Three years ago the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) established priority groups for early learning scholarships: children in foster care or child protection, or who are currently or recently homeless, and children of teen parents. They also lowered the eligibility age for these groups from 3 to birth.
This commendable policy enables vulnerable children, especially infants and toddlers, to get needed stimulation during critical periods of brain development.
This MDE report shows that 3,347 out of 15,000 scholarships awarded during state FY 2019 were in these groups, including 1,220 in foster care and 179 in protective services.
To date not many families in child protection are getting scholarships. To include them the regional organizations that administer these grants may need to strengthen their outreach to counties, while counties bolster their efforts to make staff more aware of them.
View this week’s webinar on early learning scholarships with Close Gaps by Five ED Ericca Maas.Save the Dates!
Join our webinar series on the impact of COVID-19 on victims of child abuse and neglect, sponsored by MVP Marketing + Design, a full-service digital agency.
Wednesday September 30, 2:30 – 3:45 PM: Marie Cohen, creator of the blog Child Welfare Monitor, will share her survey of creative approaches by states to identify hidden victims of child maltreatment.
Wednesday October 14th, 2:30 – 4:00 PM. Andrew Campbell, noted family violence expert, will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment and original ideas for addressing it.
Wednesday November 11, 2:30 – 3:45 PM. Victor Vieth from the Zero Abuse Project will present 25 Tips to Overcome Child Safety Risks caused by the coronavirus.