LA TIMES
$100,000 grants aimed at expanding early learning in LA’s largest district
An estimated 2,000 – 4,000 of the District’s youngest learners benefiting from the $34 million investment
READ MORE >In July 2013 Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation granting school districts greater decision-making authority over funding. The LA Unified School District stood to gain $837 million.
The LA Partnership knew it needed to act swiftly to make sure some of that funding went to quality early childhood education.
We made $100,000 in grants to the Advancement Project and Children Now to educate members of LAUSD’s board about the benefits of investing in early learning programs for children most likely to show up in Kindergarten already behind: English language learners, foster children, and children with early signs of developmental delays.
Our efforts paid off. In August 2014, LAUSD’s Board of Education authorized $34 million to expand and improve early learning over the next two years, reaching an estimated 2,000 of the most vulnerable children entering the system.
KPCC early childhood reporter, Deepa Fernandes, interviews Arne Duncan, Former United States Secretary of Education.
Over the last several years, we have helped create and support KPCC’s Early Childhood Education and Development beat with a seven-year, $401,250 grant.
Because of our support award winning journalists have spent hours in homes, classrooms, and nonprofit organizations to gain a better understanding of how our early childcare system is preparing children to succeed and thrive.
READ MORE >Over the last several years, we have helped create and support KPCC’s Early Childhood Education and Development beat with a seven-year, $401,250 grant.
Because of our support award winning journalists – first Deepa Fernandes and now Priska Neely – have spent hours in homes, classrooms, and nonprofit organizations to gain a better understanding of how our early childcare system is preparing children to succeed and thrive. Their journalism has had meaningful engagement with community leaders: people at the organizational level who are running programs and teaching and caring for children. Among the stories covered, these journalists have explored the dwindling number of licensed home day cares, the staggering fact that black infants die at twice the rate of white infants, and provided answers from experts to the questions of every parents and caregivers.
To listen to the important early childhood stories which have aired on KPCC, click here.
LA Partnership funds the LA County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium to expand and improve home visiting programs to support more families.
Over the past five years, the Consortium has helped improve the county’s data and referral systems, identified workforce needs and enhanced cooperation among home visiting programs. As the county begins a collaborative effort to strengthen home visiting programs – work aimed at reducing health disparities – the Consortium continues to play a central role in planning for this systems-level change.
READ MORE >When new and expectant parents receive home visits from trusted nurses and trained coaches, births are healthier, young children develop faster socially and emotionally, and family bonds and relationships are stronger. Home visits enable families to thrive – in turn benefiting society, with the return on investments in highly impactful programs as great as five dollars for every dollar spent.
In LA County, demand for home visits continue to outpace capacity, with only about one in 14 new families receiving assistance. Thanks in part to the efforts of the Home Visiting Consortium, LA County has committed to enhance its home visiting system so all families have access to a program that fits their needs. Its three-year plan calls for increasing access through better coordination and use of technology, improved recruitment and training of the workforce, creation of a shared data system and increased, flexible funding.
Since 2012, the Baby Futures Fund has invested more than $622,000 to support the Consortium, important research and advocacy so all families in Los Angeles have access to home visits as well as any additional supports needed to ensure their children thrive.