Spokane groups expand community-based early learning and maternal-health supports

Alex Givolisco, manager of Equity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Spokane City Council Office, opened an episode of the office's Equity Spotlight by introducing two local childhood-development leaders who described community programs aimed at supporting families, educators and young children.

Stephanie Courtney, of the Learning Project Network and Shades of Motherhood Network, and Kara Bauer, owner of Little Scholars Development Center and founder of RAISE (an early-learning nonprofit described in the program), outlined work to expand doula access, mental and behavioral health supports in child-care settings, and a "village" model that connects community volunteers and service providers with centers.

Courtney said maternal-health data motivated her work: "Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die due to pregnancy related issues, and 60% of those causes are preventable," and she described a community assessment funded by Empire Health Foundation that labeled the Spokane area a "doula desert" for Black and Brown doulas. She said Shades of Motherhood trains doulas and pairs them with peer-support and mental-health resources, and that many of their doulas are Washington State peer-certified counselors.

Bauer described RAISE's village project, which recruits volunteers and local professionals to provide services inside child-care centers'from art and tutoring to assessments by occupational and physical therapists'so families do not have to seek help offsite. She said the program is also piloting mental- and behavioral-health services in four Spokane County child-care centers as a three-year pilot: "We also have a behavioral health therapist that comes in and works with the students directly, does behavioral interventions and implementation plans, does assessments, can diagnose if necessary, and then also does counseling and clinical services for the family as it aligns with whatever that challenge the student is facing." (Bauer)

Both speakers linked early-discipline disparities and later outcomes. Bauer said children from minority backgrounds are "4 to 6 times more likely to be suspended or expelled from preschool," and tied those patterns to later reading, graduation and incarceration statistics. She recounted a case in which her center helped find a one-on-one support for a young boy who had been repeatedly removed from other centers; Bauer said the boy's mother told her, "You are the first person in the city that did not give up on my son." Bauer said the child later returned to kindergarten and was showing marked improvement.

Speakers emphasized teacher and leader support as part of the solution. Bauer said early-childhood educators are part of the local workforce and economic development and noted rising anxiety, depression and PTSD among teachers since the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtney and Bauer urged businesses and community organizations to donate time and resources'for example, health professionals offering periodic assessments in centers when wait lists for services like OT and PT stretch 12 to 18 months.

Courtney said Shades of Motherhood offers a range of supports, including food boxes funded by 4 Roots and doula cohorts that include training opportunities for community members. She quoted Kimberly Johnston: "When a mother has a child, it's time for the mother to be mothered," to illustrate the group's emphasis on wraparound care.

Both leaders asked the community to treat belonging and healing as long-term work rather than a single program: "This is a long journey," Courtney said, noting intergenerational trauma and the need for sustained supports across income levels.

The Equity Spotlight segment closed with contact directions: Alex Givolisco said information about the City Council Office's equity work is available on the equity subcommittee website.