TERRE HAUTE, Ind – The United Way of the Wabash Valley announced a grant award from its Success By 6 Impact Council Thursday.  The grant addresses access to high-quality childcare in our community.

Earlier this year, the council solicited applications from childcare sites to propose how they would provide quality affordable childcare and prepare children to enter school ready to learn by increasing their enrollment numbers in an existing Level 3 or 4 Paths to QUALITY™ program or move up a level in the rating system. From the application process, volunteers evaluated and selected three childcare sites, Sugar Grove Title I Preschool in Vigo County and Steps of Faith Child Care Ministry and Tik Tock Daycare in Sullivan County, to receive a total of $68,000 over the next two years.

Krissie Pickering, the Early Childhood Education Program Chair at Ivy Tech Community College and the co-chair of the Success By 6 Council explained, “United Way’s Success By 6 is focused on making sure our community’s youngest members have access to high-quality care and that organizations have the tools needed to provide such care. Studies show that children who receive high-quality child care enter school with better math, language, and social skills. These skills give children a good start to succeed in school and in life.”

The three childcare sites that were awarded the grant are all currently unrated or are level 1 on Paths to QUALITY™. With the award of this grant, all three hope to achieve Level 3 or 4 and become a high-quality rated childcare site with an impact to over 170 children. The grant will allow these childcare sites to invest in learning centers, outdoor learning play areas, and safety upgrades to facilities to comply with the Paths to QUALITY™ program.