Mobile Unit (9-05)
Date of Project: 09-2005
Name of Coalition: Itasca Area Early Childhood Initiative
MIF: Northland Foundation,
Project Overview: Transportation has long been an issue for many families accessing services in Itasca County due to travel times to Grand Rapids from outlying areas. (At close to 3,000 square miles, Itasca County is the third largest county in the state of Minnesota.) The new "Mobile Unit" will bring educational experiences, resource information and incentive (by way of Baby Steps merchandise) to families living in outlying areas. Innovative educational experiences will be presented in the areas pertinent to the communities served. Partnering agencies will be able to make services or educational materials available through the mobile unit to the sparsely populated regions. An educator, accompanied by a Baby Steps/Step Ahead staff member, will visit selected sites once per month during the first year of operation. The current list of Baby Steps Distributors will serve as the pool of professional services and qualified educators. Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital, ECFE, Head Start, the YMCA, and the Teen Parent Program are a few groups that have met with the coordinator to develop the topic areas. Other selected topics were determined after reviewing the parent interest survey and through results gathered by the coalition (Northland Foundation).
Cost of Project:
# of Children 0-5 Served: 0
# of Children 6-18 Served: 0
# of Adults Served: 0
# Families Served: 0
Lessons Learned/Outcomes: Promote the expansion of Baby Steps Boutique and Step Ahead through a mobile unit that will travel to outlying areas providing outreach services through educational workshops and library resources while providing incentive to use county resources.
Project Frequency: