Although an estimated 70 percent of children under age 12 are cared for by a family member, friend or neighbor regularly, they are often overlooked when it comes to support services. Thanks to a grant received by the Northland Foundation, however, that could soon change.
"Seventy percent is a huge number ... and we want to provide outreach and learn if there's some specific help we can give," said Lynn Haglin, Northland Foundation vice president and KIDS PLUS director.
The Northland Foundation received $139,500, with Carlton County to reap $25,500, from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The grant will fund a ground breaking 20-month collaborative effort to connect with, inform and provide support to family, friend and neighbor child care providers in Carlton and Lake counties, Proctor, Hermantown and Duluth.
These groups will receive partnership support from the Northland Foundation as well as from Child Care Resource & Referral-Region 3, Duluth Public Library, Arrowhead Library System, United Way of Greater Duluth, Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, and University of Minnesota-Duluth.
"Family, friends and neighbors (FFN) care for thousands of young children in the region, but are often not connected to traditional early childhood programs," said Haglin. "That is why it is both challenging -- and so important -- to find new ways to reach them."
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FFN child care providers are considered to be individuals who do not work in a licensed child care setting but regularly take care of grandchildren or other young relatives, or the children of friends or neighbors. The Northland Foundation was one of just six organizations awarded state funding in support of community-based efforts to reach out to FFN care providers - a group that traditionally is isolated from early childhood education resources and peer support.
"The opportunity to participate in this initiative will help us reach young children and families we have not served in our early childhood classes or licensed child care settings," said Mary Lindgren, Carlton County Prenatal/Early Childhood Coalition coordinator.
The ultimate goal of outreach efforts is to enhance FFN care givers' knowledge and skills related to healthy early childhood development, early literacy, and school readiness. As a first step, the Alliance members will conduct surveys and focus groups to help identify FFN child care providers in the area and gain a better understanding of their needs.
Once FFN care givers have been identified, planned strategies include home visits, sharing of educational materials, a public awareness campaign, and training opportunities to help these "informal" care providers gain access to a wealth of child development information and other community resources.
Carlton County is also making special efforts to connect with grandparents caring for grandchildren.
"Many grandparents in our area are very involved in the care of their grandchildren, and we want to provide some targeted opportunities especially for them," Lindgren said.
Pine Journal Editor Lisa Baumann can be contacted at: lbaumann@pinejournal.com .
