Minnesota Thrive Initiative

Thrive was created by the Northland Foundation and the five other Minnesota Initiative Foundations in response to Greater Minnesota communities calling for voiced a need for stronger resources in support of early childhood mental health – the social and emotional well-being of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families – and to help families to better access those resources.

The primary goal of Thrive is to create more connected systems of local services that support the healthy social and emotional development of children birth to age five, with an emphasis on children age three and younger. A publication highlighting the scope and outcomes of the Minnesota Thrive Initiative was recently completed and is available for download (707 kb pdf).

What is Early Childhood Mental Health?

The organization Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families defines it as the developing capacity of children birth to age five to experience, regulate, and express emotions; form close and secure interpersonal relationships; and explore the environment, and learn.

Research has strongly linked social-emotional development to success in school and life – as important as literacy, language, and number skills in helping young children become ready for Kindergarten and beyond..

How Has Thrive Addressed This Issue?

A pilot site was established in each of the six Minnesota Initiative Foundation regions, with Duluth-Proctor-Hermantown launched in January 2007 as the northeastern Minnesota site. Since then, hundreds of people representing diverse sectors have been actively engaged in this grassroots effort to improve awareness, knowledge, and resources that support the social and emotional development of very young children and their families. Professionals from medical and mental health, early care and education, social services, K-12 and higher education, and other sectors joined together in an unprecedented way.

Following the completion of an organizing and planning process, which included one-on-one interviews, focus groups and community dialogues, visioning, and action planning, task forces were initiated to implement an array of projects and activities. Over the past three years, their efforts have resulted in a much stronger, more interconnected network of infant and early childhood mental health education, prevention, and intervention resources for young children and their families.

Duluth-Proctor-Hermantown Thrive Projects and Outcomes

The following are just a few of the projects that have been successfully implemented by Duluth-Proctor-Hermantown Thrive.

• A Resource Directory of local programs and services has been developed to paint a more complete picture of what is currently available in terms of infant and early childhood mental health. More than 550 copies have been distributed.
• Local training sessions and community forums numbering more than 30 to date, featuring top experts in the field, have reached an audience of over 2,200 people.
• Reflective Practice has been piloted at eight early care and education sites located in Duluth, Proctor, and Hermantown. Together these sites provide care for 600 young children between birth and age five and 60 staff members have been engaged in this project. Reflective Practice is an intentional system of supportive consultation for care providers whose vocation is vitally important yet often challenging. Participating sites have reported that Reflective Practice has helped them create more nurturing environments for young children; improved their ability to manage difficult behaviors in a positive way; and increased retention of high-quality staff. This innovative project has been looked at all across Minnesota as a model program.

Funding Partners

The Northland Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of Essentia Health to help continue the work of the Duluth-Proctor-Hermantown Thrive action team during 2011-2012.

Past support of Thrive has been provided by Bush Foundation; The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation; Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children, a supporting organization of the Minneapolis Foundation; The Sheltering Arms Foundation; Mardag Foundation; Medica Foundation; and Miller-Dwan Foundation.