EARLY CHILDHOOD SUCCESS PARTNERSHIP 
A HEALTHY COMMUNITY BEGINS WITH YOUTH

EARLY CHILDHOOD SUCCESS PARTNERSHIP

 Peninsula Children’s Center works with Morrison Child and Family Services and an independent Nurse Practitioner to provide integrated and accessible services for families in North/Northeast Portland. Families have the support of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who meet an entire range of needs – mental and physical health, early childhood care and education , case management, parent education and support, and child development - in our community-based early childhood education center.

Many families in need of services are not identified, fail to engage, or are not successful in traditional treatment/services provided within clinics and other facilities spread throughout the community. They often lack the resources, knowledge, and/or time to access such services. In order to reach these children and families and meet their needs when issues are less complex and interventions easier and less costly, we partner to offer a variety of services in a convenient and familiar setting. By making an extensive array of services available in a setting that is comfortable, convenient, and familiar – our local child care center – we improve families’ engagement in prevention/education and treatment services and increase the likelihood that the outcomes will be successful.

The Early Childhood Success Partnership provides this menu of family support and prevention services in order to promote safe, healthy, and stable families and prepare children for a successful educational experience once they enter school. Long term benefits for children include a better performance in school, both academically and behaviorally; higher rates of graduation from high school; and lower instances of juvenile crimes.

The Early Childhood Success Partnership is generously funded by the City of Portland Children’s Investment Fund. 

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A HEALTHY COMMUNITY BEGINS WITH YOUTH 

A Healthy Community Starts With Youth (AHCSWY) is a pilot program to reduce the risk factors for childhood obesity designed by the African American Health Coalition, Inc. (AAHC) in collaboration with the Peninsula Children’s Center, New Seasons Market, and the Food Bank of Oregon.

Recognizing that eating habits and tastes are formed in early childhood, this program aims to prevent obesity from occurring and to stem its onslaught in preschool and elementary children before disease and the ramifications associated with overweight and obesity develop. Recognizing that children do not totally control their own eating practices and choices, AHCSWY utilizes a multi-faceted approach, i.e., increasing positive role modeling of change agents, health education through storytelling and presentations, increasing physical activity and improving the overall food options offered. 

Highlighted activities from the project include Parent Nutrition Night with a New Seasons Nutritionist, field trips to the Interstate Farmer’s Market and New Seasons Market and ongoing curriculum around food, nutrition and physical activity. Each of our early childhood education programs has an individual plot in our garden, which is a cornerstone of our nutrition curriculum.

A Healthy Community Starts With Youth is made possible by funding from Legacy Health System Community Health Fund.

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