Caring for Kids Initiative

Caring for Kids Initiative, a public/private collaborative scholarship program for low-income families, ensures access to quality early education opportunities for children prior to entry in kindergarten. Included in the CfKI scholarship model are parent education and family supports focused on family stability.

CfKI’s goal is for all kids enter Wayzata Schools ready to succeed in kindergarten by:

• Increasing access to quality early care and education programming for children from low income families.
• Broadening strategies to engage parents in their child’s early development and learning.
• Stabilizing and strengthening participating CfKI families by providing holistic community support in areas of basic needs.
• Developing a replicable model to ensure access to quality early care and education programming for children from low-income families.

Children who do not participate in quality early educational programming are at risk to enter kindergarten behind their peers and struggle to catch up. In the communities IOCP serves, cost is the barrier for families to access quality care and education for their children.

There are 465 children from low-income families in our community who are in need of access to quality programming to be ready for kindergarten. CfKI is serving 106 children from low-income families in full and part-time quality settings at 9 quality centers in our community.

For more information, contact CfKI Director Brenda Heim.