By Brian McVicar LaQuanda Murphy is counting down the months until September. That's when her four-year-old son, Kaycen, will qualify for free preschool through the state's Great Start Readiness Program. It's a big deal to the Saginaw area single mother for two reasons: her son will get a high-quality education, and her $500 monthly bill for childcare will disappear. "I definitely feel it in my pocketbook," said Murphy, 29, who works for the U.S. Postal Service. "It all just boils down to readjusting, because I have to do it." While Michigan provides free, state-funded preschool for 4-year-olds from low-to-moderate-income families, it offers little financial help for families with children ages three and younger. Research has shown that children's brains develop rapidly from birth to age three - making early childhood learning an important stepping stone. High-quality childcare promotes strong social, emotional and language development, putting children on the path to … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2018
Starfish Family Services looks to formalize, spread child care plan
By SHERRI WELCH Nonprofit is defining, standardizing its early child care service model Model integrates behavioral health, trauma-informed approach to more holistically serve children Effort could set the stage for other early child-care providers to replicate model Ann Kalass, CEO, Starfish Family Services Starfish Family Services is working on a "playbook" to enable other child-care providers to replicate its service model, which combines early childhood education with behavioral health, parent support and an approach that takes into account traumatic experiences and their effects on behavior. To do that, the nonprofit first is working to define and standardize the model within its own operations. Traumas, such as the loss of a parent, an unsafe living environment or family member addicted to drugs or alcohol often get in the way of children's learning, healthy development and growth, said Starfish CEO Ann … [Read more...]