By Joan Lombardi, PhD
Over the years I have kept coming back to the same idea: The nurturance of children and families is grounded in communities. To be clear, federal and state financing is the bedrock of assuring children and families have healthcare, early care and education, housing, and other essential supports, which are basic rights. But it is at the community level, in cities, towns, and neighborhoods, where children and families live day to day, where policies are implemented and local financing can be influenced. And it is here where meaningful priorities should be set and the seeds for sustainability collectively sown.
State and local actions go hand in hand. Across the country, state early childhood agencies or other statewide backbone organizations are linking with a network of communities. This state system of community birth-to-five initiatives was pioneered years ago in places like North Carolina and California. But now statewide networks of “early childhood communities” can be seen in almost half the states. They are known by different names (Communities for Kids, Early Learning Hubs, First Steps, First Things First). Creativity and possibilities are evident in their names, which often articulate both their vision and their North Star.
Naturally, “community” can mean different things — sometimes it is focused on a county or municipality, other times on a neighborhood or even a few city blocks. As mentioned, some community efforts are connected to states, while others are emerging through national networks or individual local action. Regardless of the size, structure, or name, increasingly I have thought of these communities as places, or “zones,” where children have the early opportunities they need to thrive: places where parents have a sense of belonging and find the support they need to raise healthy and happy children — from the prenatal period to school entry and beyond.
Many communities are trying to track outcomes for families and for children along the developmental continuum:
- Healthy pregnancies and births
- Thriving at three
- Curious, engaged, and ready at school entry
- Successful in school and well-rounded at eight
There are at least four threads that can be woven together to help achieve the outcomes we want for children and families in an early opportunity zone:
- Maternal and child healthcare
- Family economic security and social connections
- Two-generation early care and education services
- Community economic development
Each of these four core elements has been going through a transformation as it moves to better serve families with young children in a more coordinated, innovative, and meaningful way. For example, early healthcare is extending out from pediatric practice by teaming up with community health workers to promote trusted relationships with families and more personalized navigation to a broader set of services. New local efforts are underway to assure income support for young families, social connections to ensure a sense of belonging, and retraining opportunities when needed.
Affordable quality early care and education has become an important support for families as well as an opportunity for learning and healthy child development. In recent years there has been growing recognition of the importance of the early childhood workforce and new innovations to support its well-being. While these efforts are still nascent, the attention and support of those who care for young children is the cornerstone of quality. And finally, there is growing recognition that the neighborhood conditions themselves impact child development. This movement sees community revitalization as deeply connected to our work on behalf of young children — from housing to safety to clean, green, and healthy environments.
Each of these elements within an early childhood ecosystem contributes to the flourishing of young children and families. They need to work together as a team, to meet the holistic developmental needs of children and their families and to assure continuity across the early years. This is not easy: It takes parent and provider input, new data, processes and infrastructure, and growing investment.
While the challenges before us are enormous, given the specter of shrinking resources, which can undermine the very social and economic vitality that has emerged, we must maintain a hopeful mindset that engages next-generation leaders.
Every child deserves the very best beginning to life, a family, and a community that values relationships and supports nurturing care. Let’s keep that hope and vision alive by continuing to build “zones” of early opportunity for young children and families all across the country.
Additional Resources to Explore:
- From Program to Place: A Community Systems Approach to Supporting Young Children and Families — read here
- Early Learning Community Action Guide and Assessment Tool
- BUILD Initiative Community Systems Development Toolkit
- The Nuts and Bolts of Building Early Childhood Systems Through State/Local Initiatives — read here
- Bridging the Gap Between Child Care & Community and Economic Development — read here
- The2GenApproach: Ascend, Aspen Institute — read here
Joan Lombardi, PhD, is a long-standing champion of children. She is a Senior Scholar and Adjunct Professor at the Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities, Georgetown University, and Principal Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.
At its heart, Nurture Connection is an engaged, insightful community of parents, caregivers, researchers, medical professionals, philanthropists, early childhood systems leaders, and policymakers dedicated to ensuring every child has strong, nurturing relationships during their earliest, formative years.
Our “Reflecting Forward” series features guest articles and reflections by dedicated members of our national network from across the country — who are advancing the Early Relational Health field through practice, research, and parent leadership. These reflections pave paths forward for transforming early childhood systems and imagining new possibilities for children, families, and communities.