Item:
Title
Discussion of a Proposal for Development of a Durham Early Childhood Action Plan (30min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: October 7, 2019
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to receive information on this proposal and ask any questions they wish
Durham County government and the community around it have done much in recent years to strengthen our early childhood systems. The County's investment in universal pre-K is unusual in the level of funding committed, the system-wide level of coordination, and the system-wide focus on high quality. The work that has launched from the State of Durham's Young Children report, perhaps especially around issues of childhood trauma, is significant, and the County is also investing in a new position focused on early childhood systems coordination. Work associated with Duke University, including efforts to capitalize on the near-comprehensive contact Duke Pediatrics has with Durham's children and that Family Connects Durham has with newborns in the county, are also worthy of (and receiving) national notice.
The State of North Carolina completed its Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP) in early 2019 (an executive summary is attached to this agenda item) and provides a helpful template of action areas and common metrics that local governments can use to create their own ECAP. The state is interested in having local governments create their own and in supporting that work because it believes local focus on these same areas will help strengthen early childhood work across the state. Staff also believe that having an official ECAP for Durham County will provide clarity as we pursue national grants and funding to help with implementation of our early childhood initiatives.
The East Durham Children's Initiative (EDCI) has been working for the better part of a decade to create a high-functioning pipeline of community partners serving young children in East Durham. In recent years they have re...
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