Dane County Awarded $475,000 for Early Childhood Initiative on Allied Drive

January 07, 2008
Joshua Wescott Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823 or cell (608) 669-5606
County Executive

Program to Improve Health of Kids, Families Will Expand to Two More Neighborhoods (Madison)….Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced today the county will be able to continue a vitally important program for families and children in the Allied Drive neighborhood and expand the efforts to two additional challenged neighborhoods in the county. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, through an effort called the Wisconsin Partnership Program, has awarded Dane County $474,988 to continue the Allied Drive Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) for another three years. “This is fabulous news: these grant dollars ensure vulnerable kids and families will continue to be connected with jobs aimed at improving their health and wellbeing,” Falk said. The ECI assists parents with everything from job training to prenatal care for their kids. It ensures children have access to wellness necessities including immunizations, preventative health care, and developmental screening. “Our first years of work through the Early Childhood Initiative that we created have resulted in so many wonderful success stories in the Allied neighborhood,” Falk said. “Thanks to the generosity of the UW School of Medicine, we’ll continue our efforts helping parents get jobs and kids the kind of start they deserve in life,” Falk said. To date, ECI has helped more than 80 adults get jobs. 83% of families currently enrolled in the program have stayed on target meeting the family goals of their case management plans. The grant for the Early Childhood Initiative was one of only two ongoing projects awarded by the UW School of Medicine’s Partnership Program. The program awarded 21 grants after reviewing 93 applications from various initiatives statewide. The grant to Dane County, combined with $250,000 in funding Falk put in the 2008 county budget and $500,000 from the state, will allow the county to continue the Early Childhood Initiative on Allied Drive and expand the program to two additional neighborhoods. “We’re currently evaluating areas of greatest need to determine where this work is next needed most,” Falk said. An announcement on where the ECI will be expanded will be made within a few weeks. # # #