Ilissa Fern from the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative talks about they’re Parent Ambassador Program, a year-long leadership and advocacy program for parents of early learners in Nebraska. The goal of this program is to develop parent leaders and support them in advocating for their children, themselves, and their communities. Applications are being accepted until the end of July 2022 so listen and apply today!
Ilissa Fern from the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative talks about they’re Parent Ambassador Program, a year-long leadership and advocacy program for parents of early learners in Nebraska. The goal of this program is to develop parent leaders and support them in advocating for their children, themselves, and their communities. Applications are being accepted until the end of July 2022 so listen and apply today!
Parent Ambassadors Program
Connie:
Welcome to Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast. Helping families of children with disabilities and healthcare needs to develop advocacy skills while learning about special education, healthcare systems and other topics that affect family's lives.
Connie:
My name is Connie Shockley. I'm with PTI Nebraska and today we are here with Ilissa. Ilissa, if you would like to go ahead and introduce yourself.
Ilissa:
Sure. Thanks for having me, Connie. I'm Ilissa Fern. I am the Nebraska Parent Ambassadors Program Manager, and we are housed under Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative.
Connie:
And what kind of work do you guys do?
Ilissa:
So NECC does a lot of work to support families and children specifically around early childhood. But the Parent Ambassador (program) specifically, we are a group of parents and providers, and we meet for a yearlong (training) and we learn about how to advocate. So really the goal is to learn how to advocate for your child, for yourself, your family, your community, with the founding piece of advocating for early childhood.
Connie:
So, you're working with families in a wide variety of environments where they can be advocating?
Ilissa:
Yeah, and they learn to advocate for themselves. So instead of maybe, you know, coming to someone like me or another advocacy group, they start to gain those skills. So then that way they feel comfortable doing that advocacy work themselves. So, parts of that would be in our biweekly meetings over zoom. We have multiple conferences throughout the year where we bring in amazing guest speakers, who talk to us about:
- How does our legislation in Nebraska work?
- What can you do to make an impact?;
- Are there bills or topics that are coming up that you can have a voice and how can you make your voice heard?
Connie:
Now, your Parent Ambassadors (program) is an advocacy training for parents that you're gunna be starting at the end of this month? (July 2022)
Ilissa:
We actually have a cohort going right now. Our very first group started last year, January. Well, I guess this year. So, 2022. And so, we are about seven months in, we've done some really amazing work with different, like I said, guest speakers and agencies that are coming in, and teaching us some amazing things, working together on different projects. And we actually will start our next cohort, which will be our 2023 cohort. But we'll start early in September. That way we can have some of that education before the next legislative sessions start.
Connie:
How long is your training?
Ilissa:
It's a yearlong group. So, what happens in the process is parents and providers can apply. And then we do an interview to make sure that they really understand, you know, the goal of the group. They understand the purpose of it, and they really want to be committed to that. So, it is a yearlong (training). We start like, this next cohort in September. And so, we'll go September to September.
Connie:
Who are you looking for to participate in the classes?
Ilissa:
Yeah, that's a good question. So, parents are eligible. If they live in the state of Nebraska, they have to have a child who is eight years or younger since their main focus is early childhood. And they could also be a provider that serves children eight years and younger, but most of our parents and providers all fall in that range of having a kiddo who is eight years or younger. So yeah, it could be any county in the state (of Nebraska) and they just have to be committed to participating because the program really is what you put into it. So, we have amazing training set up, um, amazing guest speakers, but we really need people who are interested in the advocacy work and willing to grow and learn.
Connie:
And how often do you guys meet?
Ilissa:
Yeah, we meet biweekly over zoom. So, for our first cohort, we're doing Monday evenings at 8:00 PM every other week. The second and fourth Monday is what it comes down to for our next cohort. It's will likely be about, like a Tuesday evening around the same timeframe. We try to keep in mind that a lot of parents and providers are working, so evenings seem to be a little bit better for people and then our conferences or our four bigger trainings usually fall on the weekend. However, this year we did do our legislative day, which we needed to do on a weekday in order to get down and meet some people at the capital.
Connie:
So what is the expected outcomes you're hoping for your training?
Ilissa:
Everything could be pretty individual. So, what the Parent Ambassadors do is they actually create their own advocacy goal. One that might be personal and one that might be more, what do I wanna say? It's like a personal advocacy goal. I'm thinking of one Parent Ambassador who her goal specifically was to impact the board at Children's Hospital. She has some special needs children, some medically fragile children. And so, they're at Children's a lot. And there was an issue that came up for her where, you know, they're often asking about how the children are doing, but this mom in particular has multiple children with specific, special needs. And she said, no one ever asks me how I'm feeling. And so, I really wanna make sure that parents are given the support that they need for their own mental health and for their own wellbeing. And so, her personal advocacy goal was to make an impact at Children's Hospital, where the providers there were asking parents how they're doing. So that's not a missed opportunity to impact them. So that was her personal goal.
And then we also had like a Parent Ambassador specific goal and we sectioned those out. Like I said, our main area of focus is early childhood, but some people came in very passionate about the child welfare system. Maybe they had an experience as a foster parent or a child who grew up in the foster care system. So, they came with those lived experiences. And what they're using is the advocacy skills that they're gaining throughout the trainings and the group they're then using that into, you know, hopefully an impact. So, the outcome could look very different for each individual, depending on how they're hoping to make an impact and where.
I have another parent who her child has Down Syndrome. So, her goal specifically is bringing awareness to the community about this diagnosis and how to support other families in the community. So, it's really individual, which I think is, is kind of cool too.
Connie:
Is there a particular curriculum that you use?
Ilissa:
We are actually following the framework of Parent Ambassadors from the state of Washington and the state of Maine. So very exciting. I actually just got back, which is why I was kind of crazy busy. I spent a week in Washington last week and met with the Parent Ambassador facilitators there. And they are actually in their 14th year of Parent Ambassadors. It's really amazing to see the work that they did. I actually stayed with them at Central Washington University campus and got to observe their Parent Ambassador group live. And it was amazing to see, we don't do everything exactly the same, but we use the same kind of curriculum that they have implemented in their state. And so got to see them interact.
They were really vulnerable sharing their stories and it was amazing to see in that space. It was two and a half days, but they really opened up to each other, talked about current events, talked about how they are working towards their personal goals. They did some practicing of how you might catch a legislator on the run, you know, down their capital. So, it was really, it was really cool to observe how they're doing it. And that is kind of a piece of the training for implementing it here in our state.
Connie:
How is the Parent Ambassadors funded?
Ilissa:
We are actually funded through Nebraska Early Childhood fund. We have a three year, you know, pilot budget right now. So, we're really hoping to see amazing things come out of that for future funding.
Connie:
And how big are your classes?
Ilissa:
So, we are hoping for about 20 Parent Ambassadors. Each cohort is what we're calling them. So, we have about 18. Currently. We started out with 21, but we lost a few just life events, someone moved out of state. So, they do have to remain in the state in order to participate, but we're hoping to recruit 20 parents for this next group.
Connie:
How do they apply?
Ilissa:
So we have an application online, both in English and in Spanish, on our website. In addition, if someone would prefer to do the interview, you know, over the phone or maybe via zoom, we could certainly do that. I did that last year. If people just weren't comfortable filling out the online form after the application is turned in, I do reach out and schedule eligible applicants for an interview. And we do those over zoom as well. And then I didn't mention this, but our Parent Ambassadors are compensated for their time. They do receive a subsidy for their participation in the program. We also cover childcare and transportation. So then that way we hope that there's no cost that's incurred by the parents in order to participate.
Connie:
You have the first class going now, you're planning for the second class. What have you guys learned from the first class that you might change with the second one?
Ilissa:
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things was last year, we started in January when the session legislative session started, and everyone was very excited and wanted to jump in. And there's such a great opportunity with how our state government works to testify for bills. But I think one thing that we learned was we really wanted to start a little bit earlier and that's why we're starting in September this year, so that people have the foundation of how our legislation works and how they can share their voice and their story before the session starts. So then that way they really feel prepared if they want to testify, whether that's verbally or if they wanna write a letter, they just feel more prepared, more confident going into that opportunity.
Connie:
I wanted to revisit, you said that, you're doing biweekly zoom meetings and then you have trainings going on. So, are the trainings in person or are they also over zoom?
Ilissa:
Our very first training we did do over zoom. It was in the heat of COVID and so we just wanted to make sure people were safe. We do have the option to kind of do a hybrid situation. We do have looking at my map here. We have two participants who live in Scott's bluff area, one who lives in Chadron. So, it could be a lot for them to get to Omaha or another part of the state. So, excuse me, our April meeting training, we held in Lincoln that's when we went, to the capital and did a tour of the capital. So that one we really had to do in person obviously, but our next training (in) August. We'll do a hybrid. So those who want to be there in person can, (we) will do that one in Omaha. And then those two, you know, the trip is just a little too long for them or a little bit too difficult. They can join via zoom. So, we'll probably for most part have the option for both. I think moving into this next cohort, we'll probably look at trying to be more in person for the trainings. It's just a different feeling when you can get together and be in person.
Connie:
Is there any kind of expectation for after the class is done?
Ilissa:
Yeah, so we are actually in the works of planning and alumni. That's actually something that the Washington group has just started. So, Washington has been around - their Parent Master Program's been around for 14 years and they just started an alumni group where I wanna say it's every other month they have a big call and all the alumni invited. They might have a guest speaker who shares about something that's going on. They might have like a call to action. They might have one of the Parent Ambassadors share something that they're doing. So, it's just a way to stay connected and kind of continue to support one another in advocacy work. So, we hope to do that right away.
We definitely wanna keep momentum with the Parent Ambassadors who are feeling, really good about the work that they're doing. And we also have a few Parent Ambassadors who are just, you know, super motivated and go-geters and are joining other groups and programs. For example, we have one Parent Ambassador who was asked to sit on a national committee for parent and family voice. And so, she just started doing that. So, we're really looking for opportunities that fit the passions that Parent Ambassadors have to, where they can make impact moving forward.
Connie:
Is there anything that you wanted to let parents know as far as the training?
Ilissa:
One of the things that with this first cohort we've been really open with them about is just having them share their own expertise. A lot of our Parent Ambassadors have a lot of amazing lived experience. And so, allowing them, you know, a platform to share what they know and where they feel like they have expertise with the rest of the group. That's been really interesting to learn from one another.
And I guess one thing I would say about our Parent Ambassador group is, you know, come as you are, some people have had experience with advocacy and maybe they've talked to their Senator and then some people are coming into the group and saying, I didn't grow up in Nebraska. I don't really know how our state works. I don't know anything about our legislation and that's okay. We start at kind of like a ground zero place. And we talk about history of our unit camera and how everything works and how you can make that impact. So, sometimes people feel like, well, advocacy sounds scary or big, and I don't know if I'm ready for that. And really we can start wherever people feel comfortable.
Connie:
And have you had to debunk advocacy as being a negative thing with families?
Ilissa:
Not so much. I think one thing though is how to do it in a positive way. So not necessarily that it is negative, but some people will say, well, I have a really loud voice, or my Senator knows who I am because I send them tons of emails. And so maybe, you know, helping people feel like the way that they're advocating is productive or one of the topics we've really discussed is what's the best way to reach your representative. So, we actually had a former Senator come into our group and share, you know, how impactful it was for her to receive, you know, for example, stock emails or call to action emails that were scripted and what was most impactful for her to hear from her constituents. So, I think that was really helpful for people.
Connie:
Okay. So, I know you did say that you have applications available in English and Spanish. So, I'm gonna assume that you also have translators or interpreters. Do you also have the ability to work with anyone who uses sign language?
Ilissa:
So with our group currently, we do have one gentleman who's Spanish speaking. Only the way that we do that is we do have an interpreter with us at all times. So, when we're in person, we have an interpreter. When we're on zoom, we use the zoom channel, which is a really helpful tool. We have not had someone who is ASL, but we could certainly, have an interpreter for ASL as well and kind of do it in that same way.
Our application is open until July 31st. So, we would really love applicants to continue applying through then, and we'll do interviews throughout that month as well. It's open to the entire state. So, I know people were like, well, I live in, you know, whatever county and it's open to the entire state. You know, some people have asked, well, I'm pregnant. I don't have children yet that are in the school system. That's a great place to start. You know, you're gonna be a parent advocate for the rest of your life, you know, so definitely eligible as well.
Connie:
Was there anything else you wanted to share?
Ilissa:
(one) other thing that maybe I could add is that we, some of the topics that maybe we discuss. So, like I mentioned, we definitely cover the history of our unicameral, how our legislation works, a broad overview of us government. And we also talk about topics like, we've had guest speakers come in for diversity equity and inclusion. We're gonna have a speaker come in who's gonna talk about the native American community in Nebraska, just making sure that we're really being aware of our community. And then we also had, for example, the league of women voters came in and shared with us about how education is funded in our state. So really, just helping parents understand what's going on in our community and what are things that we need to be aware of?
Connie:
Who do parents need to contact if they are interested or they want to get more information?
Ilissa:
Sure. They can reach out directly to me. Ilissa Fern, my email is ifern@nebraskaearly.org. Or they can text me if they feel they would rather, they can text or call, my phone number, which I have to always write down. It's 402-965-1065. So they can reach me at my phone number (402) 965-1065. Even if they just have questions about the program or if they'd like to pop on zoom and just talk about, you know, what would this look like for me to participate? I'm happy to meet with anyone who just has questions that it's been a really amazing first cohort.
Our Parent Ambassadors are really motivated to learn. They're very excited. We use SLACK, it's a platform kind of like Facebook, but it's private to just our group. So, in SLACK we share a lot of resources. So, if there's trainings or webinars that are coming up, we're able to share that with our group different calls to action. We have an update on bills, that come out during the session. So, we really like to stay connected and it's been amazing to see, you know, the growth and the progress that each parent is making and work on their individual goals. For a lot of them, they thought doing certain things was really scary at the beginning of the year. And now that they're just kind of learning, like I mentioned, they're learning about how the system works. They're learning how they can make an impact and meeting people and realizing that our senators are just people and you know that they are individuals. They can have a conversation with and share their experiences and that their voice is important. That's been really impactful.
Connie:
Thank you for joining us today on Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast. If you would like more information on today's topic or other special needs topics, please go to www.pti-nebraska.org. Until our next podcast, internet families remember, chaos is our normal.