Government : Early Childhood local site review to take place during Wednesday meeting

Members of the Early Childhood Iowa state team will be in Vinton on Wednesday, April 1st for a local site review.

Two team members from Des Moines plan to meet with board members from the Better Tomorrows Early Childhood Iowa Area. In addition, program directors from agencies receiving funding from the state’s two Early Childhood Iowa grants will attend the afternoon review session from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

The review will be held at Kirkwood, 111 West 3rd Street, Vinton. The site location is handicapped accessible. The public is invited to attend the 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. session, the regular board meeting will immediately follow the review. State reviewers include Shanell Wagler and James Olson.

The review is part of the state “Levels of Excellence” process. Early Childhood areas statewide are rated according to three possible levels: compliant, quality and model. Early Childhood Iowa areas that receive a favorable rating are allowed to continue serving families with children who are age birth to five, through the programs and services funded by the Early Childhood Iowa Area grants. The Better Tomorrows ECI Area was last reviewed in 2012, as part of the merger process, and received a positive rating.

The Better Tomorrows Early Childhood Iowa Area offers services and referrals to families throughout Benton and Tama County with children ages 0-5. The focus of Early Childhood is to ensure that children enter school happy, healthy and ready to learn. For more information on the Better Tomorrows Early Childhood Iowa Area or the other service resources available in each county, contact Heidi Schminke at 319/472-4543, director@bettertomorrowseci.org; or Lori Johnson at 641/484-4788, ljohnson@tamacounty.org. You can also visit our website at www.bettertomorrowseic.org.