Smart Start

Since 1994, we have been Hertford County’s home to North Carolina’s award winning Smart Start initiative for children from birth to 5. To provide Smart Start services each local partnership develops a comprehensive plan that targets the greatest needs in their community among three core services: child care (quality, affordability, and availability); health; and family support.
Smart Start legislation mandates how much from each local partnership’s allocation should be spent on specific services.
Programs must meet Smart Start’s evidence-based and evidence-informed standards.
We only invest in best practices for our children.

NC Pre-K Program

  The NC Pre-K Program provides at-risk, four-year-old children in NC with an opportunity for quality preschool education. This school day program is designed to provide young children with access to a structured curriculum and preschool experience
that will enhance their readiness for school. The NC Pre-K Program provides
high-quality education for eligible four-year-old children. The Hertford-Northampton Smart Start Partnership
for Children supports NC Pre-K classrooms in
Hertford County’s public school.

Reach Out & Read

Reach Out and Read Carolinas engages and educates parents about how to make language and bonding around a book part of their daily lives. Reach Out and Read trains providers to support and engage parents about the importance of reading aloud and to prescribe books to children at wellness check-ups beginning at birth to 5 years of age, with a special focus on children growing up in poverty.
Reach Out and Read is changing the way parents interact with their children daily around language and literacy.

Child Care Aware

Child Care Aware of America works with more than 400 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies nationwide. To achieve our mission, our organization leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, undertakes research, and advocates child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families. Every family in the United States has access to a high-quality, affordable child care system. The child care system supports children’s growth, development and educational advancement and creates a positive economic impact for families and communities.

naeyc

Dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and development services for all children from birth through age eight.The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on
behalf of young children.

CCR&R Council

Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) refers to an interrelated set of services to families, child care providers, employers, and communities that:

• facilitate access to early care and education and school-age child care options for families;
• improve the quality of those child care options; and
• provide objective information for planning and policy development to the public and private sectors.

Understood

In the United States, 1 in 5 people have learning and thinking differences, like dyslexia and ADHD, and 1 in 4 adults have some type of disability.  For many of these people, the world can feel like it’s built for a normal that doesn’t include them.
Helpful resources and supportive communities can be hard to find, making everyday life even more difficult. We’re here to change that by connecting the people who face these challenges to resources, expertise, and communities that bolster confidence.

Project Child Find

Child Fine is a legal requirement for schools to find children who have disabilities and need services. Identifying these kids is an important first step toward getting them the help they need to succeed in school. Child Find is part of a federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law protects the rights of students with disabilities. Child Find covers every child from birth through age 21. School must evaluate any child suspected of a disability.