The state’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is currently accepting applications from eligible families for the On My Way Pre-K program.
The state-funded initiative, in its second year, provides grants to families who have an income below 127 percent of the federal poverty level and children who will be 4 years old by Aug. 1, 2017. In Marion County, additional funding has been added through the Indy Preschool Scholarship Program and is available to On My Way Pre-K applicants that have children who are 3 or 4 years old and living at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
The program is only available in Allen, Jackson, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh counties, and once accepted, applicants choose from a list of pre-approved institutions, which include public and private schools, licensed child care centers and licensed home or registered ministries.
“There was an in-depth process. We asked any interested county to put together a coalition and proposal, and from that 17 finalists were chosen,” said Marni Lemmons, of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
Each of the finalists was interviewed and assessed on how well they met the requirements of assembling a coalition of experts from public and private education, as well as child care providers. Each county was also required to put up matching funds, the amount of which varied from area to area depending on population size and other factors.
This initiative is the first time the state of Indiana has provided funding for preschool, and though the pilot is only in five counties, there have been talks of expanding it.
House Bill 1004, authored by Republican Robert Behning, calls for increasing the number of pre-K providers and doubling the number of counties included, among other provisions.
In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Eric Holcomb called for doubling the state’s monetary contribution to $20 million annually.
“Our most vulnerable children deserve a fair start, too,” Holcomb said.
The program has garnered some early success. According to results from a longitudinal study that was conducted in partnership with Purdue University, children who participated gained skills from fall to spring at a higher rate than their peers. These particular skills included language comprehension, early literacy, executive functioning and a reduction in behavior problems in the classroom. Parents benefitted as well. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed responded that they had increased work or school hours, 35 percent reported that they had been able to obtain new employment and 33 percent shared that they were able to begin school or job training.
“Eighty-five percent of a child’s brain develops before the age of 5, so the age of 4 is a very critical age for learning and development for children, and most experts will tell you that children who get started earlier will have an overall better success rate throughout their years of school,” Lemmons said. “That’s why we think it’s important to intervene and get these children into a learning-based program as young as we can. We know that, unfortunately, many Hoosiers cannot afford to send their kids to some of these programs, so that’s why it makes sense to send low-income children to a program like On My Way Pre-K.”
Applications for limited spots will be accepted until March 31, 2017. For assistance, call (800) 299-1627 or visit onmywayprek.org.
