A publication of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, Michigans early childhood authority

Great Starts HERE

SPRING 2011

INSIDE
Page 2 Office of Great Start holds promise for early childhood in Michigan Page 7 Local communities create improvement funds, child care scholarships Page 8 Star Power celebrates 5th anniversary

Governor Snyder Supports Office of Great Start

BY TERI BANAS

Five months after taking office, Gov. Rick Snyder is fundamentally changing how Michigan will be approaching public education, including more intense focus on the years that are pivotal to school readiness.
process, and strengthening Michigans workforce and economy. Were very excited about it here in the Department of Education, said Dr. Lindy Buch, director of the Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services. The level of collaboration in the office will facilitate and focus all of our efforts on better opportunities and therefore better outcomes for young children. (This) should allow us to be more efficient and to have a common vision. Until now, early childhood has fallen under the radar in government, she said. The new office without adding staff will create more visibility for the importance of developing early childhood responses that lead to school readiness, she added. Ultimately, it will streamline and make it easier for parents to get the help they need locally. Its not like our different entities havent been working together, Buch added. But weve all sort of been buried within different department structures and the whole purpose of this is to create a single entity big enough to make enough ruckus so people will pay attention. The idea of making a ruckus for her child sounds pretty good to Lauren Heilman, the mother of a 4-yearold from Cadillac. Its critical to get parents involved she said. Most parents are just in survival mode and just trying to get basic needs met. But through

t a gathering of educators in Detroit on April 27, the governor announced his intent to sign an executive order creating the Office of Great Start Early Childhood, which will coordinate early childhood programs and resources that currently are scattered across multiple state departments. Snyder called it the first plank in his drive to reform Michigans entire educational system. The move is long-awaited help for Michigan parents who must contend with different state bureaucracies in getting help for their children, and it is long-awaited news for early childhood advocates who believe that moving public investment from 84 program outcomes to a more coordinated, integrated child-centered approach is the only way to change school and life readiness for young children. This new office will refocus the states early childhood investment, policy and administrative structures by adopting a single set of early childhood outcomes, said Snyder, who also noted the important role the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) will have in making the Office a reality. This is a marked, bold change from current practice, said Judy Y. Samelson, ECIC chief executive officer. With an increasingly resourcestrapped state focusing on how to more efficiently target public funds toward documented needs, and with ECIC continuing to focus on quality, accountability, innovation and expanding private investment in early childhood, Michigan could lead the nation in how to set children on a course of achieving their potential, making parents a priority in that
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the Great Start Parent Coalitions thats the group I belong to were doing everything we can to get awareness out there. To really make a difference, it starts with us parents. In his remarks, the governor said the new office would reduce duplication and administrative overhead, and reinvest resources from efficiencies into quality improvement and improved service delivery. In an article in the Detroit News, Snyder adviser Greg Tedder reiterated that the new office does not represent a growth of state government or duplication of the public/non-profit ECIC, created in 2005. He said ECICs continued role is significant and distinctive because it can leverage public and private money in ways state government cant.

Imagine a time in the not too distant future when someone says, Great Start, and everyone knows that means early childhood.
Judy Y. Samelson,
ECIC Chief Executive Officer

Start Child Care Quality Program. It also works on demonstration projects such as a forthcoming Great Start Quality Rating and Improvement field test that will help parents find quality child care. A rating and improvement system helps child care providers identify strengths and weaknesses as well as paths to better service. We will continue to see that as much money as possible reaches communities where the real work of change lies. Samelson said. Having the statewide Great Start network to ensure that local communities make this work a priority and also that the customer voice is key to decision making are among the reasons other states see Michigan as an early childhood leader. Though Snyder said he hoped to enact changes by July, he didnt immediately say how administrative changes would begin. He outlined his plan to include:

n Creating the new office by combining the Office of Child Development and Care, now located in the Department of Human Services, with the Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services, currently located at the Department of Education.

At its core, ECICs job is to implement the Great Start early childhood system for Michigan. That means getting all things early childhood focused on working together on behalf of children, Samelson said. The ECIC-supported statewide Great Start network of local collaboratives and parent coalitions are making tremendous strides toward building systems in their communities, starting with a painstakingly built assessment of community needs and assets around early childhood. For the first time, Michigan communities not only can document what needs to happen to ensure children are ready for school and life; they also have a plan to get it done. What has been missing are the resources to implement those plans. What is so exciting about the promise of an Office of Great Start is that in time, we just might be able to see state resources go to communities to make those plans real. If so, well move from making incremental progress on school readiness in Michigan to leaps, Samelson said. Imagine a time in the not too distant future when someone says, Great Start, and everyone knows that means early childhood, because all Michigans early childhood programs, resources and supports are interconnected and working together to support families of young children. We can do this. ECIC does not run programs except for those focused on quality improvement such as the Great

n Housing the new Michigan Office of Great Start Early Childhood at the Department of Education and placing under it existing programs such as Great Start School Readiness, Great Parents/Great Start, Preschool Special Education, Child Care Licensing, Head Start State Collaboration, Child Care and Development Program, and Early On.

Our goal must be to create a coherent system of health and early learning that aligns, integrates and coordinates Michigans investments from prenatal to third grade, Snyder said. This will assure Michigan has a vibrant economy, a ready workforce, a pool of people who demonstrate consistently high educational attainment, and a reputation as one of the best states in the country to raise a child. The future of the states labor force depends on it, he said. Within hours, reaction and praise from leaders in the early childhood field across the country began pouring in. Most exciting news in the country! said long-time national early childhood champion, Karen W. Ponder, former president and founder of North Carolinas Smart Start early childhood initiative.
For a text of Gov. Snyders address to the Michigan Legislature, including his plans for an Office of Great Start Early Childhood, see http://www.michigansandboxparty.org/ media/in-the-news/react-education-reform

SPRING 2011 / GREAT STARTS HERE

Great Start Conference

It was a coming together to share ideas, encouragement and to bolster the work of the diverse Great Start community in every county in Michigan.

BY TERI BANAS

||| Harriet Meyer delivers the keynote address at the conference.

opics drew crowds on issues as far-ranging as piloting the states first Quality Rating and Improvement System and implementing medical homes for the most disadvantaged to strengthening families and building effective collaboratives to help improve services and programs for Michigans youngest children, prenatal to five. Set against a backdrop of gut-wrenching and unprecedented pending state budget cuts, the annual Great Start Conference on March 14-16 this year energized 400 collaborative members, parent liaisons and partners for the work. The passion, the intensity, the sincerity of what people are working on and their willingness to share

||| Dr. Pennie Foster-Fishman tells Great Start collaborative and coalition members that their work is making a difference.
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and learn thats what this conference does, said attendee Robert Struck, vice chairman of the MarquetteAlger Great Start Collaborative. So whatever the session people attend, I know theyre getting that energy and are bringing back to their communities. Important peer-to-peer learning ruled the day during the one time a year when the statewide Great Start community gathers, said Judy Y. Samelson, Chief Executive Officer, of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation. We really are mindful and respectful of the unique contributions made by each local community. Its about sharing best practices and lifting one another up. Making a difference underlined the presentation by Dr. Pennie Foster-Fishman, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University and researcher in organizational change. She is working to improve the outreach and effectiveness of Great Starts 54 Collaboratives and 70 Parent Coalitions and has been involved in a year-long evaluation of ECIC and its state network. Theres strong evidence to suggest youre making strong headway, Foster-Fishman told the conference. Children and family outcomes are actually starting to improve because of your work. Now involved in using the results of that survey customized to each community to improve their efforts, she said hard work is paying off. Attendees should be very proud that they are making an impact on meeting the needs of young children and families.

According to Foster-Fishman, the survey probed 32 areas or outcomes, all designed ultimately to get children ready for school. Some findings: n Fifty-five percent of respondents said parent coalitions were highly valued and 47 percent said Great Start Collaboratives were highly valued in their communities.

Fierce Heart Award

BY BRENDA BRISSETTE-MATA

n Phase matters. Over time, collaboratives become more effective and parents in these areas report their ability to access services improves as well. Phase 1 collaboratives originated in 2006; the newest groups formed in 2009.

n Strong outcomes are rooted in the unique core strategy of Michigans Great Start system, the only such coalition in the country with a built-in parent base found in its vast network of parent coalitions.

Unreadiness for school is a problem embedded in a fragmented and disconnected early child care and preschool system.
Becoming a valued presence in local communities is critical to the work of Great Start Collaboratives, she said, because it will improve prospects for leveraging funds and commitments and even recruitment for parent coalitions. Harriet Meyer, a national leader on early childhood and former president of the storied Ounce of Prevention advocacy organization based in Chicago, delivered the keynote speech in which she urged advocates to continue to push the concept that education begins at birth. National statistics indicate that almost 48 percent of U.S. children enter school at risk for failing. Unreadiness for school is a problem embedded in a fragmented and disconnected early child care and preschool system that may take America 50 years to reform for better outcomes for families, she said. Yet, strengthening the nations economy depends on improving opportunities and providing early intervention for those most at risk.
For a complete story on Harriet Meyers speech at the Great Start Conference, please turn to http://greatstartforkids.org/ content/harriet-meyer-parental-involvement-targeted-fundingkey-early-childhood. Learn about poverty competency by visiting the Great Start website at http:// greatstartforkids.org/content/defeatingpoverty-has-become-donna-beegles-life

LANSING Lucy McClintic, associate director of Head Start and Early Childhood Programs for Capital Area Community Services in Lansing, and Donna Lackie, co-coordinator of the Great Start Collaborative-Oakland, were selected as this years recipients of the ECIC Great Start Fierce Heart Award. The award was established by ||| Donna Lackie the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) to honor and recognize an individual who has shown unwavering dedication to the Great Start vision and who is taking relentless action at the national, state and/or local levels to bring that vision to reality. Rich Van Tol, director of early childhood programs for the Saginaw Intermediate School District, received the award in 2009. In a pay-it-forward twist, he selected one winner, Lucy McClintic, who runs the Head Start program for more than 40 school districts in four counties near Lansing. The ECIC selected Donna Lackie. When I made a list of the people I most respect and admire, Lucy McClintic was at the top, Van Tol said. McClintic praised Great Start and ECIC for helping communities become focused on collaborative work. Bringing additional partners to the table so that we can all work together is imperative, she said. Darlene Zimny, Lackies co-coordinator, praised Lackie for what she called her greatest strength knowing her community so well. She finds out about upcoming, research-based new ideas that have great outcomes and sees how it can fit our community, Zimny said. Parent Cafes is an initiative started by Lackie in Oakland County. At each host location, a facilitator talks to parents about the five protective factors identified in Strengthening Families resiliency, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support of basic needs and social/emotional competence. There have been more than 35 cafes in Oakland and estimates show they have reached more than 400 parents. Research shows these factors strengthen families and promote optimal child development. Another of Lackies initiatives is placing the Ages and Stages questionnaire on line for greater access by parents. Used by parents to monitor their childs development, it also helps collaboratives discern in which areas families need more information and resources. It is located on the collaboratives website, greatstartforkids-oakland.org.
This story ran in its entirety on the Great Start Website at http:// greatstartforkids.org/content/advocates-receive-fierce-heart-awardsgreat-start-conference.

SPRING 2011 / GREAT STARTS HERE

PEDIATRIC & FAMILY HEALTH

A Silent Epidemic
A
new survey in the works is expected to reveal some tender spots in the oral health of the states youngest residents. Five times more common than asthma dental decay is the single most common childhood disease, according to the Michigan Department of Community Healths Michigan Oral Health Plan. Thats prompted a six-month survey of children, parents and

BY JENNIFER WALKLING

providers aimed to create an oral health baseline assessment of children, birth to 5 years old. The state of Michigans childrens oral health has become a serious problem and a key component in plans to improve the states early childhood system. For underprivileged children in particular, its been billed as no less than a silent epidemic. Thats because poor children have 12 times as many activity-restricted days per year due to dental illness, according to

the U.S. Surgeon Generals Report, Oral Health in America. And sadly, unlike many childhood diseases, dental disease is preventable. Risks of chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease have all been linked to dental disease. While surveys of school-age children have changed the way parents and professionals deal with dental care in children, public health experts believe that starting care even earlier birth to age 5 can prevent many of the long-term medical problems, said Jenny Salesa, health specialist with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC). Through September, the University of Michigans Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit is conducting the study, which has been commissioned by the ECIC, Head Start and the University of Michigan. It is being funded by Head Start and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Collaborative Fills Service Gap

W
hen state funding cuts eliminated the Child Care Enhancement Program that offered mental health services for infants and toddlers last year, the Great Start Traverse Bay/Manistee Collaborative did what it was designed to do. The collaborative talked over community needs with its partners and developed a novel plan to fill the gap, continuing to serve families of young children who are struggling with challenging behaviors. The collaborative working with the Great Start Regional Child Care Resource Center for Northwest Michigan and three area intermediate school districts put their heads together and developed a new response to support the socialemotional needs of young children. We knew there was still a need. And we talked about what we might be able to do that was comparable and could be accomplished within our scope of work, said Pam Ward, executive director of the regional resource center. We know social emotional health is the basis for children becoming successful in their future learning. And early intervention is hugely important. This is one of the strengths of our Great Start system, said Karen Roback, director of the Great Start Child Care Quality Program. Its all about community members, parents, providers and partners talking about the needs of young children in their communities and how they can be met. This story is a perfect example of how our Great Start communities are working together, assessing needs, creating efficiencies and providing solutions for services for our youngest children, Roback added.

BY TERI BANAS

To read more about this story, please see http://greatstartforkids.org/content/ tc-great-start-fills-gap-missing-mentalhealth-service.

GREAT STARTS HERE / SPRING 2011

CHILD CARE & EARLY LEARNING

$3 Million in Grants Awarded

T
hirty-one Great Start Collaboratives across the state have been awarded $3 million in grants to stimulate private investment in local early childhood efforts and to pay for child care/preschool scholarships for vulnerable 3-year-olds. The grants, made by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, ranged from $3,000 for the Ionia County Great Start Collaborative on up to $400,000 for the Kent Great Start Collaborative. The collaboratives receiving grants will establish local matching funds and challenge local businesses and foundations to contribute to the fund, thereby creating an ongoing pool from which to boost local early childhood efforts. In addition, collaboratives will spend their original seed grants from ECIC on child care/preschool scholarships for the most at-risk 3-year-olds from low-income families, creating an immediate benefit. In Michigan, the cost of quality child care is often prohibitive for families. The average cost of full-time care for an infant or young child in a family child care home or center in Michigan is between $6,400 and $8,900, according to a study by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Early childhood advocates say quality child care is among the supports that children need to boost their chances of being ready to thrive once they reach kindergarten. Research has shown that early childhood supports increase the chances of life success, cut government costs and stimulate local, state and national economies. Kids from low-income homes need quality care the same as anyone else, so were pleased to help the collaboratives offer these scholarships, said Karen Roback, director of the Great Start Child Care Quality Program for the ECIC, which oversees the collaboratives. But in these

tough times its also crucial to stimulate continued private investment in early childhood at the local level, and the matching fund aspect of these awards will help the collaboratives do that. In the last four years, the Collaboratives and ECIC have raised over $23 million in funds from public and private sources. The grants are funded through a combination of public and private sources. In future years, local communities will help decide how contributions to their matching funds are used. Local collaboratives will identify the most appropriate local fiduciary a community foundation, Chamber of Commerce or Intermediate School District to receive and administer the funds. The child care scholarships will be awarded to licensed child care homes and centers beginning in late summer 2011.
For a complete story on the $3 million grant program please see http://greatstartforkids. org/content/nearly-3-million-early-childhoodgrants-will-boost-school-readiness-andfuture-workforce

PARENTING LEADERSHIP

Parents Provide Vital Role

BY BRENDA BRISSETTE-MATA

essica Rowland never imagined herself as a parent leader. And yet the mother of a now 3-year-old daughter has been with the Ionia County Great Start Collaborative and Parent Coalition since May 2009. I was never much of a joiner, said Rowland, noting the twist of irony. Rowland, who became a Great Start parent liaison six months ago, represents hundreds of Michigan parents empowered through Great Start. Gov. Rick Snyders recent message on education reform to the Michigan Legislature confirmed the important role parents play as Michigan moves toward an independent and successful future. Parents, said Snyder, have a daily, personal stake in education. Advocates for early childhood have

long believed, like the Governor, that its essential to engage parents in the work of rebuilding Michigans early childhood system which is why the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) prioritizes parenting leadership as one of the key components needed for school readiness. Historically, programs have been designed by groups of well-intentioned professionals who come together to meet a need. But the process changes dramatically if, along the way, the people who use the system become part of the design process. Who better to ask how a program is working than those who use it? said Bryn Fortune, director for Great Start Parent Coalition Development and Assistance. We have to think of the people that a program will serve as the customer. In a very meaningful way,

we are bringing the customer into the process. What do parents need? What are the problems faced by those using these programs? Rowland agrees. Theres a need out there for my voice to represent other parents just like me, she said. Parents of special needs, parents without insurance, parents who have been on assistance. Nobody will defend my child like I will. If I dont make the change first, nobody else will do it for me. Fortune, who has been conducting a series of dialogues with collaboratives and coalitions around the state to learn more about what each community is facing, how parents are faring and what next steps are necessary to create a more family-centered approach, said it is an enormous shift to get human services, a service-centered approach, to move into a family-centered approach. It really is about this continuum toward leadership, Fortune said.
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Star Power 2011 a Success!

More than 4,300 parents, children and community leaders from across Michigan braved the rain for a chance to talk to their lawmakers during the 2011 fifth annual Star Power 2011 event on May 19.
a copy of the beloved childrens book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear, based on the Michigan legend of how Sleeping Bear Dunes and Manitou Island were formed. Collaborative Director Megan Koops-Fisher said the meetings were making a particularly strong impression on the children. Roughly half of Star Power participants this year were youngsters, from infants to school-age children. These kids know whats going on, Koops-Fisher said. Kids feel connected when they meet their legislators face to face.
Read more about Star Power at http://greatstartforkids.org or http://michigansandboxparty.org.

2011

he group, the largest since 2007, gathered at Cooley Law Stadium, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, and paraded down Michigan Avenue, led by the Waverly High School Marching Band and Drum Corps. Judy Samelson, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC), which sponsors the event with private dollars, said Star Power has a unique magic to bring people together. Star Power is always a wonderful chance for lawmakers to hear one-on-one from their constituents about the need for us to continue making school readiness a primary focus, not a secondary one, Samelson said. She said this year was particularly important because of the number of new lawmakers in Lansing. There were 148 legislative meetings that occurred inside the Capitol and nearby legislative offices. The members of 54 Great Start Collaboratives and 70 Parent Coalitions came to thank lawmakers for support and to continue to press the case that early childhood supports and programs need to be a priority in the state budget. The Allegan County Collaborative met with their senator, Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, on the floor of the Michigan Senate. There they presented him with a token of our appreciation, a potted Gerber daisy and

Great Starts HERE

Editor: Teri Banas Writers: Andrew Heller Brenda Brissette-Mata Jennifer Walkling Teri Banas Great Start is Michigans nationally recognized state-wide initiative to foster school readiness and life success for young children. The Early Childhood Investment Corporation is a public, nonprofit organization working to restructure Michigans investment in children from birth to five through state and local community efforts. 112 E. Allegan Lansing, MI 48933 www.greatstartforkids.org

For more information about Great Start and ECIC, visit www.greatstartforkids.org. To receive Great Starts Here, email us at info@ecic4kids.org and put Great Starts Here in the subject line.
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