Ideas at work

Find initiatives and collaborations addressing the needs of young children and learn about proven strategies for action.

initiatives and collaborations

North Dakota

North Dakota Early Childhood Advocates, North Dakota
The North Dakota Early Childhood Advocates, is an association of early childhood professionals working in North Dakota. Their mission is advocate for a quality early childhood.

Child Protection Program, North Dakota Department of Human Services
The purpose of the North Dakota Child Protection Program is to protect the health and welfare of children by encouraging the reporting of children who are known to be or suspected of being abused or neglected, provide adequate services for the protection and treatment of abused and neglected children, and identify the cause/circumstances of children’s deaths and recommend policy, practice, and law changes to prevent those deaths.

Family Voices of North Dakota
Family Voices of North Dakota (FVND) is a statewide health information and education center for families who have children with a special health need or disability. Family Voices aims to achieve family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. This site provides tools for families to make informed decisions, advocates for improved public and private policies, builds partnerships among professionals and families, and serves as a trusted resource on health care.

Head Start North Dakota
Coordinates the Head Start program in North Dakota. The program promotes school readiness for children from low income families and supports the mental, social and emotional development of children from birth to age five in both Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Department of Health, North Dakota

Family Health & Nutrition
The Division of Family Health & Nutrition Division works collaboratively on evidence-based initiatives that encourage healthy, active and well-nourished children, youth, women, men, and families. The division provides funding, technical assistance, training, needs assessment, educational materials and other resources to local public health units, schools and other public and private entities that offer health services in North Dakota communities.
Special Health Services
The Division of Special Health Services (SHS) is part of the North Dakota Department of Health and promotes a system of care and services that improves the health and well-being of individuals with special health care needs and their families.

Department of Public Instruction, North Dakota
Enforce all state statutes and federal regulations pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of public schools and related programs. They also supervise the ND Schools for the Deaf and Blind, and the State Library, operate the Department of Public Instruction efficiently and effectively, expand the delivery options that increase educational opportunities for all North Dakota citizens. Moreover, they evaluate and communicate educational policy and vision to all North Dakota residents and serve as an advocate for adequate financial resources to support public education.

March of Dimes North Dakota
March of Dimes is a national organization working to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The North Dakota chapter offers programs and services in communities across North Dakota to prevent premature birth and birth defects by educating moms and offering support to families in need.
Nexus-PATH Family Healing
PATH is a private, non-profit organization providing Treatment Foster Care and other behavioral health services, adoption, and family-based services. PATH services are provided throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois and Maryland.

Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota
Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota is dedicated to strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect, particularly in North Dakota. They advocate for a continuum of services and access to those services as well as deliver evidence-based strategies that enable communities to provide for children and families.

Nationwide

Child Care Aware of America
Child Care Aware of America offers child care and parenting information and resources to families; collects, analyzes, and reports current child care data and research; promotes national policies and partnerships that facilitate universal access to high quality child care.

Child Welfare Information Gateway
The Child Welfare Information Gateway connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. It features data and resources on topics from prevention to permanency, including child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption. Includes child welfare-related laws and policies, adoption agencies, support groups, and other information for each state.

Jump$tart
Jump$tart is a national coalition of organizations dedicated to improving the financial literacy of pre-kindergarten through college-age youth by providing advocacy, research, standards and educational resources. Jump$tart raises the importance of financial literacy and the importance of effective financial education.

Research-based strategies

Listed below are proven, effective strategies linked to reports that provide data and information about how the strategies were implemented.

Best Evidence Encyclopedia
A website created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education and provides reviews of research-proven education programs in math, reading, science, early childhood, and comprehensive school reform.

LINKS Synthesis, Child Trends
A synthesis of what was learned from experimentally evaluated programs in Child Trends’ What Works database into fact sheets and grouped them into three categories: population, program outcome (Social-Emotional Difficulties, Early Language and Literacy, Acting-Out/Externalizing, Asthma Education, Obesity, Substance Use, Reproductive Health, Civic Engagement) and program approach (Home Visiting, Summer Learning, Parent Involvement, Self Sufficiency).

Harvard Family Research Project
The Harvard Family Research Project helps stakeholders develop and evaluate strategies to promote the well-being of children, youth, families, and their communities. They work primarily within three areas that support children’s learning and development—early childhood education, out-of-school time programming, and family and community support in education. Underpinning all of our work is a commitment to evaluation for strategic decision making, learning, and accountability.

Evidence-based Practices Resource Center
Aims to provide communities, clinicians, policy-makers and others in the field with the information and tools they need to incorporate evidence-based practices into their communities or clinical settings. They have resources for a broad range of audiences including treatment improvement protocols, toolkits, resource guides, clinical practice guidelines, and other science-based resources.

Social Programs that Work
Includes information about social program interventions across an array of topics, including early childhood through postsecondary education, housing, employment, crime, and health and mental health. The site is administered by the Arnold Ventures' Evidence-Based Policy team.

What Works Clearinghouse
Reviews research on different programs, products, practices, and policies in education with a goal of providing educators with the information needed to make evidence-based decisions on identifying education programs that work. From the Institute of Education Sciences.