Young children, parents get boost: Michigan: Genesee Intermediate School District.

SKIP to a Great Start was initiated in 2000 by a community coalition of agencies that were working together to improve the quality of life for children in Michigan's Genesee County.

Fifteen community agencies and 21 county public school districts collaborated to write a grant proposal in conjunction with Genesee Intermediate School District's Health, Safety and Nutrition Services. Their aim was to help children by helping their parents. In March 2000, Genesee Intermediate School District was awarded a grant entitled Project SKIP (Successful Kids = Involved Parents).

Project SKIP has since evolved into SKIP to a Great Start, which is open to all parents of children from birth to kindergarten age. The program resulted in Genesee Intermediate School District being named the Michigan winner of the 2005 Civic Star Award.

The program's major goals are to enhance readiness for school, decrease enrollment in special education, enhance family stability and improve the quality of child care available in the county. SKIP implements effective, research-based curricula in early childhood and parent education. One component offers home visits to help parents become effective teachers. Visitors share information on child development and interactive activities to help children develop critical skills and foster brain development. They also provide emotional support and referrals to needed services.

Because the program has no income requirements or guidelines, more parents and children have been able to benefit from early childhood education and services.

Ten local agencies play a continuing key role in the program's on-going success. Collaborative partners and the 21 school district coordinators attend monthly SKIP advisory meetings for planning and sharing vital information.

Vision and hearing screenings are conducted by SKIP School Health Services, which also offers health education. Dental screenings are conducted in conjunction with Mott Children's Health Center.

An infant mental health specialist from Genesee County Community Mental Health trains the SKIP home visitors and consults with them on families requiring extra attention.

Another partner, Priority Children, held a children's summit in October 2002 to address the importance of improving the quality of child care, increasing the educational opportunities for early childhood professionals and strengthening family literacy. Six priority teams, including many school and agency staff members, were developed to address the summit's outcomes.

SKIP has also collaborated with the Flint Cultural Center and the Flint public and Genesee school district libraries. As of March 2004, Project SKIP had enrolled more than 4,200 families and more than 6,200 children since the program began. This past year it was serving more than 3,400 families and 4,900 children.

The program is proving especially beneficial to students needing special education, who benefit most from early intervention. Special education students make up 5 percent of the county public school population.

For more information on the program, contact Superintendent Thomas Svitkovich at Genesee Intermediate School District, 2413 W. Maple Ave., Flint, Mich. 48507, or call [phone]. By e-mail, write to [e-mail].