Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between all of the "Great Starts" in Huron County?
Great Start Collaborative (GSC): The GSC is a partnership of community members including parents, school representatives, business community members, health care professionals, agencies, programs, child care providers, and interested individuals. The GSC works with the partners to have a coordinated system of community resources and supports for families in Huron County with children from birth through age five.
Click here to view the Huron County GSC Strategic Plan, 2013-2016.
Click here to view data about young children and families in Huron County. This data is used to identify needs and set local Great Start priorities.
Great Start Parent Coalition (GSPC): The GSPC is a group of dedicated parents who assist in building support and awareness of early childhood, strengthen the civic and volunteer engagement, educate policy-makers, and support the work of the GSC.
Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP): The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is Michigan's FREE preschool program for four year old children who qualify. GSRP gives children a classroom experience to prepare them for Kindergarten. GSRP helps children get ready for school, increases attendance and reduces the number of children who repeat a grade by almost one-half.
Great Start to Quality Resource Center (GSQRC): The GSQRC provides a variety of services to parents, guardians and child care providers throughout the State of Michigan. Services provided include child care trainings, Great Start to Quality Orientations, child care quality improvement, Lending Library materials and more.
Head Start: Head Start is a national program (federally funded) that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.
More about what the Great Start Collaborative does?
- Provides a defined and accountable set of resources and services for children birth to age five and their families.
- Coordinates existing early childhood programs.
- Expands high-quality child care capacity.
- Seeks additional public and private support for the local early childhood system.
- Promotes community awareness of early childhood issues.
- Advocates for quality early childhood programs and services.
- Evaluates the system on the basis of expected outcomes.
Great Start Collaborative (GSC): The GSC is a partnership of community members including parents, school representatives, business community members, health care professionals, agencies, programs, child care providers, and interested individuals. The GSC works with the partners to have a coordinated system of community resources and supports for families in Huron County with children from birth through age five.
Click here to view the Huron County GSC Strategic Plan, 2013-2016.
Click here to view data about young children and families in Huron County. This data is used to identify needs and set local Great Start priorities.
Great Start Parent Coalition (GSPC): The GSPC is a group of dedicated parents who assist in building support and awareness of early childhood, strengthen the civic and volunteer engagement, educate policy-makers, and support the work of the GSC.
Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP): The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is Michigan's FREE preschool program for four year old children who qualify. GSRP gives children a classroom experience to prepare them for Kindergarten. GSRP helps children get ready for school, increases attendance and reduces the number of children who repeat a grade by almost one-half.
Great Start to Quality Resource Center (GSQRC): The GSQRC provides a variety of services to parents, guardians and child care providers throughout the State of Michigan. Services provided include child care trainings, Great Start to Quality Orientations, child care quality improvement, Lending Library materials and more.
Head Start: Head Start is a national program (federally funded) that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.
More about what the Great Start Collaborative does?
- Provides a defined and accountable set of resources and services for children birth to age five and their families.
- Coordinates existing early childhood programs.
- Expands high-quality child care capacity.
- Seeks additional public and private support for the local early childhood system.
- Promotes community awareness of early childhood issues.
- Advocates for quality early childhood programs and services.
- Evaluates the system on the basis of expected outcomes.
What does the term "early childhood" mean, and what are early childhood services?
Early childhood means prenatal to school entry. Early childhood services encompass an array of supports designed to address children's health, development and learning prior to school entry. Early childhood services include child care, preschool, parenting education, and regular visits to a pediatrician and family practitioner. For children with developmental delays or at risk due to family circumstance, services can include special education, mental health treatment, home-based parenting education, and developmental therapies like physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Early childhood means prenatal to school entry. Early childhood services encompass an array of supports designed to address children's health, development and learning prior to school entry. Early childhood services include child care, preschool, parenting education, and regular visits to a pediatrician and family practitioner. For children with developmental delays or at risk due to family circumstance, services can include special education, mental health treatment, home-based parenting education, and developmental therapies like physical, occupational and speech therapy.
What is the Early Childhood Investment Corporation?
The Early Childhood Investment Corporation is a unique public nonprofit created in 2005 to serve as a catalyst for change. Bridging the public and the private sectors, the Investment Corporation is devoted to the well-being and school readiness of children. The Investment Corporation funds and works closely with the Great Start Collaboratives and Great Start Parent Coalitions and administers Michigan's child care quality resources through the Great Start Child Care Quality Program.
The Early Childhood Investment Corporation is a unique public nonprofit created in 2005 to serve as a catalyst for change. Bridging the public and the private sectors, the Investment Corporation is devoted to the well-being and school readiness of children. The Investment Corporation funds and works closely with the Great Start Collaboratives and Great Start Parent Coalitions and administers Michigan's child care quality resources through the Great Start Child Care Quality Program.
What should I do if my infant is continually crying?
There are many reasons an infant may be crying. Trying to figure out what is wrong with your baby is the key to stop the crying. Read Soothing a Crying Baby for tips on getting to the cause of your baby's crying and suggestions on how to resolve whatever may be upsetting your infant. For additional resources on crying babies, visit the website entitled the Period of Purple Crying.
There are many reasons an infant may be crying. Trying to figure out what is wrong with your baby is the key to stop the crying. Read Soothing a Crying Baby for tips on getting to the cause of your baby's crying and suggestions on how to resolve whatever may be upsetting your infant. For additional resources on crying babies, visit the website entitled the Period of Purple Crying.
Why should I consider preschool for my child?
Attending a high-quality early childhood program prepares children to be successful in Kindergarten and beyond. Experts agree that children who have quality early learning experiences are better prepared to be successful in school and throughout life. Huron County's free preschool opportunities, Head Start, Early Head Start and the Great Start Readiness Program, use research-based curriculum to prepare children academically and socially for success in school.
Attending a high-quality early childhood program prepares children to be successful in Kindergarten and beyond. Experts agree that children who have quality early learning experiences are better prepared to be successful in school and throughout life. Huron County's free preschool opportunities, Head Start, Early Head Start and the Great Start Readiness Program, use research-based curriculum to prepare children academically and socially for success in school.
Why is investing in early childhood so important?
Each year too many Michigan children - as many as one in three, according to a recent survey - enter kindergarten not ready to learn. Some have previously unidentified health problems. Some have social or emotional problems. Some have developmental or learning problems. For these children, not being ready for school becomes a life-long sentence of poor academic achievement, diminished expectations and limited opportunity. Thankfully, the negative impact of the majority of these health, developmental and learning difficulties can be minimized or even eliminated with early identification and intervention.
While state programs exist to address health, social-emotional, developmental and learning concerns of young children and their parents - local availability, access, capacity and quality varies tremendously. Each state agency approaches financing, policy development, program development and accountability differently. Past efforts to coordinate state government early childhood programs and build partnerships with the private sector have been difficult to sustain and have achieved limited success.
The general public is becoming increasingly aware of the unprecedented growth and development that occurs during the first five years of life, and the importance of those years to future school success, but public will to support a tax increase, for example, to increase early childhood investment, remains untested. Michigan has been fortunate over the past several years to have a cadre of state leaders, including the business and foundation communities, at the table with an unwavering determination to improve the school readiness of our youngest citizens. With the enormous economic challenges facing our state, they are determined to keep our state's youngest learners at the forefront of Michigan's priorities.
Children who start behind, stay behind. Children who are held back in school are more likely to drop out long-term. Children who dropout are at significant risk of becoming victims of, or instigators of, criminal behavior. Chronic physical and mental health issues that are left untreated often result in higher health care and/or special education costs. The research is clear: Getting kids off to a great start is just common sense. It is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.
Click here to view "The Time Is Now" video.
Each year too many Michigan children - as many as one in three, according to a recent survey - enter kindergarten not ready to learn. Some have previously unidentified health problems. Some have social or emotional problems. Some have developmental or learning problems. For these children, not being ready for school becomes a life-long sentence of poor academic achievement, diminished expectations and limited opportunity. Thankfully, the negative impact of the majority of these health, developmental and learning difficulties can be minimized or even eliminated with early identification and intervention.
While state programs exist to address health, social-emotional, developmental and learning concerns of young children and their parents - local availability, access, capacity and quality varies tremendously. Each state agency approaches financing, policy development, program development and accountability differently. Past efforts to coordinate state government early childhood programs and build partnerships with the private sector have been difficult to sustain and have achieved limited success.
The general public is becoming increasingly aware of the unprecedented growth and development that occurs during the first five years of life, and the importance of those years to future school success, but public will to support a tax increase, for example, to increase early childhood investment, remains untested. Michigan has been fortunate over the past several years to have a cadre of state leaders, including the business and foundation communities, at the table with an unwavering determination to improve the school readiness of our youngest citizens. With the enormous economic challenges facing our state, they are determined to keep our state's youngest learners at the forefront of Michigan's priorities.
Children who start behind, stay behind. Children who are held back in school are more likely to drop out long-term. Children who dropout are at significant risk of becoming victims of, or instigators of, criminal behavior. Chronic physical and mental health issues that are left untreated often result in higher health care and/or special education costs. The research is clear: Getting kids off to a great start is just common sense. It is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.
Click here to view "The Time Is Now" video.