This is a blog series featuring various partners and their experience with developing community-designed programs through the Innovation Supports process. Check out the feature on Global Perinatal Services, JSOL STUDIOS, and and Center for Indigenous Midwifery..
At Best Starts, we know children and families are best supported when services and programs provided are community-led and community-informed. We believe in the power and creativity of communities to create and develop program models that are right for them, based on lived experience and learned expertise. Through our Innovation Supports strategy, we collaborate with partners to go through the innovation process to create programs that serve children, from birth to age 5, and their families.
Last year, 16 partners within our Child Care Health Consultation (CCHC) and Community-Based Parenting Supports (CBPS) strategy completed the six-month innovation supports process. In fall 2023, our partners gathered in Tukwila to celebrate and share their new community-designed program models.
Today, we are excited to feature Chinese Information & Service Center and their community-designed program model!
Chinese Information & Service Center
Images provided by Chinese Information & Service Center
Chinese Information & Service Center (CISC) helps immigrants throughout King County achieve success in their community by providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services. In 2018, CISC used the CCHC model and adapted the approach to provide information, resources, and support to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers. In 2023, CISC decided to go through the innovation supports process to evaluate and adapt their program.
“Through the years, we were building the airplane while we’re flying it and we tried different ways to meet the needs of the grandparents,” said Hueiling Chan, Program Director of Family and Youth Services. “The [Innovation Supports] process really helped us to sit aside and really look at what we’re doing and [ask] if this is really the right way of doing things… is this the best way to support our community?”
While many organizations go through the innovation supports process to design a completely new program, CISC used this as an opportunity to confirm and reassure what they already knew and that they were in fact doing a lot and supporting their community.
Helen Zhang, Child Care Health Consultation Coordinator at CISC, said “Once we started, we found it was a very good opportunity for us to reflect on our services and it helped us summarize what we have done and what we need to improve.”
Helen admits that she was a bit confused at the beginning of the process, but highly encourage other organizations to participate in the process.
“Just don’t worry about anything,” she said. “[The process] is very easy and helpful for your future service delivery and program development.”
To learn more about CISC and the work they’re doing, please contact Hueiling Chan at hueilingc@cisc-seattle.org or Helen Zhang at helenz@cisc-seattle.org.
Thank you!
A big thank you all the CCHC and CBPS strategy partners for your participation and engagement in the six-month innovation supports process. Thank you for the love, care, and intentionality that you put into developing and designing programs for our P-5 community.
- API Chaya
- Atlantic Street Center
- Center for Indigenous Midwifery (fiscally sponsored by Consultants for Indian Progress)
- Centro Rendu (St Vincent de Paul of Seattle/King County)
- Chinese Information and Service Center
- Global Perinatal Services
- Gwen’s Guidance
- Indian American Community Services
- JSOL Studios, LLC
- Mother Africa
- Navos
- Pacific Islander Health Board of Washington
- Resilient in Sustaining Empowerment (RISE)
- Somali Childcare Providers Association
- Somali Health Board
- Voices of Tomorrow
And we want to give a shoutout to the innovation supports team, capacity builders, and consultants for providing guidance and support as partners developed their community-designed programs.
- Cardea Services
- Hayaan, LLC
- Mother Africa
- Pollock and Partners
