Filling the Gap in Community Health and Child Care Services in Rural Oregon

Two new facilities to support families in Polk and Marion counties are preparing to open. The Central Health and Wellness Center and the Central Child Development Center will provide comprehensive, wrap-around services addressing health, mental health, disabilities, nutrition, and infant/toddler development within the rural Oregon communities of Monmouth and Independence.

The Health and Wellness Center is a certified school-based health center with West Valley Hospital serving as the medical sponsor. According to a Polk County spokesperson, "While the primary audience will be Central School District students, services will also be open to the entire community."

In collaboration with West Valley Hospital, Capitol Dental and the Polk County Family and Community Outreach department have provided the vision and leadership to develop the school-based health center, which will work in tandem with the infant/toddler center.

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Oregon's QRIS: Using Data to Strengthen Impact

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) exist in some form or phase of development in 49 states across the country. The function of each QRIS is to set basic standards for child care programs in the state, and to offer supports and resources to help those programs reach and exceed those standards.

In a typical week during the spring of 2011 (the latest numbers available from the U.S. Census), 12.5 million, or 61 percent, of children under 5 years of age were in some type of regular child care arrangement—including with relatives and non-relatives.

As the demand for quality child care increases across the country, the importance of collecting data also increases. Only through the collection and evaluation of reliable and objective data can any system ensure that its goals are being reached. And with QRIS, these important goals exist to give each and every child a solid foundation for a successful life.

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NCDB Deaf-Blind Summit to be Held in Salt Lake City

The National Center on Deaf-Blindness will host a life Deaf-Blind Summit meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 21-22, 2015, in Salt Lake City, UT.

The 2015 annual meeting of state deaf-blind projects, DB Summit, provides an opportunity for key personnel and stakeholders from across our nation's growing deaf-blind network to conevene in service of increased collaboration and productive practice partnerships. This group space supports planning and dissemination related to the national meeting.

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Oregon Deafblind Project Newsletter: Building Effective Programs

The Oregon Deafblind Project is a federally funded technical assistance and dissemination project. The project provides technical assistance, training, and information to enhance services for children in Oregon who are deafblind. The project serves children from birth through 21 years.

Several times a year, the Oregon Deafblind Project publishes a newsletter that contains information, updates, and interviews of interests to families with children who are deafblind. The latest edition includes information on online training opportunities, craft ideas for kids, and information on family events, including the upcoming Parent Learning Weekend.

View the latest newsletter . . .

View archived newsletters . . .

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Adventures at the Child Development Center

What have we been up to at the Child Development Center?

We have a new president on the Western Oregon University campus! We walked across the street to say hello.

Our teachers helped us practice saying, "Welcome, President Fuller!"

We were so excited to give President Fuller the welcome signs we made.

We think President Fuller enjoyed meeting us as much as we enjoyed meeting him. Welcome, President Fuller!

To see more of our adventures, visit the Child Development Center on Facebook!

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