Giving Adirondack Kids the Best Possible Start in Life
Research shows that improving care, nutrition, and education during a child’s first 1,000 days has a profound impact on his or her life outcomes. Seventy-five percent of the brain’s neural connections – pathways responsible for the cognitive, social, and emotional development of the individual – are in place by the age of three. This means that, by far, the most effective and efficient investment in education is in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
Moved by this and other mounting evidence of the importance of a child’s first years, Adirondack Foundation in 2014 brought together committed funding partners to learn more about how an initiative supporting kids in their most formative phase of life could happen in the Adirondacks. In April 2015, we convened 36 service agency representatives, service providers, and other stakeholders, who were unanimous in a strong desire to work together toward a common goal of providing a great start for our children – and the Adirondack Birth to Three (BT3) Alliance was born.
-
A Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis of the Prenatal to Five System in the Adirondack Region of New York State
This Fiscal Analysis focuses on multiple services and elements of financing the prenatal to five system, including understanding available service capacity, current funding, the true cost of services and infrastructure, and the revenue needed to achieve the shared vision established for the Adirondack region’s young children and their families.
-
The Wellbeing of Infants and Toddlers in the Adirondacks
This data report explores the questions - how do we know what services are most needed by families? What is the status of infants and toddlers, and their families now and how will we know if child and family well-being is improving over time? The report includes both population data, such as the number of children birth to three in the region and number of children with low birthweight, and program data, such as the number of children enrolled in early childhood education programs. It focuses on key indicators of child and family well-being that the Alliance hopes to
positively influence.