CHARLOTTE - The Eaton County Great Start Collaborative today accepted a $120,000 grant from the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) to strengthen early childhood development and care in Eaton County.

ECIC Chief Executive Officer Judy Samelson and Department of Human Services Director Marianne Udow presented a ceremonial check to Al Widner, Eaton Intermediate School District superintendent.

The grant is part of a $3.15 million award to 21 Great Start Collaboratives across Michigan that coordinate community resources and supports to help children from birth to age five and their families. A total of 70 percent of Michigan's poor and minority children now live in a county where a Great Start Collaborative is being convened.

The Early Childhood Investment Corporation, announced in Governor Jennifer Granholm's 2005 State of the State address, provides grants from a mix of public and private funding sources. Grant funding was made possible in August when the Michigan Legislature approved a $1 million appropriation for early childhood collaboratives across the state. This appropriation triggered matching funds from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Fourteen other state collaboratives were funded earlier this year by the Department of Human Services.

"These grants will help bring together the public and private sectors including government, business, civic, faith, education, and community groups to develop a long-standing, sustained focus on early learning and childhood development," Samelson said. "We're grateful for the support of our partners who recognize the importance of investing in early childhood programs."

Intermediate school districts will act as fiduciaries for the grants. In addition to Eaton Intermediate School District, 21 other intermediate school districts and regional educational service areas around the state also were awarded funding for planning and/or implementation of Great Start Collaboratives.

"Children who participate in high-quality early childhood development programs are better prepared to enter elementary school, are more likely to pursue secondary education and have lower dropout rates and higher high school graduation rates," Udow said. "By improving the skills of a large fraction of the workforce, these programs for poor children will reduce poverty and strengthen the state's ability to compete in the global market."

ECIC is a unique public, nonprofit corporation created to invest in Michigan's youngest citizens. By educating, motivating and involving Michigan citizens in efforts to build and promote a system of supports for young children and their families, all Michigan children can make a Great Start!