Iowa is a good example of our work and is showcased in this newsletter. Right here in Iowa we are working with community leaders to launch a model for investing in high quality care that we think has implications not only statewide, but also nationally.

Lisa Sams, our Iowa director, was the executive director of an accredited community-based early education center for many years. She and I concur that every family we have ever met wants the same thing for their young children -- to be well educated, well adjusted socially and emotionally, happy and ready to thrive in school. However, most families with young children are often faced with almost impossible choices when it comes to finding high quality early care and education for their young children. Do high quality options exist in my community? If I choose a child development approach for my child, will I be able to afford it, and what else will I have to sacrifice to make it work financially?

In this day and age, parents and a growing number of community and business leaders know that having a strong community means having children that are ready for school. It is a fact that the cost of children not being ready for school is enormous for families and communities. I frequently talk with community leaders who say we can’t afford to not invest in early care and education, but we also can’t afford a full-blown high quality early care and education system.

Over the years, we have found that working on the business side of early care and education returns high dividends. It makes no sense to work on the quality of care without making sure child care businesses are financially sound and well run. We also know working with whole communities and larger geographic regions in a state is very important. This is because communities have the ability to assess community child care needs, they can create strategies for addressing the needs and they can organize participation and investment in implementing those strategies. In addition, communities have the capacity to leverage additional state and federal resources when they are well organized and intentional.

In the Cedar Valley region of Iowa, Lisa and the First Children’s Finance team are doing exactly that. We are working with community leaders to launch two very important initiatives. Stacy Van Gorp from R. J. McElroy Trust, is a true champion for children. She is working hard with her colleagues from the local Community Foundation and United Way to engage business and other community leaders in a variety of initiatives to increase the supply, quality and viability of childcare. MariLynn Pierce, a Growth Fund advisor, commented during an interview for this newsletter, “First Children’s Finance has demonstrated for me the importance of establishing community linkages that undergird and support the business of child care. They look beyond our usual partners, asking ‘What can the Chamber of Commerce do? What can that business do? What kind of the support is the business community willing to provide?’ First Children’s has come in and demonstrated how to make those connections and have those conversations and develop a common goal that everybody can invest in.”

First Children’s Finance has joined these leaders to help pilot an innovative approach to improve the financial viability and management capacity of child care businesses in the region. We are working to assess their child care needs, implement strategies to increase the supply of quality care and improve learning environments and facilities.

The biggest lesson learned over the years is that communities do have the wherewithal to tackle the child care issue. It is a matter of focus and intentionality. When a community faces a flood or tornado or other disaster, it pulls together. When a community decides that it needs high quality bridges, roads, schools and parks, it pulls together. If a community wants its children to succeed and be productive members of society, then it needs to pull together as well. We know that the return on investment is high and the cost of not doing it is tremendous.  What most communities need are action plans, blueprints and teams of people that want to and are ready to help.

There is no greener tomorrow than when someone else is going to fix the problem.  There is no magic wand that is going to sweep across communities like a Disney landscape, and everything will come alive. It is up to communities to take the future of children into their own hands or pay for the neglect later. That is the lesson learned.

The Catch-22 of not having enough funding has to be replaced with the Catch-23 of banding together to break the cycle of ineffective investment. Most people don’t mind investing in strategies for families and children that actually work. They just don’t want their money to go to things that contribute to people becoming overly dependent on public funds. High quality early care and education returns huge dividends. Communities can ensure that the funds are used well and can measure the results.

That is what First Children’s Finance is all about.

We have the strategies, we have the experience and we have the growing interest of community leaders. In Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Des Moines, in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, in greater Minnesota, in Detroit, and in greater Michigan we are mobilizing community leaders this year to tackle these issues.

There are some things to be patient about and other things that can’t wait. The development of a child’s mind and character can’t wait until tomorrow. Please read about some of the success stories coming out of Iowa communities and please listen to some of the leaders who have been participating in creating solutions. We need your help to get on board and build successful communities for families with young children.