The College of Education and Human Ecology’s Schoenbaum Family Center was awarded a new $16.5 million early head start grant to ensure children between 6 weeks and 3 years old in Columbus, Ohio, have a happy and healthy start in life.
One of only two university-led collaborations funded, the five-year early head start childcare partnership will focus on the education and welfare of infants and toddlers living in targeted neighborhoods where the child poverty rate is above the norm.
Education, health, nutrition and family engagement and community programming will support children and families living in the following communities:
- Franklinton; the Hilltop; South Linden; the Near East, Near South and Far South neighborhoods; and the Near North/University District.
Partnering with the Schoenbaum Family Center are 10 community-based organizations. They are:
- Action for Children; Caring Communities Birth-3; Children’s Hunger Alliance; Columbus Public Health Department; Community Properties of Ohio; Franklin County Family and Children First-Help Me Grow; Moms2B; Nationwide Children’s Hospital; and St. Vincent Family Center.
Each year, 160 children will be added to the effort. The result will be high-quality child care and early learning experiences to prepare 800 children for kindergarten. Professional development and coaching will be available to 12 licensed child care centers and for 13 caregivers who are licensed to provide for children in their homes. A particularly unique aspect of this project is the broad geographic distribution of the early care and education providers and the intentional linkage between community-based programs already serving very low-income families.
This project will present many opportunities for research, from understanding school readiness for the children to be served, to learning about the relationships of the providers and agencies in the collaborative, effective teaching practices and parent engagement.
For more information about this award or volunteer opportunities, please contact Jane Wiechel at wiechel.5@osu.edu.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of In Review, the EHE Office of Research Newsletter.
