Oklahoma

Aligning the Pyramid Model with MTSS-B (Multi-Tiered System of Support for Behavioral Health and Wellness)

• PM and MTSS-B Alignment Graphic

The Oklahoma Warmline is a program for families, child care providers, and other caregivers where callers can receive consultation and support around the difficult job of caring for and nurturing infants, toddlers, and school-aged children birth to 13 as they grow and develop.

Trained Consultants are available to help you by phone Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm. A team of consultants trained in child health, child development, and behavioral health are here to take your calls, help to generate ideas and solutions for the challenges we face daily as we care for kids, to offer support, and to help you find additional resources and referrals if you are needing them.

Because kids don’t come with instructions- https://okwarmline.org/

1-888-574-KIDS (5437)

Leading Oklahoma in coordinating an early childhood system that strengthens families and ensures all children are ready for school.

OPSR’s Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) program serves as a resource hub for families, child care professionals and communities. OPSR administers this program on behalf of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, and its primary goal is to increase access to high-quality, affordable child care by providing many different services depending on where an individual lives. Through eight regional contracts, CCRR offers support to Oklahoma parents, providers and communities.

CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL | Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness

The Oklahoma Association for the Education of Young Children (OKAEYC) supports all those who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. Our organization provides local community resources to support families and childcare providers across Oklahoma, including tips, trainings, and connections to organizations offering services in health, safety, and family well-being.-https://www.okaeyc.org/

The Child Guidance team is here to help families and caregivers address current concerns, understand their child’s developmental needs, and encourage nurturing relationships to ensure a healthy future for children, families, and the community.

All families have opportunities to benefit from the clinic-based services offered by the Child Guidance program. Child Guidance provides important and useful information and resources that help guide caregivers to nurture their children’s development.In our at county health departments across the state, our clinics have Speech-Language Pathologists, Child Development Specialist, and Behavioral Health Specialists addressing caregivers concerns about children ages birth to age 18. * Please note, we are not a crisis intervention clinic. Visit our website to find a clinic nearest you.  https://oklahoma.gov/health/services/children-family-health/child-guidance-program.htmlFor a list of some our amazing services, please refer to the services tab to the left. This list is not a comprehensive list of our services provided across the state. Please schedule an appointment with one of our clinicians at your local Child Guidance clinic to best find the services that will meet your family’s needs.

What is expulsion?

• The complete and permanent removal of a child from an educational system, e.g., child care center (Gilliam & Shahar, 2006).
• Terminating the enrollment of a child or family in the regular group setting because of a challenging behavior or a health condition. (Caring for Our Children; National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3^rd edition)

What is suspension?

• Reduction in the amount of time a child may be in attendance of the regular group setting, either by requiring the child to cease attendance for a particular period of time or reducing the number of days or amount of time that a child may attend. Requiring a child to attend the program in a special place away from the other children in the regular group setting is included in this definition. (Caring for Our Children; National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3^rd edition)

What are challenging behaviors?

• Any behavior that makes it difficult for a young child to be successful in a group environment. Such behaviors interfere with a child’s ability to positively interact with others and may disrupt the learning process or even pose health and/or safety risks.  Such behaviors often frustrate adults because the behaviors do not respond to typical behavior intervention strategies. (Izen and Kalinowski, 2010)
• Any repeated pattern of behavior that interferes with or is at risk of interfering with optimal learning or engagement in prosocial interactions with peers and adults. (Powell, Fixsen, Smith, & Fox, 2007)

This TEDx Talk by Rosemary Allen serves as a great introduction to suspension and expulsion.  It provides insight into the core issues and helps you think about strategies to address the problem.

Resources to Share with Families contains articles, links, and tools that can either be directly shared with family members or used to help staff think about how to communicate with families about challenging behavior.

Preventing Suspensions and Expulsions in Early Childhood Settings: A Program Leader’s Guide to Supporting ALL Children’s Success is an excellent resource developed by national experts.  The guide is a research-based tool aimed at helping you eliminate suspensions and expulsions in your early childhood program by addressing the underlying root causes. The guide provides information, recommended policies and practices, resources, and tools targeted at three levels or tiers of support to help program leaders.  There are links to a variety of video clips and programs that may be useful for staff development and a brief (5-7 minute) optional self-assessment is provided that will result in a tailored roadmap to navigating the guide.

Rebuilding the Pyramid PDF

“You Got It!” Teaching Social and Emotional Skills PDF

Hot Buttons PDF

Tucker the Turtle Story PDF | Spanish PDF

Greeting Board English PDF | Spanish PDF

Starters for Giving Positive Feedback English PDF

Piggy Bank English PDF | Spanish PDF

Visual Routine Supports 

A Guide for Early Childhood Professionals to Support Young Children’s Resilience PDF

Checklist of Early Childhood Practices that Support Social Emotional Development and Trauma-Informed Care PDF | Spanish PDF

Self Care for Teachers PDF

Trauma Informed Early Childhood Services (TIECS)

Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Infants, Young Children, and their Families

This tutorial was developed by Kathy Seitzinger Hepburn for the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, an Innovation and Improvement Project funded by the Office of Head Start.  It contains 5 modules:

• Module 1: Trauma and Types of Trauma
• Module 2: The Impact of Trauma on Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children
• Module 3: Trauma Signs and Symptoms in Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children
• Module 4: The Role of the Consultant and Consultation
• Module 5: Further Learning and Exploration: A Resource Compendium

After a Crisis: How Young Children Heal 

A resource from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that offers tips to parents on how to help young children, toddlers, and preschoolers heal after a traumatic event.

How to Implement Trauma-informed Care to Build Resilience to Childhood Trauma 

This research brief from Child Trends (5/9/19) summarizes current practices for implementing trauma-informed care to support children who have been exposed to trauma. The authors outline the ways in which a broad range of programs (including afterschool programs, schools, early care and education providers, medical providers, and social services) can incorporate trauma-informed care into their services and help children build resilience against past and future traumatic experiences.

What are ACES? And how do they relate to toxic stress?  

An infographic from the Center on the Developing Child – Harvard University.

Helping young children who have experienced trauma: Policies and strategies for early care and education

This report from Child Trends and the National Center for Children in Poverty includes a review of the prevalence of early childhood trauma and its effects. The report offers promising strategies for child care and preschool programs looking to help young children who have endured trauma, and presents recommendations for policymakers to support trauma-informed early care.  

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network NCTSN fact sheets for 4 evidence-based trauma treatments:

• ARC: Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency: A Comprehensive Framework for Intervention with Complexly Traumatized Youth
• CPP: Child-Parent Psychotherapy
• PCIT: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
• TF-CBT: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Creating Trauma Sensitive Classrooms by Katie Statman-Weil,  Young Children / May 2015 

Trauma Screening Resources and Tools

• Young Child PTSD Checklist (YCPC)
• Early Childhood Traumatic Stress Screen (ECTSS)
• Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale (PEDS) ages 2-10 
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) ages 4-16

Resources to Support Young Children who Bite and Their Family:

How to Help Your Child Stop Biting
Responding To Your Child’s Bite

DEC Position Statement on Challenging Behavior and Young Children

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC)’s July 2017 Position Statement on Challenging Behavior and Young Children (https://tinyurl.com/y8omad5d)readdresses the significance of the healthy social-emotional competence of all children and provides guidance to practitioners, teachers, and families in preventing and effectively responding to challenging behaviors. DEC’s position includes culturally sustaining, family-focused practices, as well as a commitment to inclusion, professional development, technical assistance, and using approaches that eliminate suspension and expulsion.

The Backpack Connection for Teachers and Parents 

The  Backpack Connection Series includes twenty-five brief articles that address a variety of topics about supporting young’s children’s social emotional skill development.  Each article includes content and suggested strategies intended to support teachers and family members.  The articles are easy to download, copy and share and are an excellent resource to send home when a new strategy or skill is introduced in the classroom to inform parents about what their child is learning at school and to provide specific ideas on how to use the strategy or skill at home.

Nice Kids Finish First: Study Finds Social Skills Can Predict Future Success  

This is a brief (4 minute) piece from NPR about the importance that ‘pro-social’ skills play in a child’s development.  Listen to it here.

More resources:

Preventing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion with Young Children: The Role of Effective, Positive Practices

Social-Emotional Development Tip Sheet

Behavior Communicates Tip Sheet

Aggression Tip Sheet

Shocking Language Tip Sheet

ZERO TO THREE website offers a variety of resources to help parents and teachers support children with challenging behaviors.

Parents can create an account and find child care that meets their needs. Parents can search for programs that are implementing Pyramid Model sites under criteria to see if there is an opening in their area. Login

CCR&R Page also has resources for parents and a number to call and talk to call center consultant.

CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL | Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness