- Roles_Prioritized_by_Task_Force
- Background Document 1: Priority System Roles Recommended Goals Areas of Focus Measures of Success May 2017
- Background Document 2: The Model System and Opportunities Revised May 2017
January 26, 2017
- 01-26-2017 Board Meeting Notice-Committee
- 2016 1213 Task Force Meeting Minutes
- Background Document 1 – System Roles Opportunities FTF Leadership Role
- Background Document 2 – The Model System
- SFY17 Funding Plans – Yuma – Pascua Yaqui – Phoenix South
- Strategies Funded by FTF__SFY17
- Task Force Committee Summary
- Background Document 3 – Criteria for Prioritization
December 13, 2016
November 16, 2016
- Early Childhood Task Force November 16 2016 AGENDA
- Background Document 1 The Model Early Childhood System
- Background Document 2 First Things First The Organization, Its Priorities and Impact
- Background Document 3 Status of Arizona’s Young Children Data Summary
- Background Document 4 Summary of System Partner and Stakeholder Perspectives
- Background Document 5 National Policies and Funding Opportunities
Children’s Health Sub-Committee
Kevin Earle
Co-Chair
Executive Director, Arizona Dental Association
Debbie McCune Davis
Co-Chair
Executive Director, Arizona Partnership for Immunization
Meeting Materials
April 3, 2017
March 8, 2017
February 6, 2017
- ECTF Children’s Health Committee – Roster
- 2017-02-06 Board Meeting Notice-Committee-Task Force Children’s Health
- Background Document 1 – First Things First_ The Organization, Its Priorities and Impact
- Background Document 2 – Children Health Strategies Funded by FTF
- Background Document 3 – National Policies and Funding Opportunities
- Background Document 4 – The Model Early Childhood System Outcomes Conditions System Roles Opportunities
- AZ FTF Federal Landscape
- February Committees Presentation
- Medicaid Young Children
- System Roles Prioritized by Task Force
- Texas ECI and Medicaid
Early Learning Sub-Committee
Melissa Busby
Chair
Director, Central Arizona College Early Childhood Program
Incoming President, Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children
Meeting Materials
April 10, 2017
- 04-10-2017 Board Meeting Notice-Committee EL
- 2017.0306 ECTF EL Sub Committee Minutes
- EL Committee Revised Goals, Areas of Focus Measures of Success
- Early Learning Committee Revised Goal Statements and Areas for Focus and Proposed Measures of Success
- Early Learning Sub-Committee Meeting Minutes April 10, 2017
- Assessment Continuum Guide
- GAO Full Report
March 6, 2017
February 7, 2017
- ECTF Early Learning Committee – Roster
- 2017-02-07 Board Meeting Notice-Committee-Task Force Early Learning
- Background Document 1 – First Things First The Organization, Its Priorities and Impact
- Background Document 2 – Strategies Funded by FTF SY17 Early Learning
- Background Document 3 – National Policies and Funding Opportunities
- Background Document 4 – The Model Early Childhood System Outcomes Conditions System Roles Opportunities
- Early Learning Discussion
- Education Leaders Report
Family Support Sub-Committee
Irene Burnton
Chair
Associate Director and Professor of Practice, ASU School of Social Work
Former Chief, Office of Children’s Health, Arizona Department of Health Services
April 12, 2017
- 04-12-2017 Board Meeting Notice-Committee FS
- 2017 0210 ECTF FS Committee Meeting Minutes
- FS Goals Areas of Focus Measures of Success
- FS Revised Goal Statements and Areas of Focus and Proposed Measures of Success
- FS Sub-Committee Minutes April 12, 2017
- Arizona State Baby Facts
- ECTF FS Committee Meeting Minutes March 7, 2017
March 7, 2017
February 10, 2017
- ECTF Family Support Committee – Roster
- 2017-02-07 Board Meeting Notice-Committee-Task Force Early Learning
- Background Document 1 – First Things First The Organization, Its Priorities and Impact
- Background Document 2 – Strategies Funded by FTF SY17 Early Learning
- Background Document 3 – National Policies and Funding Opportunities
- Background Document 4 – The Model Early Childhood System Outcomes Conditions System Roles Opportunities
- Zero to Three National Perspectives on Family Support Initiatives