Here is the news release
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Reno County has received a 2015 Early Childhood Block Grant from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund and Department for Children and Families totaling $566,186. The grant, administered by the Hutchinson Community Foundation, will provide resources to six Reno County programs for research-based development services for at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families, and preschool for three- and four-year-old’s.
Programs that will receive grant funding through the Early Childhood Block Grant are: Early Head Start, Healthy Families Reno County, and Parents As Teachers for home visitation services; Reno County Health Department for expanded services of home visitation to Hispanic households and Kan-Be-Healthy appointments; Early Education Center for the development of preschool for three-year-olds at three locations in the County; and Montessori Learning Center for a pilot Transition to Kindergarten classroom serving children the summer before they enter Kindergarten.
“I take great pride in the Foundation’s efforts to continue to seek funding to fulfill an ever-growing need that addresses all facets of our Pre-K population,” said Dr. Marilyn Graham, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives in Reno County. “As a community, we have an obligation to see that our young children are prepared to enter the world of public education as viable, productive students.”
Reno County has a strong history of collaboration to meet the needs of children birth to five in our community. Under the leadership of the Hutchinson Community Foundation, an Early Childhood Collaborative was formed in 2002, and, in early 2003, Partnered Agencies for Childhood Excellence (PACE) developed to create a seamless system of inclusive services to help young children and families in Reno County.
Agency personnel of these programs and services have been working for the benefit of families with young children ever since. These organizations have collaborated on multiple grants over the last decade, including SMART START, previous Early Childhood Block Grants, Kansas Preschool Program, and, most recently, a United Methodist Health Ministry Fund grant in 2011 that started the Social Emotional Excellence for Kids (SEEK) project and developed a framework for partner agencies to screen and refer young children in need of social-emotional services, as well as a collaborative online resource for parents and providers called Reno Parents Connect.
“The Community Foundation has played a leadership role in applying for and administering many grants for early childhood initiatives over the years,” said Aubrey Abbott Patterson, president of Hutchinson Community Foundation. “Together with our nonprofit partners, we are committed to ensuring our children enter kindergarten ready to learn.”
Through the grant, a deeper partnership has formed with the Kindergarten Readiness Collective of the United Way of Reno County, whose mission is that all Reno County kids will enter school ready to learn. This group, consisting of public-private partnerships from early childhood educators, funders, community representatives, and school district leadership, advised the planning of the Early Childhood Block Grant and will serve as the broad advisory committee in the implementation of the programs, starting January 1, 2015.
“We believe in bringing all partners to the table to problem solve and initiate solutions by adopting a common goal, sharing resources and data, strengthening communication and creating backbone support,” said Lisa Gleason, Director of Community Impact and Engagement at the United Way of Reno County.
For the most under-resourced (emotionally, socially, fiscally) families, the provision of intense home visitation and supportive wrap-around services is vital. The data for Reno County clearly shows a need for expanded direct-services to children 0-5 and their families, which will be addressed in part by the Early Childhood Block Grant programs:
42% of births are to unmarried women (County Health Rankings 2013)
33% of children live in single-parent households (2012 Reno County Data Book)
19% of children live in poverty (County Health Rankings 2013)
65% of children ages 3 to 4 did not attend public or private preschool (Opportunity Index 2013)
59% of children receive Free and Reduced Lunches (KIDS County Data Center 2013)
54% of kids attending school are economically disadvantaged (Kansas State Dept of Ed 2012-2013 Report Card)