Posted on Sun, Jul. 19, 2009
Regional approach paying off for kids
By Lorraine Dold and Teresa Rupp

For years, services that give young children and their families a chance for success have been largely ignored except by those parents who use the services and those who work in the field.
In recent years, however, the importance of making sure that all children get the best start they can has moved up on the public's agenda. We as a society have seen the positive impact that high-quality child care, prekindergarten education and family support — such as parenting classes — can have on children, families and communities.
Unfortunately, as the awareness and importance of these services have increased, funding in general did not follow. The local Head Start program, for example, has not been expanded since 2001, and then it was simply to move from half- day to full-day classes — we did not expand the number of children served, although more children are in need.
In south-central Kansas, however, we believe we are making progress to get ahead of the curve and aggressively seek community support and funding that will position us to meet the needs of the future. A regional community that supports early education attracts young families, which leads to a strong work force and improved overall quality of life.

In our region alone — in just four counties — we are home to almost one-fourth of the children ages birth through 5 in our state. When it comes to children with risk factors — those who start their lives with some deficit compared with other children their age — we are home to more than one-third of the state's population.
To ensure that the children and their families in south-central Kansas succeed, more than 60 organizations from 13 cities have worked together as part of the Visioneering Wichita Birth to Kindergarten Strategic Alliance. We have built a strong coalition that already has successfully attracted public and private dollars to the effort.
This year — a year marked by contentious budget battles in Topeka — we were able to secure more than $1.1 million in state funding, which was matched by more than the required 10 percent in funds from a network of foundations, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, K.T. Wiedemann Foundation, Wichita Community Foundation, Wellington Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Butler County, and Greater Newton Community Foundation.

The state dollars, which were competitive, required us to demonstrate our ability to work together — to leave turf battles and special interests behind. As a result, our region will use this money to improve the quality of child care, early education and mental health services for young children and their families.
We know these services will help children and families directly. We also know they will prove a positive return on investment for our communities. Studies already have shown that for every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood programs, at least $7 is returned.

We also know that in this spirit of working together, we will be well-positioned for future funding opportunities — from public and private sources.

Lorraine Dold of Rainbows United and Teresa Rupp of Child Start are co-chairwomen of the Visioneering Wichita Birth-K Strategic Alliance.
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