Bartholomew County is one of 15 new Indiana counties eligible to to participate in “On My Way Pre-K.” The program is designed to make prekindergarten available to four-year-old children from low-income families in approved counties.

Gov. Eric Holcomb made the announcement on Wednesday. Earlier this year, the Indiana General Assembly expanded the program from five pilot counties to 20 counties in House Enrolled Act 1004-2017.

Along with Bartholomew County, the new counties added to the program are DeKalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Harrison, Howard, Kosciusko, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Vigo. State officials say that participating local providers in these counties will be expected to enroll children in On My Way Pre-K for the 2018/2019 school year, with the possibility of a limited program beginning in January of 2018.

Bartholomew County joins Jackson County as being the only area counties eligible to take part in On My Way Pre-K. Jackson County was part of the pilot program, along with Allen, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh counties, launched in 2015 when first authorized by the General Assembly.

“Eligible Hoosier children who start at the back of the line now have an opportunity to move ahead when enrolled in a high-quality pre-kindergarten program,” Gov. Holcomb said. “A strategic investment now to expand state-funded prekindergarten for children from low-income families is an essential investment we must make in Indiana’s workforce and our state’s future.”

“We at FSSA already know from the two years we have spent managing the five-county pilot of On My Way Pre-K that children who begin the program are some of the most educationally needy in our state, yet they make higher gains than their peers in important aspects of school readiness such as language comprehension, early literacy, executive functioning and a reduction in behavior problems in the classroom,” said Indiana Family and Social Services Secretary Dr. Jennifer Walthall. “We hope the expansion of On My Way Pre-K will double the number of Hoosier children receiving these important benefits.”