What Great Start Collaborative-Oakland does

Great Start Collaborative-Oakland is a privately operated, grant-funded community collaborative headquartered at 2111 Pontiac Lake Rd, Waterford Township, Michigan, that functions as the Oakland County coordinator within Michigan's statewide Help Me Grow system. Operating under the Oakland Schools intermediate school district umbrella, the organization administers a portfolio of state-funded early childhood programs for families with children from birth through age eight, including the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) and Head Start (free preschool), four Home Visiting variants (Nurse-Family Partnership, Early Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Healthy Families Oakland), plus Family Engagement, Early Literacy, Child Development screening, Early On, and HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences). All services are delivered free of charge to eligible families; no revenue is collected from program participants.

The organization's underlying technology stack is minimal: there is no proprietary software platform. Service delivery is coordinated through the state-operated MiECC Caregiver Portal (version4.miecc.org) for centralized intake and referral status, a 1-844 phone/text support line, and a PreK Finder/Program Finder web tool. Awareness is generated through a multi-channel community-marketing approach — Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok — supplemented by partner-hosted events and keyword/text enrollment ('text PRESCHOOL'). Referral pathways flow through pediatricians, schools, libraries, and human service agencies, with care coordinators matching families to appropriate programs.

The business model is grant-funded managed services rather than commercial revenue. Primary funding flows from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), with no fee-for-service or subscription revenue from families. With 9 employees and a partner ecosystem that includes OLHSA, Oakland County Health Division, and multiple public libraries, the collaborative's go-to-market is community-led and partnership-anchored rather than sales-driven. The organization carries no venture, private equity, or public ownership and reports no funding rounds, acquisitions, or executive leadership changes in the source material.

Name

Great Start Collaborative-Oakland

Legal name

Great Start Oakland

Website

https://greatstartoakland.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Start Collaborative-Oakland is a grant-funded community collaborative operating Help Me Grow Oakland to connect Oakland County, Michigan families with children from birth through age eight to free state-funded early childhood programs, including GSRP, Head Start, home visiting, and family engagement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Head Start & Public Pre-K Programs (EDACABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Inclusive Early Intervention & Transition-to-Preschool Services (EDACAFAM), Home Visiting & Parent Coaching Programs (EDACALAC)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Free preschool programs
• Home visiting services
• Family support services
• Child development resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterford Township

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Funded through a grant provided by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). All services are provided free of charge to eligible families. No revenue is generated from program participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Great Start Collaborative-Oakland is a community collaborative that connects families in Oakland County, Michigan with a coordinated portfolio of free early childhood programs for children from birth through age eight. Core offerings include free preschool via the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) and Head Start, multiple Home Visiting program variants (Nurse-Family Partnership, Early Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Healthy Families Oakland), Family Engagement workshops, Early Literacy, Child Development screening, Early On early intervention, HOPE, and a centralized Program Finder tool to match families to appropriate services.

Product overview

Great Start Collaborative-Oakland operates as a coordinated system of early childhood programs serving families in Oakland County, Michigan. The organization does not offer a single unified software product but rather administers a portfolio of government-funded programs including the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) and Head Start for free preschool, multiple Home Visiting program variants (Nurse-Family Partnership, Early Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Healthy Families Oakland), and Family Engagement initiatives including Early Literacy, Child Development screening, Early On, and HOPE. These programs are connected through a shared Program Finder tool for enrollment, with services delivered through community partnerships rather than a unified technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Children who attend PreK are more likely to succeed in school and in life
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lyon Township Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for Music and Movement events serving children 1-2 years and their caregivers. Library serves a population of just under 24,000 residents at 27005 S. Milford Rd. Provides space and resources for early childhood programming.
• West Bloomfield Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for Music and Movement events. Library has a history dating back to 1934, serving the West Bloomfield community with books, technology, educational classes and community programs.
• Novi Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for virtual 'Helping Your Toddler Talk' workshop. Library mission is to cultivate learning, inspire creativity, and foster inclusivity through spaces, programs, and partnerships.
• Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Action Agency formed in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty. Partners on Head Start programming and Back to School Bash events for families with children 0-5 years.
• Oakland County Health DivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides health services for the public, businesses and educational communities. Collaborates on events such as the Bridging the Breastfeeding Gap Event.
• Little Sprouts Early Childhood CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit, licensed Early Childhood Center located inside of Waterford CUMC. Host venue for PLAY with Me events for children 0-3 years and their caregivers.
• Michigan Alliance for FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide organization providing resources and support for families of children with disabilities. Listed as a family resource partner on the Help Me Grow Oakland website.
• Nurturing ParentingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvider of parenting resources and programs. Listed as a resource partner providing parenting class content.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Parents as Teachers: National home visiting model that Great Start Oakland itself delivers through one of its four home visiting programs. Operates as an evidence-based model provider at much larger national scale.
• Help Me Grow National Center: National umbrella organization that supports state- and county-level Help Me Grow systems including Help Me Grow Oakland. Operates in the same early-childhood care coordination space across multiple states with broader scope.
• Child Care Aware of America: National child care resource and referral organization that operates similar family navigation, referral coordination, and early-childhood programming. Comparable in mission of connecting families to quality child care services.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): National professional membership organization setting early childhood education standards that GSRP programs are aligned with. Operates accreditation and professional development that Great Start Oakland's professional resources leverage.
• Nurse-Family Partnership: National evidence-based home visiting model for first-time mothers delivered locally by Help Me Grow Oakland. Provides direct home visiting services to a comparable prenatal-to-age-2 population nationally.
• Start Early (Ounce of Prevention Fund): Chicago-based national early childhood organization operating Educare schools and advocating for prenatal-to-age-5 policy. Overlaps with Great Start Oakland's early intervention and PreK focus at a broader geographic scale.

Direct peers

• Great Start Collaborative of Wayne County: Michigan county-level early childhood collaborative running the same GSRP, Head Start, home visiting, and Help Me Grow coordination model under MiLEAP funding. Most directly comparable structure and funding model, just in a different (larger) county.
• Great Start Collaborative of Kent County: Another Michigan county-level Great Start Collaborative running an analogous mix of GSRP, Head Start, home visiting, and family engagement programs under the same MiLEAP funding umbrella.
• Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA): Local Community Action Agency partner that delivers Head Start programming in the same region and co-hosts events with Great Start Oakland. Direct operational peer within the same county and funding ecosystem.

Regional players

• Smart Start of North Carolina: North Carolina's statewide public-private early childhood initiative funding county-level collaboratives for PreK access, home visiting, and family support. Same county-collaborative funding model but in a different state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/greatstartoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCarHJ7prd2yS_zvbWSyDpA
• Facebookfacebook.com/helpmegrowoakland
• Instagraminstagram.com/greatstartoc
• Pinterestpinterest.com/GreatStartOakland
• TikToktiktok.com/@greatstartoakland?
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-start-collaborative-oakland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Start Collaborative-Oakland