Parent Coalition

COOR/Iosco Great Start Parent Leadership Group

What is the Parent Leadership Group?

The Great Start parent Coalition is a “grass roots” organization, which represent the voice of the family, the child and their community to the collaborative. The Great Start Parent Coalition is a subset of the Kids Great Start Multi-County Great Start Collaborative. This collaborative is the planning and decision-making body of the Michigan’s Great Start System at the local level. Michigan’s Great Start System includes connecting parents to services that provide the following:

Child Care and Early Education
Parenting Leadership
Family Support
Pediatric and Family Health
Social and Emotional Health

While helping to support the Office of Great Start Outcomes which are:

Children are born healthy.
Children are healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth to third grade.
Children are developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry.
Children are prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiently by the end of third grade.

The purpose of the Parent Leadership Group:

To assist in building public support and will for early childhood investment through parent voice and educational activities at the local and state level;
To support and be engaged in driving the work of the COOR/Iosco Great Start Collaborative;
To serve as the parent voice to the Great Start Collaborative to help community partners better understand the needs and concerns of all families in our community; and
To educate policy-makers on the importance of investing in the first eight years of life and the essential role and parents and families play in the lives of young children.
Assist in building public support for early childhood investment
Supports and participates in the assessment and strategic planning work of the Great Start Collaborative
Strengthens the commitment of parents in the community, on behalf of young children
Serve as a liaison to the Collaborative, GSRP, Head Start, and Private Preschools

Ways to get involved:

Regularly attend and participate in Great Start Collaborative meetings
Support Parent Leadership Group and Great Start Collaborative activities and events
Actively share information about the Parent Leadership Group through your circle of friends, family and acquaintances
Volunteer at Great Start Collaborative and Parent Leadership Group events
Visit , write letters or make calls to your legislators
Offer feedback about your experiences

*Parents who are members of the Great Start Collaborative and Leadership Group will receive support through a stipend.

Benefits of joining the Great Start Parent Leadership Group:

Parent to parent communication
Social networking activities with other parents
Social opportunities for your children
Access to a network of support from other parents
Learning opportunities on topics that involve parenting and children
Helping our community develop a unified statement of standards with regards to early childhood services
Helping to increase parent leadership and advocacy within your community
Helping improve the conditions of young children prenatal to age 8 in our 5 counties
Helping promote laws and policies which create safe and healthy communities for young children by using authentic parent voice
Having the opportunity to learn more about local resources available to families with young children.

Members should:

Support the full and active participation of other Collaborative and Parent Leadership Group members;
Respect the diversity of opinions that emerge in our discussion
Never hesitate to ask questions or share experiences;
Assist in the recruitment of new members and in helping us “spread the word” about our efforts to other community organization and community members