Dane County

EARLY CHILDHOOD ZONES

ABOUT THE ZONES

The Dane County Early Childhood Zones are a collaboration of organizations that work together to support families who are pregnant and/or have children under the age of 4.

Depending on a family's interest and eligibility, they are first enrolled in one of seven different home visiting programs in Dane County. Their home visitors can then connect the family to other services that support housing stability, mental wellness, education and employment.

Participation is not dependent on citizenship status or languages spoken.

There are three Early Childhood Zones in Dane County:

Northside - serves the attendance zones of Gompers, Lindbergh, Lake View, and Mendota Elementary Schools in Madison, plus the Brentwood Village and Truax Neighborhoods.

Leopold - serves the attendance zone of Leopold Elementary School in Madison/Fitchburg, plus addresses on High Ridge Trail.

Sun Prairie - serves the city of Sun Prairie.

If you would like to see if you are eligible for the Northside and Leopold Early Childhood Zones, click here to enter your address into the MMSD School Finder.

OUR SERVICES

About Home Visiting

Parents are the first and most important teachers in their children’s lives, and home visiting seeks to enhance that connection by reducing parental stress, celebrating successes and supporting the family through challenges.

During regular home visits, our home visitors partner with the caregiver to:

support strong caregiver/child relationships
work to increase confidence in caregiver/child interactions
encourage increased parent involvement in children’s education and care
promote healthy and safe home environments
assist parents with medical, dental, and mental health care and increased child development understanding
provide regular screenings to assess mental health, physical health, healthy relationships, and cognitive, language, social, and emotional development
provide connections and referrals to other resources the family needs or wants

ECZ Home Visiting Programs

Welcome Baby and Beyond

Prenatal Care Coordination

KinderReady

Early Childhood Initiative

Early Head Start

ParentChild+

ENROLLMENT IN A HOME VISITING PROGRAM GRANTS YOU ACCESS TO:

Housing Case Management

Housing case management within the zones works to assist families with finding stable housing so that children are ready to be enrolled in Kindergarten or 4K with consistent attendance for the full year.

A housing case manager can provide support with:

tailored housing stability plans
short-term rent assistance
assisting to resolve issues that prevent families from securing stable housing
providing additional information and referrals as necessary

Our Housing Case Management Partners:

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Education and Employment

When families are thriving and stable, children can learn and thrive, as well.

Educational and employment support assists caregivers with job skills training programs, resume preparation, financial independence/stability, reducing barriers to education and employment goals, and increasing educational and employment attainment through identifying adult needs, wants, and strengths.

EES support can include:

obtaining a GED/HSED
enrolling in college
getting a driver’s permit and/or license
creating a resume and improving interview skills
applying for W2 or SSI/SSDI
improving credit scores
obtaining and maintaining employment
enrolling in ESL classes
applying for DVR services
navigating workplace conflict

Our Education and Employment Partners::

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Mental Health Services

Our mental health service providers are culturally proficient with in-home early childhood mental health services that focus on restorative healing and hope for young children and their families. This helps families build a foundation for the mastery of life-sustaining skills, based on their own goals, including knowledge and use of coping tools and improvement in emotional regulation.

Mental Health support includes: