Dickinson-Iron Great Start Collaborative

The Great Start Collaborative of Charlevoix, Emmet, and Northern Antrim counties is made up of community leaders and organizations from each county that have a vested interest in Early Childhood Investment. We are representatives from business, health, education, human services, higher education, non-profit, court systems, philanthropy, and parents who are implementing a plan to address the needs of young children within our Northern Michigan Communities.

The mission of our collaborative is to engage multi-disciplinary partners and families to identify, plan and implement system change to strengthen families and improve child outcomes. Since 2012, one of our major priorities has been the implementation of the Strengthening Families Framework that promotes 5 Protective Factors to make families strong.