The Twenty-first Century Child of Northwest Indiana: An Initiative Developed to Ensure Success by Six

Abstract

For decades in Northwest Indiana, policies have been enacted and services have been available to young children with the sole purpose of improving their condition. Those services are as diversified as the children whose needs these services meet. There is home-based care for children alone, in groups or care given in centers. There are services available to children whose development may be challenged by socioeconomic conditions developmental disabilities, mental health issues, or family trauma. Regardless of what type of service being provided, or policy for which they are advocating, the groups share one common goal; to improve the young child’s circumstances early in his or her development, recognizing that such an investment can lead to favorable outcomes (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). One such initiative created to advocate for urban and rural children developing in Northwest Indiana, and supported by all of the United Way programs in Northwest Indiana is Success by 6.