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Fall 2006
Mentor
Nancy Latimer: A Leader in Early
Childhood Funding in Minnesota
Nancy Latimer, who worked as a senior program officer of The McKnight Foundation,
was a pioneer, leader and mentor in funding early childhood development in Minnesota. Giving Forum asked Latimer to share insights about the past, present and future of the early childhood cause.
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Nancy Latimer, a pioneer, leader and mentor in funding early childhood development in Minnesota.
Photo by Steve Neidorf
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GF: As a funder, when did you first become aware of early childhood issues? What brought about that awareness?
Latimer: McKnight has funded child care programs since the 1970s, through its support for children and families. But in the mid-'90s, I became aware of several changes in the environment that required a larger, more focused response.
Welfare reform legislation at the time meant that more and more women had to work outside the home. And new research on brain development was stressing the importance of high-quality experiences for children early in their lives. Of course, Minnesota was also experiencing large growth in populations of refugee and immigrant children who face big language and cultural barriers.
Our research indicated that investments in high-quality early childhood programs are particularly cost-effective. Beyond immediate outcomes, we learned that children who take part are less likely to need special services or to become delinquents later in life. It became clear that much more needed to be done to improve early childhood, if we wanted to capitalize on its vast potential for outcomes — and that improvements would need to be on a systemic level, as well as a program level.
So, in 2000, we proposed a three-part strategy to McKnight's board: continue funding for select programs to learn and test ideas; encourage larger-scale efforts to improve quality through training and research; and, most importantly, encourage systems change to make quality early education both more affordable and more effective.
GF: How has the environment for early childhood development changed since then?
Latimer: Early on, we needed lots of partners and strategies — in addition to funding — to make progress toward our goals. So we sponsored a conference with the Federal Reserve Bank to hear about the latest research in early childhood development, and we invited funders to a meeting to share information and approaches. I also worked on the national level with the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, which developed a seven-state effort (including Minnesota) to improve early childhood systems through technical assistance for states' efforts.
Now, years later, the Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Group still meets regularly. And the Minnesota Initiative Foundations have also become valuable allies in developing and nurturing non-metro support for early childhood.
Of course, Ready 4 K also has become invaluable in bringing together major provider groups. A great partner of ours at McKnight, Ready 4 K continues to play an integral role in developing a comprehensive plan for an early childhood system, organizing and advocating for change, and developing business community support.
GF: What are the most important milestones, or most gratifying things, that have happened in work around early childhood development?
Latimer: It is incredibly gratifying to see how much public awareness has improved around the importance of quality early childhood programming. Nowadays, early childhood care and education is prominently positioned on the radar of legislators, the business community and the general public. One clear example of that is the creation of a large early learning caucus in the state legislature.
And several important pilot programs have developed new methods to improve the quality of early childhood, ranging from new methods to measure learning, to coaching for providers and helping with transitions to kindergarten.
I'm also very pleased with the major support coming from the business community these days, from the Federal Reserve's research on cost-effectiveness to the creation of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation and the Itasca Project's outspoken support of a strategic early childhood agenda. And I'm looking forward to results from the Minnesota Department of Education's work to create a quality rating scale for early childcare providers.
Finally, because these initiatives and ideas generally come at some cost, money is necessarily an important component. The recent legislative allocation of $23 million for a number of early childhood programs is extremely encouraging.
GF: What is the future of funding in early childhood? What should the agenda be ahead?
Latimer: The entire sector needs to develop a unified, shared vision — and then, in line with that vision, adopt strategies to ensure that early childhood in Minnesota is of high quality, affordable and accessible.
From insightful research to funding and other challenges, this is complicated work. To be successful, all the players must come together and work in thoughtful coordination. Major support is needed from both public and private sectors. In the end, fundamental systems changes will be necessary to increase accountability and effectiveness throughout the field.
More
Information from the
Fall 2006 Edition of Giving Forum
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Thank you to the sponsors of this issue of Giving Forum:
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| $5,000 Sponsor |
Anonymous Sponsor
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| $3,000 Partner |
Minnesota Initiative Foundations |
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© Copyright 2006 Minnesota Council on
Foundations
Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher
is prohibited.
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