National leader Barbara Duffield of Schoolhouse Connection provides a national perspective on supporting young children experiencing homelessness. Listeners are encouraged to review her powerpoint presentation at the PEC website: www.pec-cares.org.

The dynamic Donna Cooper of Children First shares 10 policy recommendations on how best to support children experiencing homelessness. Listeners are encouraged to review her powerpoint presentation at the PEC website: www.pec-cares.org.

Tracy Duarte supports 120+ Head Start grantees in Pennsylvania and has been passionate about supporting young children experiencing homelessness. Her presentation includes new insights and direction. Listeners are encouraged to review her powerpoint presentation at the PEC website: www.pec-cares.org.

Tracey Campanini leads the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning. She shares how her department is supporting young children experiencing homelessness and provides inside future directions. Listeners are encouraged to review her powerpoint presentation at the PEC website: www.pec-cares.org.

U.S. Department of Education's John McLaughlin provides keynote remarks. He shares a national context for supporting young children experiencing homelessness. Listeners are encouraged to review his powerpoint presentation at the PEC website: www.pec-cares.org.

PEC Board President Greg El welcomes 200+ participants to the 2021 BELL Summit.

PEC's ECE Director Roslyn Edwards provides context to the 2021 BELL Summit: Children Cannot Wait.

Dr. Roy Wade is currently an instructor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and a general pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Cobbs Creek Primary Care. He has a Ph.D in Microbiology from the George Institute of Technology. He received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School, and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. His research interests focus on the intersection between childhood poverty, adversity, and well-being.  His presentation is entitled "Trauma and Children in a Racially Charged World." 

The February Children’s Work Group Early Childhood Conference brought together representatives from seven community organizations with over 100 attendees to have a conversation about a topic that too often gets dismissed: domestic violence. Building Early Links for Learning (BELL) recognized the need to discuss this topic in our work with both housing and early learning systems – both systems work with families struggling with domestic violence, but rarely have opportunities to work together sharing resources and providing support to better serve those families. Play the audio of the conference and follow along with the slide presentation here.  The conference opens with an introduction by Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum, Pennsylvania State Director of ParentChild+. 

What better way to begin the Martin Luther King national holiday weekend than a serious discussion on the role equity in the home visiting system.  This episode is exceptional in its depth. We ask ourselves: what is the role of racial equity in determining who receives home visiting services? How can we overcome disparities of service delivery? And how can we collaborate together to ensure families receive the services they need? Our discussion is led by Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum of Parent Child + and co-chair of the CWGEC Conference. She is joined by Julia Reeves of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Sylania Burnett of the People's Emergency Center's Parents as Teachers program, and Toscha Blalock of the Maternity Care Coalition.  You will hear how the City of Philadelphia is leading the way with its "Philly Families Can" effort to centralize intake and ensure qualified and the most neediest residents receive home visiting services.  Sylania Burnett will discuss the city's first home visiting program specifically serving families in emergency shelter.  Toscha Blalock will discuss how Montgomery County organized itself to reduce inequity in home visiting, and offering a model for the rest of us.