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 Press Releases ESCANABA – Nearly two in 10 pregnant women in Delta County – and nearly three in 10 in Schoolcraft County – smoke during pregnancy, according to a new report.
“That leads to things like low birth weight and other health complications that can affect children as they grow,” said Tara Weaver, director of the Delta-Schoolcraft Great Start Collaborative, which conducted the study.
The report – part of the group’s examination of the issues facing children 0-5 in the two counties – also found that 29.7 percent of pregnant women in Delta County, and 40.7 percent in Schoolcraft, don’t get adequate prenatal care. Likewise, many new mothers lack high school diplomas – 9.7 percent in Delta, 15.4 percent in Schoolcraft.
“Those numbers are just a small piece of a larger puzzle that we are working on as a collaborative,” said Weaver.
In June, the group will use the report to develop a strategic plan on how to improve the lives of children 0-5 in Delta and Schoolcraft.
“This is vitally important work,” Weaver said, noting that research indicates 85 percent of a child’s brain architecture is built within the first three years.
Weaver said children who fall behind socially, physically or emotionally in their earliest years tend to stay behind when it comes time to start school.
Research shows that children who repeat a grade are 30 percent more likely to drop out and 90 percent more likely if they repeat two grades, Weaver said. And 98 percent of Michigan’s kindergarten teachers believe that children who are behind impede those who aren’t. Eighty percent of those kindergarten teachers believe Michigan should make a significant investment in early childhood before children start formal school.
The Delta-Schoolcraft Great Start Collaborative is part of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation’s statewide network. The collaboratives – made up of local parents, educators, business and faith leaders and others – analyze the needs of local children ages 0-5 and devise ways to meet them.
“The Delta-Schoolcraft Great Start Collaborative is proud to be part of the statewide effort to make sure local communities are offering everything they can to help young children – the citizens of tomorrow – become the best they can be,” said Weaver. “This effort allows us to coordinate and improve local programs so that every child in the Delta-Schoolcraft region gets what he or she needs to succeed.”
Judy Samelson, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corp., says – despite the difficult budget situation facing lawmakers in Lansing – now is not the time to cut funding for early childhood development.
“As a state, we finally have a network in place to help our youngest learners. We can’t stop now. Today’s learners become tomorrow’s leaders in business, education, faith and so much more. Ensuring that local programs and services for children 5 and younger are available and effective has never been more important, and we thank the governor and the legislature for recognizing that.”
For more information on Michigan’s Great Start Collaboratives, visit www.ecic4kids.org. For more information on the Delta-Schoolcraft Great Start Collaborative, or to download the report, visit www.great-start.org
Great Start Collaborative
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| Great Start Collaborative / Delta & Schoolcraft Counties |  | 2525 3rd Avenue South | | Escanaba, MI 49829 | | (906) 786-9300 |
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