Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems support collaborations and partnerships to support families and communities in their development of children who are healthy and ready to succeed in school. These efforts involve a broad range of public and private early childhood agencies, parents and communities who share the goal of promoting the health and well-being of children from ages 0 to 5.
Focus areas include:
- health and the medical home
- early care and education
- mental health
- social-emotional development
- family support
- parenting education.
We are continuing to feature resources to strengthen your understanding of early childhood comprehensive systems and your role within the movement in our newsletters. This month we encourage you to read an excellent publication by Project THRIVE of the National Center for Children in Poverty: Reducing Disparities Beginning in Early Childhood.
Project THRIVE helps states strengthen and expand their early childhood systems, particularly around strategies that improve services for those at highest risk and that help reduce disparities in access and quality of care to early childhood health and mental health services.
The recent release of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2007 Kids Count Data Book confirms that significant disparities continue today. State ECCS strategies have the potential to reduce these disparities through raising awareness of these issues and linking services and systems (health, mental health, early care and education, family support, parenting education).
Contact us if you are interested in connecting with ECCS advocacy efforts in your state or at the federal level.
