With a goal of supporting the workforce of tomorrow, the Health Foundation joined 24 of Western New York’s top funders to launch a joint initiative to improve early childhood health care, child care and pre-K education programs.
Liftoff is a strategic alliance that works to ensure children ages five and under are meeting critical milestones and are ready to achieve their fullest potential by the time they start elementary school.
Community partners contributed $350,000 to fund a regional assessment report to explore the current state of childhood development. The resulting document, “Looking Toward the Future,” examines and prioritizes a wide range of issues, challenges and opportunities for early childhood development.
To view the report, click here.
This study includes demographic and outcome data, as well as data on spending on important early childhood programs. It includes an overview of the strategies used by high-performing early childhood systems from around the country. Finally, it includes input from interviews with early childhood experts, as well as conversations with parents, community leaders, early childhood providers, and other community members.
Liftoff’s launch signaled the importance of supporting children to be successful and ready to learn when they start kindergarten. Liftoff is not getting to work across Western New York to identify short and long term community strategies. To view an introduction video: http://bit.ly/LiftoffIntro
