1. Ensuring a Great Start for All Young Children & Their Families
Early Childhood Comprehensive System Project - Michigan
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the work that has been underway on the ECCS grant in Michigan. As the project coordinator for the ECCS project in Michigan, I have had the advantage of being involved in the creation of Michigan’s Part C system – known as Early On. Since 1990, I have been a member of the state-level interagency team that guided the planning, implementation and evaluation of our Part c system. On that state-level team I have the privilege of representing mental health services for children and families.
I have learned a tremendous amount over the past 15 years about system implementation – both as an insider and as an outsider. While I was a member of the state planning and implementation team – I was not working for the lead agency. I drew on those experiences in the design of our ECCS project.
I will say that there was never any question in my mind nor the minds of the leadership team for the ECCS grant that Part C and preschool special education were going to be critical partners in the early childhood comprehensive system.

2. ECCS Grant Leadership State Maternal and Child Health
Mental Health Services for Children and Families
Early Childhood and Parenting Services
Michigan Ready to Succeed Partnership
Governor’s Children’s Cabinet
Monthly meetings, EC and Parenting holds Part C and 619 in Michigan as well as at-risk 4 year old state-funded preschool

3. Creating the Virtual Table
Expand the “reach” of the project to include stakeholders from many sectors, across the state
Increase understanding of what constitutes an early childhood system
Build public will
Our goal was that anyone who was working with children who are birth to age five – would see themselves an “in” the early childhood system. We knew that we would need to leverage people, dollars and resources. That could not come at the end – it had to begin from Day #1 and continue.

4. A Comprehensive Early Childhood System
A single, interconnected and intertwined network, of public and private services and supports, working together in a community to achieve results for young children and families.

5. Supporting Parent Leadership & Engagement
Honorariums
Reimbursement for child care and mileage
Many parent partners
Create mechanisms for parents to give feed-back & act on it
We took what we had learned from our Part C parent leadership project and the SICC Parent Involvement Subcommittee and made it the basis for our supports for families who participate in the ECCS grant.

6. Gaining Broad-based Involvement in Planning
Early Childhood Core Team
In-person, large group events
Six component specific workgroups
Web-supported, community-based dialogues
245,000 hits to our website since it went live in June of 2003, currently 1200 members to the listserv

7. Basics – is in your handout
Preplanning Tasks – List of tasks that convener needs to take care of to have conversation

8. Results Michigan’s Citizens Should Expect
Infants, young children and their families are physically, socially and emotionally healthy.
Infants and young children are safe.
The basic needs of infants and young children are met.
Families of infants and young children are economically stable.
Families support and guide the early learning of their infants and young children.
Families of infants and young children have access to high quality early care and education.
Children are ready to succeed in school and in life.
Communities make infants and young children a priority by investing in families.

9. Recommended Strategies for System Building
Community-state learning partnerships
Private sector engagement
Strategic communications
Sustainable financing
Capacity building in each component
Infrastructure

10. Website Address