Great Parents, Great Start is a legislatively funded, community-based grant program that is available to serve the parents of all children, birth to five years of age, residing within Michigan's 57 intermediate school districts. The legislature authorized each intermediate school district to direct a portion of its state school funds for the provision of a variety of parent education services to interested families.
The goals of this program are to improve school readiness, encourage literacy, reduce the need for special education services and foster the maintenance of stable families by encouraging positive parenting skills; enhancing parent-child interaction; providing learning opportunities to promote intellectual, physical and social growth; and promoting access to needed community services through a community-school-home partnership that provides parents with information on child development from birth to age five.
Contact: Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services, Jackie Wood (517) 373-8483, woodjac@michigan.gov