HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – A call for helping youth was made by a coalition of the region’s business and law enforcement leaders on Wednesday.
With the backdrop of a classroom at the Maplewood Early Childhood Center in Holland, the Lansing-based group ReadyNation released its “Social-Emotional Skills in Early Childhood Support Workforce Success” report that calls for more support in early education and child care assistance programs across Michigan. A nationwide survey in the report, conducted by Zogby Analytics, claims 92 percent of 300 “business decision-makers” polled agreed with the premise that children’s experiences in the first five years of life affect the development of social emotional skills as adults, with 60 percent reporting difficulties in finding job candidates with adequate character skills as opposed to those with adequate technical skills.
The report was released a day after the state House was approving a proposed Fiscal 2018 budget, with ReadyNation promoting Governor Snyder’s planned 29.4 million dollars for a Child Development and Care Program. Among those in attendance supporting this report were Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Kempker and Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce President Jane Clark.
