The research is clear: Babies whose mommies and daddies talk to them, read to them and bathe them in  language are more likely to succeed at school.

Based on that research, about $1.7 million in grants from a new  endowment fund that combines tax dollars and donations will be used to support early childhood education programs in 11 Nebraska communities, including Lincoln, Crete and York.

In Lincoln, $325,000 will support already established centers at North Star High School and Bryan Community School that provide child care and parent education to more than 30 student parents and their young children.

The grant also will support a new home-based program for 50 to 60 young parents and their children, according to Deila Steiner, director of federal programs for Lincoln Public Schools.

The staff will work with the parents in their homes, teaching about child development stages, encouraging interaction between parent and child.

The home-based program will focus on black and Hispanic parents and also will work with the grandparents of the babies, Steiner said.

These are the first grants  from the Early Childhood Education Endowment, a fund created by the Legislature and approved by voters in 2006.

The grants are funded by interest from the endowment, which includes both public money and private donations.

The state’s share is the interest from $40 million of the $300 million permanent school fund. The endowment also includes about $10 million in private donations, which are expected to double to $20 million by the end of 2011, according to Jesse Rasmussen, chair of the trust board that oversees the grants.

The grants go only to high-quality programs, provided by highly qualified staff, said Rasmussen, who is also vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, which donated to the endowment.

“We want to fund what works, based on what we know from the research,” she said.

The research is very clear that birth to 3 years, in particular, is a critical period of development for emotional development (attachment issues) and early language development, Rasmussen said.

In fact, the brain’s structure is strengthened when children are nurtured and immersed in language, she said.

Teachers can tell you some kids show up at kindergarten almost a full year behind, she said.

The grant program is “really designed to give primary caretakers the skills and knowledge they need to make the most of those early years,” she said.

All the programs receiving grants this year have a home visitation component, according to  Rasmussen.

A $175,000 grant to Crete will fund an expansion of home visitation services for teen parents, serving both pregnant and parenting teens until the child is 3 years old.

This grant is a partnership between Crete Public Schools, Blue River Child Development Center, Public Health Solutions, Crete Area Medical Center and Blue Valley Behavioral Health.

A $175,000 grant in York will  support a new program for about 15 families with at-risk young children, through home visitation services and workshops on child growth and development. It also will fund training and child development education for about 50 mothers now in the correctional facility who have not finished high school, Rasmussen said.

This grant is a partnership between York Public Schools, Blue Valley Community Action Head Start and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.

The partnership for the Lincoln grants includes: LPS; HUB, a community agency that provides support to young people; El Centros de las Americas; the Malone Center; Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters; Early Headstart, part of the Lincoln Action Program; the Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department; and the city libraries.

Other communities receiving grants include Loup City, Alliance, Broken Bow, Walthill, Omaha Nation school in Macy, Santee, Omaha and Plattsmouth.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.