Mission

St. Clair County will have a coordinated system of community resources and supports to assist all our families in providing a great start for children from birth through age eight.

Vision

Every child in St. Clair County will have a great start in life. They will be safe, healthy, and eager to succeed in school and in life.

Early Childhood Outcomes (Outlined by the Governor)

  1. Children born healthy;
  2. Children healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth to third grade
  3. Children developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry
  4. Children prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiently by the end of third grade

Workgroup Goals

  • Ensure early childhood programs reach and engage all families needing support and information.
  • Improve maternal and child health outcomes through active collaboration with WIC, the Great Start Collaborative (GSC), and the Great Start Parent Coalition (GSPC).
  • Increase access to high-quality early care and educational services.
  • Provide access to high-quality early literacy services for children in St. Clair County.

Identified Gap: The child care crisis continues to be a priority in St. Clair County and across the state.

2024 Collaborative Accomplishments

Community Baby Shower:

  • Hosted 51 mothers and 43 guests, offering educational sessions on car seat safety, health, safe sleep, Shaken Baby Syndrome, postpartum depression, nutrition, and child development. Parents also connected with 24 vendors providing information on local programs and services.

Help Me Grow Collaborative:

  • Partnered with 16 organizations to provide ASQ developmental screeners to families, completing 5,597 screenings since launching the online portal in June 2022.

Parent Education Workshops:

  • The GSPC organized four workshops attended by 52 parents, receiving positive feedback and requests for future sessions.

Imagination Library:

  • Provided 52,133 free books to registered children (birth to age 5) in St. Clair County, fostering early literacy development.

 

Chair: Julie Pemberton, Blue Water Community Action
Support Staff: Riley Alley, St. Clair County RESA

 

2025 Meeting Calendar

Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of the month at RESA East Campus from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

  • February 27, 2025
  • April 24, 2025
  • June 26, 2025
  • August 28, 2025

 Printable Meeting Calendar