Cheyenne County Selected for Communities for Kids Initiative

Cheyenne County has recently been selected to be part of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Communities for Kids, a state-wide initiative which supports young children, families and those providing their care.

We have a small group of people who make up the core leadership team. We are looking for more community members who would be interested in joining.

Our next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 8th at ESU #13. If you are interested or have more questions please call Angie Borgmann at 308-765-8458 or email at [email protected].

The Communities for Kids initiative is a multi-year planning and implementation initiative that was created in response to community requests for assistance with shortages of high-quality early childhood care and education programs.

These shortages impact children’s optimal development and pose a challenge for communities hoping to attract and retain the viable workforce they need to thrive.

Through the initiative process, Communities for Kids assists in facilitating conversations among each community’s public and private organizations.

Communities for Kids also provides expertise, tools, and resources to the community to support the creation and implementation of solutions to childcare shortages.

To learn more visit http://www.CommunitiesforKids.org.

In support of the participating communities, Communities for Kids will provide assistance and expertise to:

• engage stakeholders in identifying the strengths and gaps of the current early care and education resources in the community.

• use informed decision-making to determine strategies for meeting the priority needs identified by the community and creating a business plan if needed.

• connect communities with experts and research, best practices, implementation, quality measurements, financing, use of government/public resources, and design, etc.

• explore and assist communities with applying for all available sources of funding (private/public grants, public funding programs such as childcare subsidy, no- or low-interest loans, etc.).

“Communities for Kids works closely with local partners to professionalize early childhood and reframe the conversation to one of workforce development and community vitality.

Using a collective impact approach, the community will lead the way in this effort by determining their own needs and strengths.” said Marti McFadden Beard, Associate Vice President of Early Childhood Programs at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

Again, if you are interested in being a part of this team, please join our next meeting on Tuesday, June 8 at 5:30 p.m. at ESU#13 or contact Angie Borgmann at 308-765-8458 or via email at [email protected].