Letter of Intent from the ‘Promising Start Apeldoorn’ Coalition

A bright future for all children in Apeldoorn

The partners of the ‘Kansrijke Start Apeldoorn’ Coalition are united in their commitment to ensuring that all children in Apeldoorn grow up healthy and safe, and participate to the best of their talent and ability. The more problems we prevent at the start and during early childhood, the greater the benefit for the child and for society. Through this local coalition, we aim to work together decisively on the journey before, during and after pregnancy:

Here’s to a bright future for all children in Apeldoorn!

We hereby endorse the Foundation for Cooperation – Apeldoorn, to ensure a strong connection, even beyond the first 1,000 days. Within this framework for cooperation, the education sector, childcare providers, the CJG, youth support services, and welfare and youth organisations have agreed on how they will work together, based on the following principles:

• Our young people are growing up in as safe and promising an environment as possible
• We support carers in their own roles and responsibilities
• We provide professional help where necessary.

We, the signatories to the ‘Promising Start’ Declaration of Intent:

• endorse the importance and urgency of a ‘Promising Start’ in order to promote equal opportunities and reduce (health) inequalities;
• are committed to giving all children a good start;
• put the child’s safety and development first;
• work with the (expectant) family to build their coping skills and resilience;
• We work with women and men to find suitable contraception if they do not (yet) wish to have children.

We do this by:

• to respect each other’s roles and make the most of each other’s expertise;
• to do whatever is necessary and, where that is not possible, to work together to find alternatives;
• to ensure continuity of care;
• to learn from case studies and from one another, so that we can continually improve and develop our support.

Basic principles:

1. We involve parents and carers in the development of our approach and place the wishes and needs of (future) parents and their family network at the heart of what we do;
2. We engage in dialogue with carers, providing support that is tailored to individual needs and complements the resources of the individual, their family, friends and neighbours;
3. We contribute to the development of the entire process of support before, during and after pregnancy;
4. We provide the necessary resources and staff for this, and encourage people to draw on each other’s knowledge and networks;
5. We aim to forge smart connections and strengthen existing initiatives. Where necessary, new initiatives will be launched;
6. We focus primarily on (unborn) children and parents/carers in Apeldoorn. We share our proceeds within the region and collaborate at a regional level where necessary.

The joint signatories of the ‘Kansrijke Start’ Local Coalition:

• Municipality of Apeldoorn
• CJG Apeldoorn
• Gelre Hospitals
• Apeldoorn Region General Practitioners’ Cooperative
• Naviva Maternity Care
• Apeldoorn Midwifery Partnership
• Apeldoorn Midwives’ Association
• Mee Veluwe
• Doomijn Childcare
• The De Passerel Foundation
• Parents’ Advisory Council
• GGNet
• Proscoop