Early Childhood Initiative

We want children to have the best possible start toward a healthy life of learning, achieving, and succeeding. Community organization is key.

West Central Initiative’s Early Childhood Initiative is a network of parents, educators, businesses, community leaders, faith leaders, and policymakers joined in a long-term effort to prioritize the care and development of young children. We partner with communities to assess early childhood efforts, identify areas for improvement then, perhaps our favorite part, we help make them a reality and witness the impact on communities and children.

Two important facets of our Early Childhood Initiative include our Early Childhood Dental Network and Early Childhood Mental Health Network. Both programs take a collaborative approach to helping ensure our children get the care they need and deserve.

Early Childhood Dental Network

The Early Childhood Dental Network is a collaborative effort to educate children and their caregivers about the importance of oral health and to increase access to dental care for children ages 0-5 on Minnesota Health Care Programs or uninsured. 

With our partners, our Early Childhood Dental Network is:

  • Supporting mobile outreach clinics to help increase the number of the region’s children who receive dental care and who are served by Minnesota Health Care Programs. 
  • Working with Apple Tree Dental and Caring Hands Dentistry to expand community-based dentistry and Children’s Dental Services to create and expand school-based oral healthcare. 
  • Working with high schools and colleges to increase the number of students entering the dental field.  
  • Aiding medical clinics with implementing oral health screening during well-child exams. 
  • Providing an oral health advocacy platform. 

Resources

For more information about our Early Childhood Dental Network, including information about upcoming dental clinics, contact Coordinator Jane Neubauer.

Early Childhood Mental Health Network

The Early Childhood Mental Health Network facilitates a collaborative effort to help children develop capacity to express their emotions, develop close relationships, and actively explore the world around them. 

With our partners, our Early Childhood Mental Health Network is:  

  • Creating programs that help parents and other caregivers better understand typical child development and when to seek additional help. 
  • Building our local system of care for prevention, early intervention, and treatment.   
  • Providing general information to debunk the stigma that often prevents a family from seeking help with their mental health. 

For more information about our Early Childhood Mental Health Network, contact Coordinator Leah Krauth.

West Central Minnesota Child Care Center Wage and Rate Survey

For more than 20 years, West Central Initiative has hosted the West Central Minnesota Child Care Center Directors group, made up of child care center directors who operate care facilities within our region. In 2016, our team conducted a West Central Minnesota Child Care Center Wage and Rates Report on behalf of the directors group to better understand the local labor market. The data helped center directors and their boards adjust rates and wages and create a market baseline. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic and continued staffing and financial struggles, we again conducted the survey. Survey resuls show an industry nearing its breaking point.

Early Childhood Initiative Coordinators

Our Early Childhood Initiative is led by coordinators who facilitate the process of identifying, planning, and implementing strategies to help their counties become more nurturing places for young children and their families.

Becker County: Fran Rethwisch

Clay County: Jody Jordet

Douglas County: Sarah Olson

Grant County: Kari Kreft

Otter Tail County: Katie Ganoe

Pope County: Jeannie Pederson

Stevens County: Diane Strobel

Traverse County: Leah Krauth

White Earth: Casey Francis

Wilkin County: Kristi Maas

Connect with Us

Nancy Jost
Nancy Jost
Director of Early Childhood
nancy@wcif.org
800-735-2239
Marsha Erickson
Marsha Erickson
Early Childhood Specialist
marsha.erickson@wcif.org
800-735-2239