Bartholomew County Organizations Receiving Childhood Care Community Grants

Bartholomew County organizations are receiving more than $400 thousand dollars in grants to expand access and quality of early childhood care in the community.

The Lilly Endowment recently announced $60 million in grants across the state for its Early Years Initiative, meant to improve early child hood care with an emphasis on families in low-income households, communities of color, and where very young children are multi-language learners.

In Columbus, Children Inc. is receiving $350,000 to expand its current childcare program, providing 18 additional infants and toddlers with care in new family child care homes. The funding will also allow Children Inc. to provide staff with professional development, and create a parent education program for fathers using a curriculum from the National Fatherhood Initiative .

The Community Education Coalition received a $70,000 grant to partner with Learn by Heart. Through the program, new and emerging childcare providers can receive mini-grants, relationship-based coaching, and professional development opportunities. The Community Education Coalition will focus on increasing access to high-quality care for Latino- and Spanish-speaking families.

Researchers say that a child’s brain develops most between birth and the age of 3. Neural pathways developed in those early years will form the basis for all future learning and development.