Minnesota' Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program got some good news in the State Legislature's recent special section. After a 20 percent cut in the last two-year budget cycle, the 2006-07 budget raises the allotment from $96 to $104 per eligible child. This, however, is still well below the $120 per eligible child in 2003.
One of the effects of the drastic cuts in the past was long waiting lists. In Minneapolis, 480 people were waitlisted last year. This year, even with the increased funding, some families will pay more in class fees. The fall 2005 sliding fee scale in Minneapolis raises fees for upper-income families. Class fees are still waived for those who can't pay.
In addition to state funding, money for individual ECFE programs (which correspond to school districts and manage budgets and programming independently) comes from local levies and occasional grants.
ECFE is a system of community-based education programs that emphasize parent-child interaction. They are based on the belief that the parent is the child's first and best teacher, explains Renee Torbenson, an ECFE teacher for the past 19 years. All Minnesota families with children under age 5 are eligible to participate.
For families such as St. Paul parents Carol and Jeff Peden, ECFE has had a huge impact. Fifteen years ago, when their son Michael was 3, an ECFE teacher suggested that they have Michael screened. At the age of 4, he was diagnosed with pervasive development disorder and autism spectrum disorder. "Because of the help from ECFE and the referrals we received, Michael has done wonderfully," says Carol Peden. "He will attend the University of Minnesota in the fall with a full scholarship."
The existence of ECFE and other early childhood education programs is especially important to children at risk. According to research conducted by Art Rolnick, senior vice president and director of research at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, exposing these kids to quality early childhood education results in a huge economic benefit. "We know that parent involvement with kids who are high-risk has a high return," he says.
But, as Rolnick adds, "It is important to know if ECFE is truly reaching families at risk." ECFE is saddled with the perception that it is geared largely toward middle- and upper-middle-class families. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, however, about a quarter of ECFE participants in the 2004-05 school year had family incomes below $30,000 a year. In all, a whopping 40 percent of Minnesota children under age 5 participated in ECFE last year.
"Our goal is to reach all families," says Helen Wells. "We go to homeless shelters, battered women's shelters, and high schools and give classes for teen parents. We meet all kinds of people because we go to hospitals and offer classes for women who have just had their babies."
Minnesota's ECFE is one of only a few of its kind in the country. Keeping it vital, according to Lisa Ramirez, who chairs ECFE's South Minneapolis Parent Advisory Committee, will require that parents get and stay involved. "Research shows that programs with a high amount of parental involvement thrive and those that don't do not last," she says. Ramirez believes in the importance of ECFE so strongly that she feels it should be made a mandatory part of K-12 education. "Every parent has his or her own journey. Without ECFE, I would have been at a loss," she says.
For more information
Minneapolis Public Schools developmental screening program
(612) 348-TOTS or visit these websites:
Early Childhood Family Education
www.ecfe.net
South Minneapolis Parent Advisory Committee
http://home.earthlink/~ecfesouthpac
Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education
www.mnafee.org
Early Childhood Advocates
www.earlychildhoodadvocates.org
Ready 4 K
www.ready4K.org
