GH Public Health says recent analysis identified gaps in local early childhood services

Grays Harbor County Public Health’s early childhood support services gap analysis was recently completed following input from community members, providers and others.

 Officials tell KXRO that this early childhood support services analysis will be used as a roadmap for Public Health to follow in an effort to fill the service gaps identified, similar to the process seen with the behavioral health services gap analysis completed earlier this year.

“With the behavioral health gap analysis we immediately identified three gaps we could work toward filling – a mental health facility, Third Spaces where youth can gather, and a behavioral health triage model,” said Public Health Director Mike McNickle. “We will now use this latest analysis to find what gaps in early childhood support services we can actively work to fill in the county.”

 According to the health department, some of the common themes in the current analysis include the need for smooth transitions of care, better access to child care, navigation support for families in need of resources, access to basic needs, recreational support for families, and more formal connections to available services.

The analysis data was identified following community forums, focus groups and two surveys; one for providers and the other for community members with children ages 0-5.

“I want to thank all the providers and community members who took the time to be an important part of this analysis,” said Public Health Healthy Families Manager Erin Schreiber. “Now that we have good, solid data, we can pinpoint those areas that need attention, those that fit within the parameters of what we can do, and work toward patching service gaps where possible.”

The full report is available at healthygh.org. 

Part of the analysis includes an interactive dashboard with early childhood services information.

That can be found at https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/hma.data.visualizations/viz/GraysHarborEarlyChildhoodDashboards/Population.