Purpose
The Great Start Collaborative of Berrien County is a partnership of community leaders, business owners, charitable and faith-based organizations, health and human service agencies, educators, and parents.  Our goal is to build a network of county-wide programs and services that work together to achieve better results for young children and their families.

Simply put, we want to make sure that every child under the age of five living in Berrien County gets everything they need to be safe, healthy, and successful– period.

To do that, we are focusing on five different areas:

Pediatric & Family Health – high-quality physical and child development services, including referrals for children with developmental concerns

Social-Emotional Health - specialized child development and mental health services that promote the social-emotional well-being of all young children

Parenting Leadership – excellent support for parents in the critical role they play in their child’s overall development

Child Care & Early Learning – high-quality early care and educational services for children that prepare them to succeed in school and life

Family Support – access to supports and services that assist families to be safe and financially stable

Vision
A Great Start to make every child in Berrien County safe, healthy, and eager to succeed in school and in life.

Mission
The purpose of Great Start is to assure a coordinated system of community resources and supports to help all Berrien County families provide a great start for their children from birth to age five.

Strategy
In April 2008, Berrien RESA was awarded a Great Start Collaborative planning grant by the ECIC.  Since that time, the Great Start Collaborative Board has been working on:

• Completing a data assessment and gathering information from the community about gaps and needs for services in early childhood.
• Coordinating existing early childhood programs and groups.
  Engaging stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and coordination of services for families.
  Promoting community awareness and support campaigns for early childhood issues.
  Advocating for early childhood programs, policies, and services.
  Engaging parent involvement though the Parent Coalition, which provides parents a chance to have a voice in a truly "grassroots" effort to advocate for the children of Berrien County.

ECIC
The Michigan Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) was established in February, 2005. The ECIC is a public, non-profit corporation serving as the focal point in the state government for developing Michigan's Great Start system. The goals of the ECIC include:

• Advancing public education and public will in regard to the importance of early childhood issues.
• Increasing investment in early childhood programming and resources, as well as, working with communities to align and improve services
  statewide.
• Providing information to educate and advocate for policy changes that assure the most efficient and effective use of financial resources for children, families, and communities.
• Supporting the building of local early childhood systems through the formation of Great Start Collaboratives.