The Ready, Set, Go! Play and Learn program at Earl Boyles Elementary School gives children from birth to age 3 and their caregivers opportunities to learn in a child-centered and culturally responsive environment. The program, in its second year at Earl Boyles, builds parenting and social and emotional skills, and strengthens relationships between families and schools. Judy Strand, the CEO of Metropolitan Family Service, which runs the program, highlights the results of the program, while Program Coordinator Maria Perdomo explains, “We notice how the children have been improving in their skills—social/emotional skills, cognitive skills—and how the parents are improving how they connect with their children and support them with positive discipline.”

The Early Link Podcast

Ready, Set, Go! Early Learning from Birth to 3

In this podcast, we speak with Glen Cooper, founder of Circle of Security, a program that helps parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators develop tools to form secure attachments with children and understand how to meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma. Having learned that Circle of Security was being used as part of a pilot program for mothers at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, we were curious to learn more about how the program was developed. Glen, who has extensive training in family system therapy, object relations theory, and attachment theory, worked with colleagues Kent Hoffman and Bert Powell to combine those theories into an approach that allows parents, educators, and care givers to identify and address the underlying causes of challenging behaviors in children. In this interview, Glen also addresses the unique challenges facing incarcerated parents and how Circle of Security is being used at Coffee Creek and elsewhere to support parents who are in prison and their children.

Circle of Security Provides Tools to Help Children Build Secure Attachments

The Early Link Podcast, brought to you by Children's Institute based in Portland, Oregon, highlights national, regional, and local voices working in the field of early care and education. Written, hosted, and produced by Rafael Otto.

Circle of Security Provides Tools to Help Children Build Secure Attachments

Children's Institute

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