Our Vision of Success
Healthy, Happy and Well-Prepared Children. Thriving Families. Connected Communities. Equitable Systems.
We're on a Mission
To ensure early childhood systems and supports foster equitable health, development and well-being for all young children and their families in Santa Cruz County.
Our Values and Guiding Principles
Our work is guided by our overarching commitment to lead in and advocate for programs, policies, and systems that:
Promote optimal health, development and well-being of the whole child and the whole family: We understand that young children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development are interdependent and that children grow and learn within their family relationships and the larger community.
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Advance equity: We prioritize efforts that are responsive to the needs of our diverse community, have been shaped by community voice, and focus on eliminating disparities based on race, ethnicity, income and other characteristics.
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Create strategic impact: We invest our time and resources in areas that support our strategic priorities, show evidence of effectiveness, and ameliorate systemic inequities in society.
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Leverage resources: We enhance and match Proposition 10 funds with federal, state and private funds, in cooperation with public, nonprofit, and private partners.
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Foster integration of services and systems: We co-design and co-implement strategies to reduce fragmentation of existing services, make services more accessible and comprehensive, and support shared decision-making and resources allocations among partners who rely on one another to succeed.
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Build on strengths and build capacity: We identify and enhance existing community strengths and build organizational and systemwide capacity to influence meaningful changes in children's policy for the future.