Early Childhood Coalition - Bastrop County Cares

Early Interactive Experiences Lay The Foundation

Early interactive experiences – like peekaboo, reading books, and singing – lay a solid foundation. When children miss out on quality early learning experiences, we all miss out on the benefits of children who are ready to learn and achieve.
By supporting policies and programs that help all kids get off to a healthy start, we build a thriving Bastrop County.

The Coalition works to ensure all young children are safe, healthy, and ready for school. We are a group of providers, policymakers, government leaders, experts, parents, and philanthropists supported by Bastrop County Cares, that provides backbone support. Our common vision is that “ALL families in Bastrop County are connected to their community and providing a safe, healthy, and school–ready environment for their children.” The coalition uses local indicators to track progress over time through Results-Based Accountability (RBA).
Today’s children determine tomorrow’s future. When we ensure that all children in Bastrop County get off to a strong start, we ensure that Bastrop County will thrive in the future. The architecture of the developing brain is established in the earliest stages of life. Early interactive experiences – like peekaboo, reading books, and singing – lay a solid foundation.
When children miss out on quality early learning experiences, we all miss out on the benefits of children who are ready to learn and achieve.
Everyone can help build healthy brains in small ways, like turning “wait time” in line to “talk time” that engages young children. On a deeper level, we all have a role in supporting policies and programs that help Bastrop County kids get off to a healthy start. Our community must ensure that:
All people who care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers foster early brain development
Every family with young children has access to:
-high-quality early learning opportunities
-access to the health care
-a social support network

The resources we devote to early childhood make a long-term difference because the early years lay the foundation for all the learning and development that follows. By investing early, we can build a thriving Bastrop County.

Early Childhood Education

• Increase the quality of childcare centers serving low-income children
• Increase Pre-K 3 offerings through partnerships with
school districts

Health: Family Wellness
Sub-Committee

• Increase support for pregnant women of color
• Identify pregnancies early & facilitate connecting pregnant mothers to appropriate health care, particularly high-risk populations
• Expand the Family Connects program
• Increase the number of young children who have health insurance

Communications
Sub-Committee

• Implement an Early Childhood Awareness Campaign to
emphasize the value of the early years to build brain development and racial equity

Safety Sub-Committee

• Expand Family Friendly Substance Use Recovery Programs
• Increase awareness and access to Domestic Violence Services in Bastrop County
• Increase use of mental services for young children in
Bastrop county
• Increase parenting support that targets traditionally
underserved populations within the county

Everyone Can Play a Part in Building Healthy Brains

Pledge to be a brain builder and do your part to build healthy brains in Bastrop County. I accept my role, big or small, in ensuring all children are safe, healthy, and ready for school.
✅ I pledge to learn more about the crucial years of 0-5 years old. I will spread the word that the key to building a thriving Bastrop County starts with building the brains of our youngest children.

Take the Pledge

Impact of Our Work

2 playgrounds were built in underserved communities (Stony Point and McDade)
Over 700 babies have seen by Family Connects Home Visiting Program
The Parents as Teachers program was launched July 2018
Central Family Services (HeadStart) and Bastrop ISD partnership and collaboration to serve 0-3 year olds at three campuses

The Research

Join the Coalition

Family Expo and Resource Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023 from 10 am to 3 pm!

Learn More

Bastrop County and our Early Childhood coalition is honored to be a Help Me Grow network site for Texas. Convene EC coalition committees, community partners, providers, Community Health Workers, and families to collaborate on ways to engage and educate families in promoting positive early childhood development. Our ECC is underway in making these core components of HMG our existing initiatives and efforts.