Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced a new tool to help Michigan’s child care providers improve the quality of child care in our state. An instructional CD-ROM entitled, “Child Care in Michigan” was recently shipped by the Family Independence Agency’s Office of Children & Adult Licensing to the state's 18,000 licensed child care providers.

When launching Project Great Start in early 2003, the Governor emphasized that education begins at birth, not when a child enters school. During those early years of children’s lives, the experiences they have will affect the way they learn, think and behave forever and many children spend those early years in day care.

“As parents, child care providers and concerned citizens, it is our job to ensure that Michigan’s youngest and most vulnerable residents are well-protected and cared for in a safe and loving environment,” said Granholm in the introductory message on the CD-ROM. “Early childhood is a critical time for shaping a child’s potential. High-quality child care programs are vital to ensuring our children get the start they deserve in life.”

The CD-ROM contains important information for child care providers and parents to increase their knowledge about children and child development, including:

• Steps to choosing quality child care for parents.
• Information about child development and the Michigan Early On program.
• Articles about early childhood brain development.
• Two brief video clips – "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" and "Don't Shake the Baby".
• Tips on working with children with special needs.
• Nutrition information.
• Communicating effectively with a fussy baby.
• Proper discipline for children in day care.
• Child day care forms required for parents and providers.

The informational CD-ROMs were sent to more than 10,500 family day care homes, 3,500 group day care homes, and 4,500 child care centers. The licensing office plans to distribute up to 20,000 additional copies of the CD-ROM at a later date.

The distribution of the instructional CD-ROMs is part of Governor Granholm’s Project Great Start initiative, which seeks to coordinate both public and private efforts to achieve common objectives and measurable results for Michigan’s youngest children.

Some of Granholm’s initiatives through Project Great Start include the Children’s Cabinet, a network of state agencies convened to work collaboratively to better support and serve Michigan’s children. There are a number of ongoing activities including:

• The creation of "Family Resource Centers," school-based resource offices staffed by Family Independence Agency personnel which are designed to provide support services to families of children in Michigan’s highest-priority schools. With 19 centers in place, the program will expand to 39 in the 2004-2005 school year.
• A change in day care licensing that took effect September 1, 2003 that requires 30 minutes of early literacy activities be incorporated into all day care activities in Michigan.
• A statewide "Michigan Reads!" program announced by the Department of History, Arts & Libraries that will encourage all Michigan citizens to read the same early reader to a young child during a particular month.
• A new Department of Corrections effort to incorporate parenting skills training into the release program for departing prisoners with young children.