LWVLC April Forum: Focus on Early Childhood in Leelanau County

By Nancy Duck

The League of Women Voters of Leelanau County is presenting an April 8th Forum on early

childhood services in Leelanau County, titled “Supporting Leelanau’s Youngest Residents:

What’s Available, on the Way and Envisioned.” The forum is open to the public and begins at noon in the lower-level Community Room of the Leelanau County Government Center.

The forum will focus on what is available for young children and their parents in Leelanau County, as well as what is envisioned. It will feature a meeting facilitator and three presenters. Some of the opportunities to be discussed will be Childshare, a program to help eligible parents with the cost of childcare, and RxKids, a program to help with the cost of prescription drugs for children.

The meeting facilitator and one of the presenters are both members of the League of Women Voters of Leelanau County.

Hannah Grinage, Personal Health Supervisor at the Benzie-Leelanau District Health

Department, begins the forum with a presentation on Parenting Communities, a program

funded by Leelanau’s Early Childhood millage and operated by the Benzie-Leelanau District

Health Department. Parenting Communities provides families of children from birth through

age 6 with supportive countywide services, such as developmental screenings, play groups, and home visits, designed to promote nurturing, stable, and healthy families in the Leelanau

community.

Michelle Klein, Director of Personal Health at the BLDHD, will introduce “Childshare,” a

program launching in late Spring, to help financially eligible Leelanau families cover the costs of licensed childcare in the county.

The Honorable John Damoose, State Senator for the 37 th District, and the Honorable Betsy

Coffia, State Representative for the 103rd District, are presenting on RxKids, a program whose funding they support and that may be available to future Leelanau County children. Rx Kids offers a beacon of hope, strengthening family economic security and improving health. It is the nation’s first-ever community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program. RxKids provides life-changing financial security that is universal and unconditional. Moms receive $1,500 during pregnancy, and babies receive $500 per month for a designated period of 6 to 12 months. The program is expanding into other Michigan communities, gaining momentum to shape the lives of thousands of families across the state.

We invite you to join our local League as we recognize the achievements in supporting families with young children in Leelanau County. This event will also provide insights into upcoming and proposed initiatives to attract, assist, and encourage these families to remain active members of our community.

The forum is free and open to the public.  You may bring your lunch.

The League of Women Voters is a national, political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in their government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  The League is non-partisan and, as an organization, does not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties.