Workforce Development Begins at Birth

Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley has been selected as 1 of 8 recipients in the State of Wisconsin to receive a $50,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Grant – Birth to 5 [PDG B-5] award, to support innovative programs and partnerships that address areas of equity, access, affordability, quality, and workforce as highlighted in the state’s Birth to 5 Statewide Strategic Plan.
 
Family Resource Center St Croix Valley, Board President, Mark Tyler commented. “This grant is a great opportunity to grow our collaborations with economic development, workforce development, and early childhood development. These are all critical to the health and vibrancy of the communities we serve. To provide programming that connects with the farm to table movement is an added bonus for the families and children. Needless to say, we are excited to get started.”
 
Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley [FRCSCV] offers no cost parent education and support to families and children prenatal to kindergarten entry in Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix counties. To strengthen the communities it serves, Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley is expanding business partnerships with St. Croix County Economic Development Corporation, Family Friendly Workplaces, OEM Fabricators, Nolato Contour, JA Counter, Threshing Table Farm, Child Protective Services in Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix Counties, and other community and parent partners to implement its community innovation project.
 
Grant Initiatives Include

• Expand programming to institute Early Childhood Parent Café’s.
• Sponsor workshops for the business community on the importance of investing in early childhood programs for the future workforce.
• Pilot a program with three local businesses to strategize how to better support employees with young children.
• Expand Farm to ECE program by offering opportunities for disadvantaged families to have an on-farm experience and bring home fresh produce.

For the first component of the initiative, Family Resource Center, St. Croix EDC and Family Friendly Workplace will host a ‘Workforce Development Begins at Birth’ Workshop, Thursday, April 15th at 11:00am.  Well-regarded, expert panelists will share short presentations on how Early Childhood Development is the best economic investment a community or region can make. Presenters include Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UW Madison; Mark Tyler, Founder & Chairman, OEM Fabricators, Inc., Founder & Lead Volunteer, Family Friendly Workplaces, Inc.; Bill Rubin, St. Croix EDC; Agnes Ring, FRCSCV Executive Director; Rob Gruenwald, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Kimber Liedl, Business Engagement Director, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association; Carol Kline, Director of Special Education, Unity School District; Neil Kline - Family Friendly Workplace and Jalena Ziemba, Parent Educator, FRCSCV. 
This workshop is provided at no cost to the attendee.  Register for the event here: tinyurl.com/wdbab.