Greetings and Happy 4th of July |
Legislative Session Ends
The 89th Legislative Session began January 11, 2021 and adjourned just before midnight on Wednesday May 19th, 2021. HF868 - Education Appropriation Bill - provided for 2.4% increase to local Early Childhood Iowa area boards. This increase aligns with the state supplemental aid increase that was passed for K-12 schools. Also included in the bill is a change in school ready administration cap from 3% to 5% and elimination of the funding estamate portion of the fiscal asessment in the community plan. Local ECI boards are grateful of the increase and the language change, please let your legislators know you are appreciative of the changes and how it will impact the work that you do on behalf of families.
Board Invests in Quality Programs
The 4 R Kids ECI Area Board is charged with administering grants to meet the needs in Adair, Dallas, and Warren County. This spring the 4 R Kids ECI area board has awarded just over $1.2 million in grants for FY2022 Programming to serve families with young children. These programs have proven to make difference in the lives of children. Research proves that when you invest $1 in early childhood services you will receive a $7 return. Another way to think about this is, put $1.2 million into a slot machine and it spits out more than $7 million in return. Who wouldn't want that?
Request for Proposal Anticipated
The 4 R Kids ECI Area Board will release an RFP in collboration with Quad Counties 4 Kids ECI Board for a Prenatal Advantage Piolet Project. The project will target health care providers who serve prenatal families. The goal is to increase healthy birth outcomes and link them to family support services. More information will be released early fall.
Debra Schrader
4 R Kids Executive Director
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Board Membership
The Iowa 4 R Kids Early Childhood Area Board is seeking applicants who want to help children age 0-5 grow, learn and prepare for Kindergarten. With the state financial resources, our twelve member board awards Early Childhood grants to ensure young children will be healthy and successful.
Board membership is available to anyone who work or live in Adair, Dallas, Madison, or Warren County, and do not directly or indirectly receive funds from the Board. For more information download the 4 R Kids Board membersip application or contact the ECI Director, Debra Schrader.
Say Thank You to 4 R Kids Board Members
They donate their time to make a difference in lives of families with children under the age of 6. Give a shout out to the following board members the next time you see them!
Deb Blazek- Adair County
Tammy Walk - Adair County
Brittany Shinn - Adair County
Lois Hoger - Dallas County
Kevin Howe - Dallas County
Janice Jensen - Madison County
Rita Martens - Madison County
Paul Millhollin - Madison County
Justin Terry - Warren County
Khristen Kaufman - Warren County
Nikki Gunn - Warren County
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FACTS About Iowa
The United States managed to produce over 15.1 billion bushels of corn in 2017, with Iowa, the leading producer of corn in the country, providing over 2.7 billion bushels. Over 99% of the corns produced in Iowa are field corns which are used as corn syrup, corn oil, corn starch, or corn cereal. Field corn is the yellow dented corn that is dried and harvested during the fall, and it’s known as ‘’dented corn’’ due to the unique dent that forms on its kernel as it dries. Iowa is the leading producer of ethanol in the country. About 39% of their corn being used to produce over 30% of the total ethanol produced in the United States
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A good night’s rest is great for babies and parents. Infants, aged 4 to 11 months, get an average of 12 to 15 hours of sleep per day. But what happens if a baby isn’t sleeping that long? Learn more from this video.
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COVID-19 Resources
To get the most recent information about COVID-19 in Iowa go to the COVID-19 in Iowa website.
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Now is the season for Farmers Markets. Eat Greater Des Moines has a map of local farmers markets.
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Did You Know?
Tonsils Have Taste Buds
Although a baby has about the same number of taste sensors as kids and younger adults, they cover more areas, including the tonsils and the back of the throat. A newborn can taste sweet, bitter, and sour, but not salty (until around 5 months). It's a matter of survival: Breast milk is sweet, while bitter and sour may be harmful. When they start on solid food, they'll tend to like the same things mom ate while pregnant and breastfeeding.
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Boo!
Babies Can Scare Themselves
It doesn’t take much to startle a newborn: a loud noise, strong scent, bright light, sudden motion, even their own cries. You'll know it's happened when they fling their arms out to the sides, hands open, then quickly closes up and tucks back in toward their body. This Moro reflex might have developed as a warning signal that a young monkey was off-balance, so mom could prevent a fall.
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Think your child is especially mischievous?
Then he or she may fall into the category that 1 out of 5 toddlers can open a child proof cap!
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Did You Know?
On March 10, 2021, Governor Reynolds signed
launching a new 100 day Child Care Task Force to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the child care shortage and barrier to work in Iowa. Recommendations will be provided on or around July 18, 2021.
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Google Folders
Due to the pandemic most if not all meetings are held electronically. Google folders have been implemented for anyone to drop documents into. Feel free to view or drop information into the respective folders.Folders are organized by fiscal years and months.
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4 R Kids ECI Board Meetings
September 9, 2021
November 18, 2021
December 16, 2021
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