For all Media Inquiries, please contact:

Lisa Rudy
Senior Director of Communications
lrudy@ecic4kids.org
Office: 517.371.9000

Recent releases:

November, 2011
Flanagan chooses Susan Broman to lead the new Office of Great Start
LANSING - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan has chosen Susan Broman to lead the new Office of Great Start.

September, 2011
Michigan’s Great Start Collaboratives raise more than $3 million for early learning scholarships
LANSING – The Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC) today announced that 29 Great Start Collaboratives across the state have raised more than $3 million in private and public donations to help more than 800 low-income families afford quality child care and preschool for their 3-year-old sons and daughters.

August 17, 2011
ECIC crib giveaway increases child safety for Michigan licensed child care facilities
LANSING – The Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC) today announced that it will give away 2,000 cribs that meet new federal safety guidelines in a crib exchange with licensed early learning and care providers across Michigan.

August 15, 2011
Partnership Leads to Healthier Kids, Fewer Costly Hospital Visits
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – An independent evaluation of an innovative approach to children’s health care in west Michigan has found the program is succeeding in significantly reducing the number of expensive emergency room visits and hospital admissions while improving kids’ health.


June 29, 2011 - From the Office of the Governor
Snyder emphasizes importance of early childhood development to success in school
LANSING, Mich. - Recognizing the importance early childhood development plays in a child's ability to succeed, Gov. Rick Snyder today signed an executive order creating the Michigan Office of Great Start, which will consolidate the state's early childhood programs and resources into a single office within the Department of Education. The office will coordinate the 84 separate funding sources for early childhood programs that are currently spread out across various state agencies.  
 

May 10, 2011
Nearly $3 Million in Early Childhood Grants Will Boost School Readiness & Future Workforce
LANSING – The Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC) today announced that 30 Great Start Collaboratives across the state have been awarded a total of $2.8 million in grants to stimulate private investment in local early childhood efforts and to pay for child care/preschool scholarships for vulnerable 3-year-olds. 

April 5, 2011
ECIC, DPTV, UWSEM team on unique early learning, workforce development TV projects
LANSING - Michigan’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC), Detroit Public Television (DPTV) and United Way for Southeastern Michigan today announce a first-of-its-kind partnership designed to use the power of media to help prepare more Michigan pre-school age children for success in the classroom.

March 21, 2011
Lt. Gov. Calley: Michigan needs A new attitude toward education
YPSILANTI – Ensuring educational success for all Michigan children requires a change in attitude toward education from do-nothing to can-do, Lt. Gov. Calley said Monday.

Feb. 8, 2011
Poverty, abuse continue to rise for Michigan's youngest
LANSING – Poverty among children has worsened dramatically in Michigan since 2000, according to a new report, with more than a quarter of very young children (0-5) and a fifth of all children now living below the poverty line. The Kids Count in Michigan Data Book 2010: The Education Connection – released today by the Michigan League for Human Services – details a startling rise in childhood poverty between 2000 and 2009.

January 26, 2011
Training effort improves health and safety skills for nearly 20,000 Michigan child care providers
LANSING – Thirty thousand Michigan children are better off today thanks to a massive safety training effort involving nearly 20,000 unlicensed Michigan child care providers. A total of 19,498 providers – many grandparents, neighbors and other relatives assisting low-income parents – completed the mandatory first aid/CPR course in 2010, according to a final tally by the Department of Human Services.

January 21, 2011
Michigan receives $2.3 million in ARRA funding to boost child care quality
LANSING – More than $2 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will create a select team of quality improvement specialists to train and coach child care providers acros s Michigan, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) announced today.

Jan. 18, 2011
Survey Respondents Want to Hear Support for Early Childhood Issues in State of the State
A two-day Michigan Sandbox Party survey last week netted more than 1,300 responses from Michigan residents hoping Gov. Rick Snyder will make early childhood issues a key component of his State of the State speech Wednesday, recognizing that investing in early childhood programs including child care, early education and learning, physical and psychological health, parenting and family support, are the best way to get the outcomes he has said are vital to Michigan’s future.

Nov. 30, 2010
ECIC to award $3 million in matching fund grants to advance local early childhood initiatives
Excerpt:  The Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC) today announced that it will award $3 million in grants to Great Start Collaboratives across Michigan to establish local matching funds. 

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