INARF Members Receive 2-Year Early Education Matching Grants

Last week, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) named 20 organizations from 18 different Indiana counties recipients of the Early Education Matching Grant (EEMG). These grants will help recipients provide quality early education for low-income children in Indiana. Twelve previous grant winners will renew their grants, and eight sites have been awarded new grants to serve a total of 1267 children for both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. INARF members Blue River Services, Inc. and Pathfinder Services, Inc. were previous recipients of the grant, and their grants were renewed. ​

“The EEMG program is an important tool toward increased school readiness and academic success for low-income children in Indiana,” said Nicole Norvell, Director of Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning. “The grants leverage public and private investments within high-quality community-based programs, including school-based, faith-based and nonprofit early learning programs. This approach allows many more at-risk children living outside of the five pilot On My Way Pre-K counties to access essential high-quality early education.” 

Twenty grants, totaling $3,385,263, are being awarded and another $4,896,015 in matching funds have been obtained by those grantees from foundations, United Way agencies, corporations, coalitions of public-private organizations and individual donors. These grants will be used to expand high-quality early education programs for low-income families with 4-year-old children. 

The EEMG program, established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013 (and renewed in 2015 for an additional two-year cycle), allows high-quality, early child care and education programs to apply for matching funds to serve 4-year-old children from families whose incomes are below federal poverty guidelines. In the EEMG program, grants are awarded directly to providers statewide, who use the funds to enroll qualified children. More information about the Early Childhood Matching Grant is available here. 

INARF congratulates Blue River Services, Inc. and Pathfinder Services, Inc. on the renewal of their grants. ​