It was wonderful to see so many at our March 26th Great Start Collaborative Meeting. I am grateful for your contribution to the collaborative and our community that each of you make every day. A special thank you to our guest speakers, Sherika Finklea with Genesee Health Plan and Tina Gocha with GISD. Learn more about the great work the Health Plan does for our community at Genesee Health Plan - Genesee County Health Information & News and learn more about what Tina's nutrition staff at GISD do at their Facebook page GISD Healthy Schools Healthy Families.

Let's connect. I would love to learn more about how we can collaborate to support the children and families of our community. Book time with Wiskur, Catrina: Great Start Collaborative (I apologize if you tried the link in the last newsletter. I had a faux pas causing a break in the link. This one is good to go.)

You are an important part of helping us carry out our mission! Here are a number of ways you can help:

• Attend a Great Start Collaborative meeting.
• Join an Action Team.
• Attend any of our events.
• Help spread the word.
• Invite us to speak at your organization about how we best support families.
• Come speak about your work at a Great Start Collaborative meeting.
• Can't commit to a meeting? Reach out, we can find another way of collaborating.

Call or email today to find out more about how you or your organization can join the Great Start Collaborative. I look forward to connecting: (810) 591-5137, cwiskur@geneseeisd.org or complete the following link to join our next meeting, join our list serve, or just to have a conversation to learn more GSC Information Form. Our next meeting will be May 28th and I look forward to seeing you there.

April is Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month, a time for communities nationwide to come together and take action to support strong families, thriving children, and healthier communities. Through advocacy, education, and community engagement, we can work together to prevent child abuse before it ever happens. It takes strong communities that have the resources they need to thrive. Imagine a day where we have no child abuse and neglect in our world – what can we do to create that reality? Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment—yet too many families face challenges that put their well-being at risk.

As a community member, there are many ways you can help prevent child abuse and neglect and raising awareness is one of them. Have conversations with your loved ones, friends and colleagues about these issues. Post about it on social media and consider using a blue child abuse prevention ribbon as your profile photo during the month of April. In addition to raising awareness among your friends and family, I encourage you to connect with Voices for Children and see what they have planned for the month of April (See below. The CAP April calendar will link you to Voices for Children's interactive calendar with additional resources.).

Child & Family Therapy | Flint, MI | Voices for Children

Voices for Children in collaboration with the Flint Children's Museum present ROAR. Rex and his animal friends take children on a journey to find his ROAR, a simple and memorable acronym that teaches children that their bodies are their own and empowers children to stand up against abuse.

Location: Flint Children’sMuseum1602 University Ave., Flint, MI 48504

Questions? Call Taya at Voices for Children at 810-238-3333 ext. 216 or email at taya@voicesforcac.org.

Great Start - Genesee currently has five Actions Teams to move the work of the Collaborative and Strategic Plan forward. The Pre-Natal Action Team is newly developed and is seeking new members. Joining the Action Team is a minimum commitment of 1 hour a month. Your time beyond that, is your time and choice to give. Do you support pre-natal or newborn families? This Action Team is for you.

First year targets include:

• Developing a "no wrong door" access to pre-natal care.
• Map the current referral system and identify gaps.
• Develop a shared referral process for providers and organizations servicing pre-natal.
• Develop a mechanism to identify providers accepting new pre-natal patients.
• Develop a resource list of Doula providers.
• Identify collaborations to promote WIC and breastfeeding.

Melanie Gwizdala, Genesee Health Systems, has graciously volunteered to be our Pre-Natal Action Team Chair. A Scheduling Poll will be sent next week. Please complete the Action Team Interest Survey, link below, to indicate your interest and assure you receive the Scheduling Poll. GSC Action Team Survey

Michigan has set a bold goal to deliver access to high-quality PreK to all 4-year-olds in the state. The PreK for All Roadmap was developed with input from families, providers, and partners across the state to chart the path forward to achieve this goal. Visit Making the Vision a Reality: A Roadmap for Implementing PreK for All at the link below.

591-KIDS can assist in locating a Head Start or Great Start Readiness Preschool Program (GSRP) for any child in Genesee County. 591-KIDS specialists will assist in identifying programs a child may qualify for based on age and income. Enrollment in high-quality PreK is now open for 4-year-olds for the 2025-26 school year! Children who attend PreK start kindergarten ready to learn, and Michigan’s PreK for All helps ensure families have access at NO COST. Look at the Process Guide Location document below to learn next steps and where programs are located.

As a community, we want all children to enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn and read.

Parents of children residing in Genesee County can sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that sends a book each month to the home of each registered child (birth through five years of age) at no cost to the family. Children of different ages receive different titles; the books are carefully selected and are the children’s to keep. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is locally coordinated through the Flint & Genesee Literacy Network.

As of March 31st, Genesee County's Imagination Library had 9,472 children enrolled. It is incredible to see so many children receiving these wonderful books. This represents 42% of all eligible children in our community and we would love to see more enrolled.

Share the information with families you service or know personally. Sign up is available online. Geneseereads – The Flint & Genesee County Literacy Network

Great Start to Quality is Michigan’s quality and improvement system, which sets the quality standards and evaluates the quality of early care and education programs. Great Start to Quality also shares information about licensed childcare programs with families and helps families select the right program for their needs. Please share information about Great Start to Quality with colleagues, employees, and the community.

Want to become a Childcare Provider or a GSRP Preschool Provider? Our Great Start to Quality Resource Center can help with that too! Visit Great Start to Quality.

The idea was conceptualized by Anne Ferguson of Vermont with the Kellogg-Hubbard library, StoryWalk is now a registered service mark under Ferguson’s name. Story Walks are literacy projects that display children’s books along an outdoor walking route. Story Walks encourage families to get outside and stay active while enjoying children’s stories.

If you’re looking for a fun and educational activity that will draw families into your organization, an event, or simply to support family engagement through literacy a Story Walk is for you.

The Great Start Collaborative has seven Story Walks available for check out. Each set represents a different book title. The following titles are available. Albert's Almost Amazing Adventure, Halfway Wild, Hector Fox and the Giant Quest, Hector Fox and the Daring Flight, Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery, Hold This!, Merry Moosey Christmas. More information on the current titles and Story Walks we have to offer can be found at www.islandportpress.com/story-walk.

These story walks are ready to go! They are made of coroplast corrugated plastic that is weather-proof and sturdy. Each of the 16 pages is 18-inches by 12-inches. These come with metal H-stakes making the pages ready to display. With the H-Stake, these story walks stand approximately 36 inches high. Keep in mind that H-stakes do require a soft surface like dirt or sand to be pushed into and won’t work with pavement or packed gravel.

These are available for checkout through the Great Start Collaborative with pick-up and return to the through the GISD-Center for Countywide Programs: 2033 Elms Rd., Building C., Swartz Creek, MI. 48473. Please complete the linked Microsoft Form to make your reservation Story Walk Check Out Form.

Finding and fixing tooth problems early can help children succeed in school. This is why Michigan established the Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (KOHA) Program. All kids starting Kindergarten must have a dental screening. Screenings can occur up to six months prior to the beginning of the school year, or during the kindergarten school year.

Tooth issues can hurt and make it hard for kids to focus in school, as well as affect eating, sleeping, talking and behavior. Kids with poor dental health are three times more likely to miss school, which can affect grades and overall performance in school.

This program helps kids start school with a healthy mouth so they can learn better and helps them understand why taking care of their teeth is important. Similar to hearing and vision screenings, the oral health assessment takes no longer than 5 minutes to look for signs of tooth decay or infection by a licensed dental professional and there is no cost to parents or guardians.

Below are informational flyers on the program, a Genesee County Dental Resource List, and the required KOHA Assessment Form.

Please visit the Genesee County Health Department website at Michigan Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (KOHA) Program for more information or visit Mott Children's Health Center Child & Adolescent Dentistry website at Dentistry – Mott Children's Health Center.

The Ruth Mott Foundation is hosting three Community Forums for Flint residents. Flint residents are invited to give input that will help shape the Ruth Mott Foundation’s work in Flint. Space is limited, registration required.

Genesee County Health Department (GCHD) has partnered with UM-Flint’s Department of Public Health & Health Sciences to conduct a research study focused on health needs and access to services in Genesee County. Community input will help shape GCHD’s future Strategic Plan.

Details:

• Who: Genesee County residents; 18+ years of age (GCHD employees and their immediate family members cannot participate)

• Why: Community voices are key to building a healthier future

• Incentives: Free food + $50 gift card (fuel or grocery)

• What you can do: Please share the attached flyer with your networks.

• Pre-Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/GCHDCommunity

Thank you for helping GCHD reach those who matter most — our community.

The GSC Family Coalition leads our efforts to put books in the hands of children and literacy tips in the hands of parents. Little libraries and book nooks have been placed with partners across the county. We do get requests from partners for children's books to distribute at events or maybe even our presence at an event. We do participate and/or provide books when we can, however we are unable to fill all requests based on program intent and capacity. If you have a request, please complete the Google Form and your request will be reviewed with a prompt response GSFC Book Request Form.

The intent of this newsletter is to inform you of everything related to the Great Start Collaborative, our partners, and our community. This will include meeting and Action Team updates, events, projects and collaborations in addition to sharing resources and information. If there is something you would like to see, please contact Catrina at 810-591-5137 or cwiskur@geneseeisd.org.