Minnesota Early Childhood Comprehensive System (MECCS)
Resources for Parents and Professionals
The MECCS grant program assists public and private entities to coordinate their early childhood systems for ages birth through five. MECCS grant activities do not provide direct services or referrals for services. If you are looking for information related to early childhood services, please refer to the resources listed below.
Minnesota Parents Know Website
Website: www.parentsknow.state.mn.us
The Minnesota Parents Know website is a resource filled with convenient and trusted information on child development, health, and parenting. The website is founded on the belief that parents are the first and most important teacher in a child’s life. This site provides up-to-date research-based information on children from birth through grade 12, strategies to promote children’s learning, newsletters, expert tips, an interactive early childhood and child care search, video clips, and a customized, non-commercial search engine for quality child development and health resources.
Help Me Grow
If you have questions about your child’s development or if you think your child might need extra help to learn, call 1-866-693-GROW (4769).
Child Care Resource and Referral Network
Website: www.mnchildcare.org or call: 1-888-291-9811
The Minnesota Child Care Resource & Referral Network helps families find child care and understand their care options, supports child care providers through grants and education and informs the community on the importance of child care.
Early Childhood Programs in Minnesota
Website: education.state.mn.us/MDE/Learning_Support/Early_Learning_Services/Early_Childhood_Programs/index.html
This site contains links to Early Childhood programs that are served through the Minnesota Department of Education, including: Head Start, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), Early Childhood Screening, Even Start, Help Me Grow, and the School Readiness Program.
MinnesotaHelp.info Website
Website: minnesotahelp.info/public/
Find information, in both English and Spanish, on programs and services in your community to help with health care, child care, job training, education, recreation, retirement, disability and social services for yourself or other family members.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Website: www.aap.org
Visit the Parenting Corner to find information on a wide variety of health and development topics, finding a pediatrician in your local area, reading materials, and expert tips.
Minnesota Department of Health - Maternal and Child Health Section
Website: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/index.html
The Maternal & Child Health Section provides statewide leadership and public health information essential for promoting, improving or maintaining the health and well-being of women, children and families throughout Minnesota. Once you are on the Maternal & Child Health Section website, click on the links at the left of the screen to find topic-related information on the health and development of infants, children, and adolescents.
Department of Human Services - Child Care
Website: http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_000151
This website links to a series of informative reports on child care in Minnesota. Once on this website, click on the links on the right of the page for more information on child care services and resources in MN.
Minnesota Parent Aware
Website: http://www.parentawareratings.org/en/home
Parent Aware is a pilot rating tool for selecting high quality child care and early education programs. Parent Aware’s star ratings help you find the type of quality, nurturing programs that will help prepare your babies, toddlers and preschoolers for school and life. Parent Aware ratings are currently available for child care/early education providers in: Saint Paul, Minneapolis, the Wayzata school district, and Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties.
Minnesota Center for Professional Development
Website: http://www.mncpd.org/
The Minnesota Center for Professional Development supports the building of a network of trainers to deliver quality adult learning experiences in the field of child care and early education. On this website, you will find training opportunities that are being offered throughout the state. The center offers you career guidance to meet your professional development needs and career advancement. If you are working in a child care center, a Head Start program, a family provider, a trainer, ECFE staff or work in an after-school program, this center is for you.
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, Wilder Research
Website: www.wilderresearch.org
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a non-profit health and human services organization combining direct service, research, and community development to address the needs of the most vulnerable people in greater St. Paul. The Wilder Research website contains numerous reports on early childhood in addition to other topic areas.
Ready 4 K
Website: www.ready4k.org
Ready 4 K is a non-profit organization that houses the national Build Initiative in Minnesota. The Build Initiative is a multi-state partnership supporting those who set policies, provide services and advocate for children from birth through age five so that our youngest children are safe, healthy, eager to learn, and ready to succeed in school.
Early Childhood Business Plan
Website: www.mnearlychildhood.org
In February 2008, a small group of Minnesota based foundations and funders agreed to work together to fund a comprehensive business plan to guide the state of Minnesota in the area of early childhood education and care policies for the next five to seven years.
Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council
Website: education.state.mn.us/MDE/Learning_Support/Early_Learning_Services/Adv_Groups/Early_Child_Adv_Council/index.html
The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) makes recommendations to the Governor and legislature, including proposed legislation on how to effectively create a high-quality early childhood system in Minnesota in order to improve the educational outcomes of children. The goal of the council is to ensure that all children are school-ready by 2020.
