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Healthy, Safe, School Ready Children is what Linn County Community Empowerment is all about. Since 1998 Linn County has worked to enhance the early childhood development experience of families with children age birth to five years and to meet the following State of Iowa Desired Results:
This is accomplished by a citizen-led partnership with education, health and human service program providers and with funding from local, state and federal sources. The Linn County Community Empowerment Board has a vision to better organize community systems, work collaboratively across systems, involve local citizens and improve the outcomes for children and families.
The Empowerment approach was established by mandate of the Iowa Legislature in 1998 and reflects their commitment to serving Iowa families in partnership with local communities. Linn County was one of the first three areas in the state to be designated as an Empowerment area. This designation provides the local Empowerment Board with access to state and federal dollars to fund local early childhood development efforts. The Board allocates funds according to priorities identified in the local Community Plan.
The Linn County Community Empowerment Board provides oversight to the allocation of State School Ready dollars and Federal Early Childhood funds. The intended use of School Ready funds is to provide comprehensive health and human services for children. Early Childhood funds are used to enhance quality child care capacity in support of parents ability to obtain or retain employment.
The importance of Empowerment and its focus on early childhood development children birth is illustrated by the following statistics: