Ready Region Family Councils

The Ready Region Southeastern (RRSE) has been charged with helping our region identify current needs and opportunities for improving family engagement work and elevating family voice and choice. The Ready Region Southeastern Family Council is a diverse and equitable representation of traditional, blended, multi-generational, and non-traditional families raising children aged 0-5. This includes parents/caregivers, foster parents, grandparents, and kinship care. The Council’s focus is to help build a stronger early childhood system, learn about early childhood care and education systems, community resources, discuss current programs and determine what more is needed by families to help raise children who are healthy, thriving, and ready to learn.

Family Council members will help us close the gaps in early childhood education and will engage in the design and improvement of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services and systems to ensure they are responsive to family voice and choice. We are seeking new members as changemakers who desire to help families in their community.

Ready Region Southeastern has established three separate Family Council sub-regions, serving the Eastern Shore, South Hampton Roads, and Western Tidewater regions. For more information, check out What Family Engagement is all about.

Family Council meeting specifics:

• We strive to make meetings interactive, fun, and informational.
• We meet monthly, in person, or via zoom.
• Parents receive a $50 gift card for their active participation.
• Dinner will be provided at no cost during all in-person meetings.
• At least a one-year membership commitment.

Once a parent\caregiver is referred to ready Region Southeastern as a candidate for Family Council membership, Ready Region Southeastern’s Family Engagement Coordinator will:

1. Contact the candidate and schedule a one-on-one meeting to discuss the criteria for joining the Council.
2. The candidate will be provided with a calendar with future meeting dates as well as resources to use personally and to share within their respective community.
3. The candidate will attend Family Council Orientation within 10 days of joining the Family Council.

There is also an opportunity for the Family Council to select a Regional Parent Advocate to attend state meetings as a representative on the Virginia Promise Partnership Parent Advisory Board.

If interested in joining one of our Family Councils, check out this flyer: Family Council "Join Us" Flyer

Contact Roshawnda Johnson for additional help at R5johnso@odu.edu

Current Priorities

• Advocate for high quality, accessible, and affordable early childhood care and education.
• Promote TheBasicsHR.org so families and community organizations share a broad understanding of the five basic principles that support healthy early childhood development.
• Participate in community events in which members share information and resources and promote future Family Council membership.