Education

Helping Children & Youth Achieve their Potential

Families engage in healthy relationships and promote youth development.

Why is it important? Here in Portage County:

• Prescription drug abuse is on the rise
• Wait time for mental health counselors is too long for at risk youth

Children & youth achieve academic progress at appropriate levels.

Why is it important? Children are more successful in school when they enter ready to learn. Investing in children early provides greater long-term returns and is less costly than retraining later in life. Kindergarten teachers estimate 1 in 3 children enter the classroom unprepared to meet the challenges of kindergarten. The poorest children enter kindergarten 1-2 years behind in language and other skills important to school success.