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Home Visitation Grants will Help Some 600 Families Prepare their Kids for Learning
August 10, 2016
August 10, 2016
LANSING – Some 600 Michigan families will receive personal attention to get their young children ready for school and learning success, the Michigan Department of Education said today.
The department’s Office of Great Start announce that 15 Great Start Collaboratives (GSCs) have been awarded state Home Visitation grants to improve or expand home visitation programs in Michigan.
“To ensure becoming a Top 10 education state in 10 years, special emphasis must be placed on the entire P-20 continuum of learners,” said State Superintendent Brian Whiston. “Our plan notes the importance of programs that support parents prenatally up to an age in which there is more access to high quality preschool programming. Home visitation programs are a proven strategy to reach parents early, and offer them support in these critical stages of child development.”
Home visitation programs provide an essential resource to at-risk and high-need families in Michigan communities to ensure that more children grow and develop in safe and nurturing environments. Such programs promote the engagement of families in their children’s education and development, which supports the first goal of the Michigan Department of Education’s Top 10 in 10 goals and strategies.
The Michigan legislature appropriated $2.5 million, designed to contribute to state initiatives to support families prenatally through kindergarten entry, and to specifically address third grade reading proficiency through early impact on language development and positive adult-child interaction. The goals of this funding are to improve school readiness, reduce the number of pupils retained in grade level, and reduce the number of pupils requiring special education services.
Home Visitation grants, with the funds flowing through their local intermediate school district, are being awarded to:
- Bay-Arenac GSC
- Calhoun GSC
- Delta-Schoolcraft GSC
- Eastern Upper Peninsula GSC
- Ingham GSC
- Kent GSC
- Livingston GSC
- Muskegon GSC
- Oakland GSC
- Ottawa GSC
- St. Clair GSC
- Saginaw GSC
- Van Buren GSC
- Washtenaw GSC
- Wexford-Missaukee-Manistee GSC
The Office of Great Start is excited to continue to build a strong foundation for our littlest learners through these home visitation grants,” said Deputy State Superintendent Susan Broman. “Research clearly shows that brain development in the first three years of life is impacted by the interactive supports and the caring adults in a child’s life. These grants will support parents to enhance their inherent skills.”
A locally coordinated, family-centered, evidence-based, data-driven home visit strategic plan, created as part of the application process by the Great Start Collaborative, identified the most suitable home visit programs to serve at-risk children and their families. Applicants had to ensure the program implementation is coordinated with the continuum of local home visit initiatives available in their communities.
For more information about Home Visitation grants visit Michigan’s 32p webpage.