In 2022, Harris County launched the Brighter Futures for Harris County Kids Initiative, a comprehensive effort to enhance the well-being of young and vulnerable residents through an $84 million investment of ARPA funds. The initiative includes five programs for children ages zero to three, including the Early Reach Program.
Early Reach aims to establish 1,000 new high-quality childcare slots, using $26 million budget allocated from the ARPA funds. This pilot program, which will run for 2-4 years with the potential to be continued by the Harris County Commissioners, targets children aged 0-4 in high-need areas.
Sources:
Defender Network News Service. (2022). Brighter Futures for Harris County Kids Initiative launched.
Gordon, M. (2023). Affordable day care is hard to find. A new Harris County program could help fix that. Houston Landing.
Early Reach.(n.d.). What is Early REACH (Raising Educational Access for Children in Harris County)?
Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:
High-quality, affordable early education and care supports children’s healthy development and allows families to work, engage in their own educational pursuits, and/or participate in other aspects of community life. To support children and families in these instrumental ways, research suggests there is a need to expand the availability of early education opportunities across the mixed-delivery system.
Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) show:
- Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
- But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.