The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County connects families to essential services and resources to ensure children’s long-term success and well-being.

Every family is unique, and when it comes to parenting, there is not a universal approach. With an overwhelming amount of information instantly available at our fingertips, internet advice can be difficult to navigate. There is conflicting information, uncertainty about a source’s expertise, and overgeneralized pointers.

The Early Learning Coalition (ELC) of Osceola County takes the pressure off of families, giving them back valuable time to interact with their child. The organization serves as a hub of education, services and community connections that are customized to each child’s individual needs and each family’s lifestyle. Whether it is irregular work hours, financial hardship or special needs, The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County is available to help. 

“We have a service called Child Care Resource and Referral Services (CCR&R), which is the first step to finding child care, and they work with our specialists,” says ELC Osceola’s communications manager Erica Turchin. “They help filter the needs of each family and refer them to services. It could also be something such as helping with rental assistance or food insecurities, and we can connect them to those other resources. If a child has developmental delays, or if the parent has concerns, we connect them with the proper resources and have a specialist sit with that child. If there’s more assistance that’s needed, we connect them out to more specialized care.”

As a state-funded organization, The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County has a plethora of connections in the community that can assist parents with a variety of needs. Its team bridges communication and eases what may be an intimidating process to tackle alone.

“As a coalition, one of our goals has been not only to administer the early learning programs that we have, but to create partnerships in the community so that we are a one-stop shop. We have our own expertise on early learning within our agency, but we serve as a DCF access site so families that come in through CCR&R can also go through the screening process for SNAP benefits or some of those other resources that families may need,” says ELC Osceola’s CEO Amanda Kelkenberg. “If a parent has a concern about their child’s development, we really work hard to hold those community relationships with Healthy Start, First Steps, the school district and can direct them quickly and efficiently without a lot of extra steps or research on the parents’ part.”

Each family’s qualifications for child care financial assistance, known as the School Readiness program, are multifactorial, but checking out ELC Osceola’s website or giving their team a call can help each household determine their options. The website has a chart that helps determine eligibility based on income and household guidelines. However, eligibility may be dependent on unique circumstances that aren’t defined by numerical value. 

“There’s nuances to qualifying. I always think it’s worth starting the application, getting it screened, or calling our staff and going through those questions just to make sure you’re not screening yourself out. We always encourage people to take that first step; it’s not lengthy. We have a pre-approval process so you don’t have to fill out the whole application to find out four weeks later you don’t qualify,” explains Kelkenberg. “If someone doesn’t qualify, and they’re still in need, that’s where our Child Care Resource and Referral can help families think about: What’s my plan going to be without some additional financial support? How am I going to create a childcare plan for my child and my family?”

Regardless of income, Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program is available at no cost to all 4-year-old children in the state. This initiative assures preparation for kindergarten and the school years ahead, providing an early opportunity for children to acclimate to educational and social experiences.

“It’s getting them exposed to a schedule, working on their literacy skills and social and emotional intelligence. Some kids have been at home this whole time; maybe they’ve been the only sibling and they haven’t had interactions with other children. This is a time where they’re learning to share, working on literacy skills and sometimes they’re using technology—there’s a whole curriculum based around it,” says Turchin.

She and Kelkenberg explain that foundational learning is essential, and the VPK program teaches all of the necessary skills to help children—and parents—feel confident during the school years ahead. Building upon education can begin as early as a child’s first day, and Kelkenberg emphasizes singing, reading and talking to babies at every stage of development.

“There are new parents that are like, ‘Really, read a book to a baby?’ Absolutely, yes. One of the things that gets missed often is the importance of talking, singing and playing as the foundation of learning for very young children, and how simple [it] can be,” she says. “The most powerful tool that a parent has in their entire space is themselves, their words and some great songs—even off-key. Going back to those nursery rhymes, it is all about language. It is the No. 1 game-changing part of early literacy development: talk and sing and read.”

The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County Kissimmee (321) 219-6300 ELCOsceola.org