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Hennepin County > Health and medical > Strong Beginnings

Strong Beginnings

Strong Beginnings childcare centers deliver high-quality early childhood services. Through an agreement with Hennepin County and Minnesota Department of Human Services, the childcare centers provide services and support that are not required at other childcare centers.

These Strong Beginnings program components have been evaluated and shown to improve children’s developmental gains, kindergarten readiness, and family engagement. They include developmentally appropriate curriculum, knowledgeable childcare professionals, small class sizes and staff-to-child ratios, systemic efforts to engage parents in their child’s development and education, and assistance with meeting the non-educational needs of the child and family.

Since 1992, Hennepin County has contracted with childcare centers to implement the Strong Beginnings strategy. Today the centers serve an average of 1,200 children annually.

Child Care Assistance Program, Lea Bloomquist, Supervisor

lea.bloomquist@hennepin.us

Phone: 612-543-0152

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Strong Beginnings program components
Sixty percent of enrolled children are low-income, special needs, and/or in foster care. 

The program includes culturally responsive childcare practices, such as representative staffing, using children’s first language, and culturally relevant environment. 

There is a higher staff-to-child ratio than required by state licensing. 

We hold the belief that parents are their child’s first teacher. A family coordinator greets, engages, and assists families with participating in their child’s education and accessing services as needed. 

The program holds twice-annual assessments of physical, social and emotional well-being. A child development specialist assists teachers in developing child-specific goals based on assessments and directs the center’s curriculum planning. 

There is a child-specific transition plan to kindergarten. The child development specialist coordinates services with the local school district and the transition to kindergarten. 

There is ongoing staff training and coaching with a focus on trauma, building social-emotional skills, strategies for working with challenging behaviors, practices for culturally responsive care, and empowering parents to become full partners in their child’s education. 
List of Strong Beginnings centers

A Chance to Grow (Turnquist Childcare Center)

  • 1800 Northeast 2nd Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55418

Contact

  • 612-706-5590
  • Turnquist Childcare

Anew Dimension Child Enrichment Center

  • 1819 Minnehaha Avenue
    Minneapolis, MN 55404

Contact

  • 612-339-2333
  • Anew Dimension

Baby’s Space: A Place to Grow

  • 2438 18th Avenue South
    Minneapolis, MN 55404

Contact

  • 612-729-517
  • Baby's Space

Catholic Charities (Northside Child Development Center)

  • 1000 Plymouth Avenue North
    Minneapolis, MN 55411

Contact

  • 612-204-8575
  • Northside Center

La Crèche Early Childhood Centers

North Center

  • 1800 Olson Memorial Highway
    Minneapolis, MN 55411

Contact

  • 612-377-1786

La Crèche II Center

  • 1120 Oliver Avenue North
    Minneapolis, MN 55411

Contact

  • 612-521-4384
  • La Crèche Early Childhood Centers

People Serving People (Center of Excellence)

Inside Lutheran Social Services – The Center for Changing Lives

Center of Excellence

  • 810 7th Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55414

Contact

  • 612-249-5337
  • Center of Excellence

Rise Early Learning Center

  • 8119 Highway 7
    Saint Louis Park, MN 55426

Contact

  • 651-421-8945
  • Rise Early Learning Center 

The Family Partnership

Four Directions Family Center

  • 1527 East Lake Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55407

Contact

  • 612-722-0762
  • The Four Directions Family Center

YWCA of Minneapolis (Children's Center at Midtown)

  • 2121 East Lake Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55407

Contact

  • 612-215-4328
  • Children’s Center at Midtown

YWCA Children's Center South Minneapolis

  • 2400 Park Avenue
    Minneapolis, MN 55404

Contact 

  • 612-355-5520
  •  YWCA Children's Center South Minneapolis
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