HUNTINGTON -- Proven success by early child development programs in Cabell and Wayne counties contributed to the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund making a local program the recipient of a $5,000 grant.

Playmates Preschools & Child Development Centers, the lead organization of the Cabell-Wayne Early Childhood Council, will use the grant and matching funds to attend regional meetings and hold forums to look for ways to increase the quality of early child care.

KIDS COUNT Executive Director Margie Hale praised both counties for shattering the state average of licensed child care centers that are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In Cabell County, 35 percent of the centers were accredited, while 25 percent of those in Wayne had the accreditation. The state average was 9 percent.

But Hale added that access to those centers is still limited by families' financial situations.

Data from KIDS COUNT indicate that more than half of the children under the age of 6 in both counties live in families with parents in the work force. But not all of those families can afford child care.

Jeanette Barker, Playmates executive director and Cabell-Wayne Early Childhood Council chairwoman, said subsidies are available, but they are minimal and the guidelines too narrow.

The Kids First Communities, which also includes Beckley, Charleston, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling, will join Huntington in the coming year to lobby lawmakers for a quality rating system for child development centers, as well as more funds to increase access to quality centers.

"Our extensive survey and focus group research demonstrates that parents, providers and community leaders are unanimous in their desire for high-quality early child development programs," Hale said. "They understand that when we put our children first by investing in high-quality child development programs, we are ensuring a brighter future for our children and our state."

In past years, Hale said, KIDS COUNT has provided financial support to cities and counties. This time, however, cities and counties also will get financial and technical support in an effort to become a regional voice for improving child care quality.

She believes the added support, combined with the grant, will help strengthen what she sees as an already strong early childhood development area.

"Huntington has a fantastic track record," Hale said. "They have more accredited child care programs than in any other part of the state."

And, said Barker, they will be able to help all of the child care centers in Cabell County to develop a plan to become accredited.

But this area also faces significant issues when it comes to retaining its work force. Surveys from 2,400 regulated child care providers from throughout the state all indicated difficulty in balancing a high-quality center and attracting and retaining good employees.

Hale said it's not a problem that will go away by simply paying higher wages. Child care facilities, she said, are run mostly by the tuition fees they receive from parents or guardians.

"The problem is child care programs can't charge high-quality fees," Hales said, adding that many families would simply not be able to afford tuition hikes.

That's where advocating for a ratings system and more money from state government comes in. If more families were eligible for child care subsidies, centers could raise tuition and attract a more stable work force that would maintain a high-quality atmosphere.

The ratings system, said Barker, also would affect staffing because higher ratings would be dependent upon the staff credentials, curriculum and facilities.

All of this is important because research shows a quality early child development program can get children off on the right foot, Hale said.

"The data suggests the intervention needs to be in the earliest years," she said.

She said such programs could affect children 10 years down the road, making them less likely to become teen parents, marry early or drop out of high school, a factor that continues to plague Cabell County.

That statistic, which is included in the KIDS COUNT 2007 data book, shows a 12.2 percent increase in dropouts from 2000 to 2005. Cabell County's ranking of 54th out of 55 counties in dropout rate weighs heavily on Cabell County being ranked 45th out of 55 counties in composite scores measuring the condition of children.

Wayne County is ranked 41st, while Putnam earned fourth. Hale said rural versus urban is clearly a factor, and there is less poverty in Putnam County.

Hale said if Cabell and Wayne counties can continue to accredit its child care facilities and more families can take advantage of child care, she knows the composite score will improve.

"We know that these programs are of the highest quality, and they'll turn out kids who will do better over time," she said. "But there is a long way to go. We know Cabell and Wayne will be successful in making it better."