Montana Is Using Collaborative Planning and its Best Beginnings Advisory Council to Strengthen its Early Childhood Systems

In Montana, the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program has been a catalyst for collaborative planning and systems building across programs serving young children and their families. The states Best Beginnings Advisory Council brings together representatives across early childhood systems to develop and implement a statewide plan for early childhood services. Twenty-five local coalitions complement the state-level work to increase coordination in towns, counties, regions, and Native American reservations. The local coalitions undertake community needs assessments; develop plans and priorities for the early childhood system; provide professional development; build capacity, infrastructure, and communication; focus on sustainability; and support the implementation and integration of home visiting programs within the early childhood system. The MIECHV program resources helped to strengthen the state Best Beginnings Advisory Council and to expand the number of local coalitions.

Learn more about Montana and how other states are using MIECHV funds to strengthen their early childhood systems in ZERO TO THREEs paper, The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Smart Investments Build Strong Systems for Young Children found at http://www.zerotothree.org/policy/homevisiting/docs/ztt-homevisiting_final.pdf

Updated January 2016