鈥淚t literally changed my life,鈥 shares Corinne Martin on the impact of an Early Learning Scholarship for her family. These scholarships help families pay for quality early care and education starting at birth and continuing through kindergarten entry. Corinne and her daughter Oaklyn live in St. Louis Park, where Oaklyn attends Rise Early Learning Center and Corinne works as a Recovery Navigator at Metro State University.
A New Beginning
Moving from Florida with no family in Minnesota, Corinne struggled with addiction and the isolation of an abusive marriage. She maintained her sobriety through pregnancy but relapsed after giving birth to Oaklyn. After Child Protective Services (CPS) intervened and removed Oaklyn from her care, Corinne knew that she needed support. 鈥淚t was the worst thing. That was my rock bottom,鈥 she shares.
Corinne鈥檚 CPS case manager introduced her to Wayside Recovery Center, where she began her recovery journey and worked to get Oaklyn back. 鈥淭hey helped me get Oaklyn back and then I was like, Oh my God, I can do this on my own.鈥
Corinne and Oaklyn were living in a shelter while Corinne continued her recovery and navigated the challenges of applying for social service programs for her small family. As a single parent without a car or family nearby, she felt isolated. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just so hard. You can鈥檛 do anything. And I had no friends or family here.鈥 Staff at the shelter encouraged her to apply for an Early Learning Scholarship, and she eventually qualified and received funds to help pay for a quality child care program for Oaklyn.
Benefits of Whole-Family Support
Oaklyn now attends Rise Early Learning Center, which is a Parent Aware rated child care program co-located within an affordable housing complex in St. Louis Park. At Rise, families benefit from wrap-around support and family resource events that focus on topics like toilet training, nutrition, and emotional regulation.
When she talks about the impact of child care on Oaklyn鈥檚 development, Corinne highlights social-emotional learning and awareness of her feelings. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a social butterfly. She loves being around other kids and it鈥檚 really opened up her vocabulary,鈥 she shares. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e helping her with emotional communication, like recogniz