Governor's Early Childhood Initiative Current Initiatives
Ohio Department of Education - Early Childhood Education
The mission of the Ohio Department of Education's Office of Early Learning and School Readiness (OELSR) is to ensure that all children enrolled in programs under the jurisdiction of the OELSR are provided a quality program in a safe environment. Quality programming is needs-driven rather than program-driven and based upon local community needs and involvement. As such, programs focus on the children and the families being served and are culturally sensitive to their unique needs.

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Early Childhood Mental Health
The Early Childhood Mental Health initiative helps us to make sure we approach the whole child by promoting healthy social and emotional development of young children (birth to six years) focusing on ensuring that children thrive, increasing their readiness for school and later school success through prevention and early intervention to address behavioral health needs.

The goal of ECMH consultation is to increase knowledge, awareness, skills and resources necessary for communities to meet the behavioral health needs of young children and their families, especially those at risk for abuse, neglect and poor social and emotional health by building protective factors in young children along with increasing competencies and skills of families and early childhood providers.
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Early Learning Initiative
The Early Learning Initiative is a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Education and The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that is designed to provide children, often identified as at risk of school failure, with educational experiences that will help them enter kindergarten read for success; and meet the child care needs of working families. All Early Learning Initiative programs provide families with, partial day and full day schedules, full year programs and/or the traditional nine month school schedule, educational experiences that are developed by skilled teachers, assurance of quality to Ohio’s Early Learning Program Guidelines through program monitoring.

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Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment
Medicaid’s Healthcheck program that provides access to healthcare screening and treatment services to address the social, emotional, mental, and physical health domains of child development. These screening and treatments are critically important to a child’s cognitive development to ensure that they are ready for school and lifelong learning.

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Help Me Grow
Help Me Grow is a program for Ohio’s expectant parents, newborns, infants and toddlers that provide health and developmental services so children start school healthy and ready to learn. Help Me Grow provides the building blocks for success for Ohio’s families.

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Ohio Professional Development Registry
A system for delivery of quality early childhood services that includes a comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and flexible professional development system. The Ohio Early Childhood Professional Development Network provides a forum for input and involvement of early childhood advocacy and professional organizations, and their public and private partners to examine early childhood professional development initiatives. This collaborative partnership continues its efforts to strengthen and build a system that provides support for the continued growth, learning, and advancement of early childhood professionals in Ohio.

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Step Up to Quality
Step Up To Quality is a voluntary Three-Star Quality Rating System for early childhood programs licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Step Up To Quality recognizes and promotes early care and education programs that meet quality benchmarks over and above minimum health and safety licensing standards. These benchmarks include low child to staff ratios, group size, accreditation, staff education, specialized training, improved workplace characteristics and early learning standards.

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T.E.A.C.H.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Ohio provides scholarships to teachers and family child care providers to earn degrees and credentials in Early Childhood Education. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Project, now in 23 states, is designed to address three of the major issues in the field: education, compensation and turnover. T.E.A.C.H. has four components to the program: scholarship, education, compensation and commitment.

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