YMCA of Minneapolis (Children's Center at Midtown)

2121 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-215-4328
Children’s Center at Midtown online

What makes a Strong Beginnings center?

Child care centers delivering Strong Beginnings programming agree to specific program components that are in addition to Parent Aware rating and NAEYC accreditation. The constellation of these Strong Beginnings program components were evaluated and found that children showed developmental gains, increased kindergarten readiness, and increased family engagement.

Strong Beginnings program components include:

Parent Aware 4-star rated for early childhood services
65% of enrolled children are low-income, special needs, and/or in foster care
Culturally responsive child care practices, such as representative staffing, using children’s first language, and culturally relevant environment
Higher staff to child ratio than required by state licensing
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
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
Child-specific transition plan to kindergarten
- The Child Development Specialist coordinates services with the local school district and the transition to kindergarten
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

History of Strong Beginnings

In 1990, community early childhood professionals and Hennepin County staff convened to address the needs of children in inner-city, low-income families. The group analyzed national data on quality early childhood programs and identified eighteen child care program components believed to have a positive impact on low-income children and their families.

In 1992, Hennepin County contracted with five child care centers to implement the positive-impact identified program components into a strategy called “Strong Beginnings”.

In 2000, Hennepin County completed an evaluation of the Strong Beginnings programs and found that children showed developmental gains, increased kindergarten readiness, and increased family engagement. As a result, Hennepin County expanded the program to eight more child care providers. A second evaluation in 2004 found that the Strong Beginnings providers continued to demonstrate the same successes.

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