Release Date: Sep 13, 2007
File:

Summary:
Montgomery County Family and Children First Council and
The Frank M. Tait Foundation Invest in Early Care and Education Initiative

Dayton, Ohio, September 14, 2007 – Too many children in Montgomery County are not ready to start kindergarten.  As many as 2 out of 3 (67%) 5 year olds may require some or significant intervention to perform at an age/grade appropriate level.  With 90% of a child's brain development occurring by age 5 and nearly 50% of the county's young children in care & education settings outside of the home, early education is extremely critical. 

Investments of $420,000 by Montgomery County's Family and Children First Council (FCFC) and $50,000 by the Frank M. Tait Foundation will be made over the next sixteen months to begin an initiative designed to improve the quality of early care and education throughout Montgomery County.

Christine Olinsky, Chairperson of the Family and Children First Council, noted, "This initiative is a prime example of how the FCFC draws people together to improve the lives of Montgomery County children and families."  The Montgomery County Commissioners support this investment of Human Services Levy funding to improve conditions for children throughout the community.  "For more than two years, the Young People Succeeding Outcome Team of the FCFC has studied the issue of early care and education.  They have concluded that a public-private partnership is key to the initiative's success," explained Montgomery County Commissioner Judge Dodge, Vice Chair of the FCFC.

The vision of the Early Care and Education initiative is that every child in Montgomery County will be school ready by the time they enter kindergarten.  "This investment is critical to the success of young learners throughout our community.  Every child we prepare to enter school ready to learn is 20% more likely to graduate from high school, more likely to go to college, and more likely to become a contributing member of our community," according to Frank DePalma, Superintendent of the Montgomery County Educational Service Center and co-champion of the FCFC's Young People Succeeding Outcome Team of community volunteers.

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Early Care and Education Initiative - page 2

Key components of the initiative include:
 Ensuring more early learning professionals are highly qualified
 Making high-quality early learning available to more children
 Supporting parents and families in promoting their children's early social, emotional, physical and academic development
 Accessing state, federal and private funding to maintain a quality system of early care and education

"We are confident Montgomery County children will benefit from a coordinated effort that will utilize state and federal funding being made available by political leaders who understand what is at stake," said Jenni Roer, Executive Director of the Frank M. Tait Foundation and co-champion of the Young People Succeeding Outcome Team.

The Early Care & Education Initiative will provide professional development and technical assistance to providers, ongoing coordination of resources and programming as well as support for families to learn about and access quality care & education services.