Great Start Collaborative

Please follow our website and Facebook page for updates, news, and tips.

Recently, the State budget eliminated funding for Great Start Collaboratives (GSC) and Family Coalitions across Michigan. Despite this change, the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District (HCISD) has decided to continue operating “business as usual” for the time being.

We understand the importance of the work in supporting young children and families in our community. Therefore, we will maintain our current programs and services while we await further guidance from the ISD, advocacy groups, and state partners regarding a potential supplemental bill that may restore some—or all—of the funding for GSCs statewide.

You can share your story to help advocate for the funding to be restored.

Great Start Collaborative funding may be going away, but its impact is alive in every parent connection, community initiative, and child’s success. That’s why we’re collecting stories from across the region—stories that show what Great Start Collaborative's really means to families and partners.

Has Great Start Collaborative's made a difference in your life, work, or community?

Your story matters. It helps us advocate, organize, and sustain the vision we've created together.

Read More About the Funding:

We appreciate your patience and continued support as we navigate this period of uncertainty and remain committed to serving families in Hillsdale County.

Stefanie & Wendy

Check out our annual report for a look at the amazing progress we’ve made together this year!

Is your baby’s or young child’s development on track for his or her age? Young

children grow so fast it can be hard to know what to expect. With the newly updated

FREE Milestone Tracker app from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), you can learn how children play, learn, speak, act, and move as they grow

and how you can support your child’s development.

• Interactive milestone checklists in English and Spanish for children ages 2 months

through 5 years;

• The ability to adjust the checklist age if your child was born prematurely;

• Photos and videos that illustrate each milestone and make tracking them for your

child easy and fun;

• Your child’s milestone summary to share with others, like your child’s health care

provider;

• Tips and activities that can help your child’s development;

• Information on what to do if you have a concern about your child’s development;

• Reminders for appointments and developmental screening; and

• New milestone countdowns and custom user profiles

Learn more at www.cdc.gov/MilestoneTracker.

• Free tools
• Books for families
• Resources to support developmental screeners
• Helpful resources for parents
• Resources to help promote your child development

Learn more at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/index

Did you know that there are many Little Free Libraries in Hillsdale County... 18 of which we monitor.

The Great Start Collaborative Family Coalition members volunteer to help keep our Little Free Libraries stocked with children's books throughout the year.

For more information on Little Free Library please visit https://littlefreelibrary.org/

When: Every Friday at 10am
Who: Moms and their little rascals
Where: Hillsdale First Baptist (across from the library)
What: A chance to spill coffee while chatting, and see who can stack the most toy blocks while making new mom friends

Click here to register

Click here to register

Click here to register

Click here to register

Click here to register

Great Start to Quality allows you to search for all licensed programs in Michigan. You can search in the ways that are most important to you, whether it is by area, cost, or specific needs.

https://greatstarttoquality.org/find-programs/