Early Childhood Development Initiative
BACKGROUND
The report of the Human Services Committee appointed by Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (Mayor’s 2020 Vision, Report of the Mayor’s Human Services Committee, July 12, 2005) recommended major initiatives in four areas to help break the endless cycle of poverty, violence, crime, joblessness, fatherless children and aberrant behavior that has plagued the City of Richmond in recent years. These areas are:
- Early Care and Parent/Caretaker Education,
- Child and Adolescent Health,
- Schools for Success,
- At Risk Male Intervention and Support
The Committee further noted in its report that the City funds and provides a number of programs for children and families, but that most City services focus on older children after they experience major problems rather than preventing these problems from developing. The report called for intervention to take place earlier in children’s lives.
The Early Childhood Development Initiative was undertaken in response to the Committee’s findings and recommendations concerning early care, parent/caretaker education, and the health of young children. The Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services appointed a strategy group early in 2006 to advise in structuring the initiative, and an Early Childhood Development Manager was appointed in August 2006 to serve as the chief coordinator and staff for implementing the Initiative.
The Initiative was formally lauched in January 2007. To watch the video of the kickoff presentation, click below:
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Early Childhood Development Initiative Kick off
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GOALS
The goal of the Early Childhood Development Initiative is for all Richmond City children ages 0 to 5 to be healthy, well-cared for and ready to succeed in school. Parents play a major role in achieving this goal. Achievement of the goal is supported by strategies in five focus areas:
• Public Awareness – Helping parents and caretakers understand the importance of their role in ensuring children reach school healthy and ready to learn and widely disseminating information on available services that can help parents and caretakers in this role.
• Quality Child Care – Improving the overall quality of early care and education and increasing access by low income families by amending funding practices, addressing barriers to subsidy access, improving knowledge of program requirements, assessing opportunities to tie subsidy rates to program quality, supporting quality initiatives, infusing literacy into child development programs, addressing Latino family needs in strategies, and assessing supply/demand patterns.
• Home Visiting – Reducing infant mortality and improving early childhood outcomes by increasing the number of at-risk families served through home visiting by networking and strengthening home visiting programs, providing additional funds for services, and establishing a consistent mechanism for home visitor referral.
• Parent Education – Expanding parent education opportunities by coordinating, supporting and promoting parent education classes and filling critical gaps to ensure parents are better served, organizations work collaboratively, and available programming and funding are maximized.
• Evaluation and Benchmarking – Monitoring and evaluating the early childhood development strategies to ensure achievement of outcomes.
DOCUMENTS
The documents below provide additional information on the Early Childhood Development Initiative:
Executive Summary | Vision 2020 Overview | Concept Paper |
If you have questions about…
Services in the Richmond Area for Children and Families |
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Information and Guidance on Raising Children |
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Opportunities to Develop Parenting Skills |
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