ECI Portfolio

The Early Childhood Impact Fund (ECIF) provides funding to organizations and programs with the goal of dramatically improving early childhood outcomes in Harris County. ECIF funds support diverse programming that could lead to sustainable and scalable early childhood solutions for county residents.

The priorities for ECIF include but are not limited to: 

• Quality improvement for child care
• Supporting the health and wellbeing of families and providers
• Improving access to child care in under resourced areas

Six Harris County organizations were awarded ECIF grants: The Alliance Home-Based Child Care Entrepreneurship Program, First3Years, Kids’ Meals, Inc., Rupani Foundation, Collaborative for Children and Texas Children’s Hospital. Details about these respective programs are found under the focus area of alignment.

County Connections:
In partnership with Harris County Department of Education (HCDE)

The County Connections program is a vital initiative designed to provide enriching summer opportunities for children and youth throughout Harris County. Administered by the Center for Afterschool, Summer, and Enrichment for Kids (CASE for Kids), this program partners with nonprofit organizations to deliver impactful summer activities across various community spaces, including schools, community centers, and churches. These programs offer a blend of in-person and virtual options, ensuring accessibility for all participants.

County Connections aims to address the gap in youth programming during the summer months, promoting personal growth, creativity, and exploration. By funding diverse initiatives such as academic enrichment, arts, career exploration, and mentorship, the program seeks to create meaningful experiences that foster development and inspire future success. Through these efforts, County Connections supports the well-being of Harris County’s youth and children and strengthens community ties.

Since its inception in 2021, the program has reached approximately 23,000 children and youth, underscoring its critical role in serving the community. By investing in the next generation, County Connections reflects Harris County’s dedication to building a brighter, more inclusive future for all.

For more information visit https://www.hcde-texas.org/county-connections

Early REACH:
In partnership with BakerRipley and United Way of Greater Houston

Early REACH (Raising Educational Access for Children in Harris County) is an innovative pilot program dedicated to revolutionizing early childhood education in Harris County. The mission of Early REACH is to bridge the gap in quality child care by employing a contracted slots model, enhancing the capacity of providers to deliver exceptional care.

In collaboration with high-quality child care centers, Early REACH aims to introduce 800-1,000 new child care slots strategically located in or near child care deserts with a high social vulnerability index. Our primary focus is on the children with the least access to care: children birth to four years old, from families with low incomes residing in high poverty areas.

This initiative recognizes that a nurturing environment is crucial for a child's development. Therefore, it also commits to supporting the staffing of child care environments by ensuring a living wage for classroom staff and fostering optimal working conditions to minimize teacher turnover. In addition to providing quality care, Early REACH is dedicated to cultivating strong and sustainable small businesses within the child care sector. The program develops the business acumen of child care providers to help ensure their longevity and success.

Through Early REACH, Harris County strives to make quality early childhood education accessible to every child in the county. Early REACH is not just a program; it's a commitment to building a brighter future for our youngest learners.

To learn more about Early REACH, visit https://earlyreach.org

SHINE:
In partnership with Low Investment Income Fund (LIIF)

The Harris County SHINE (Supportive, Healthy, Inspiring, and Nurturing Environments) Child Care Facilities Fund is dedicated to improving access to high-quality child care by investing in the infrastructure of child care facilities. SHINE supports both home-based and center-based providers by offering grants for essential renovations and repairs, ensuring that children have safe, healthy, and nurturing environments to learn and grow.

Through this initiative, Harris County is addressing critical needs in early childhood education by enhancing the physical spaces where care is provided. The program focuses on creating equitable opportunities for providers, empowering them to meet the highest standards of quality and safety. By doing so, SHINE contributes to the well-being and development of children while supporting the economic stability of families across the county.

SHINE operates in partnership with the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) and Volunteers of America Texas (VOATX), organizations with extensive expertise in child care and community development. Together, these partners are working to transform the landscape of child care in Harris County, ensuring that providers have the resources they need to thrive and that families can access high-quality, reliable child care close to home.

To learn more about SHINE visit https://www.liifund.org/shineccff/

To learn more about how Climate risks affect Harris County’s child care facilities, visit:

Report 1: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3e39120af70c4c7fa594634b34d9d8d1

Report 2: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/766cbe2d3f3545919ad6c60d2ea2ab23

Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN):
In partnership with CHILDREN AT RISK, East Harris County Empowerment Council, Harris County Public Library, VN Teamwork, and YMCA of Greater Houston

The Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) program amplifies the voices of Harris County communities in shaping early learning and child care. Through a collaborative effort between the Network Support Hub (NSH) - CHILDREN AT RISK and Local Network Organizations (LNO) - East Harris County Empowerment Council, Harris County Public Library, VN TeamWork, and YMCA of Greater Houston, ELQN empowers communities to identify needs and drive solutions.

Local Network Organizations engaged directly with five communities to assess the current state of early learning and child care. They formed community-based advisory committees to create Child Care Quality Action Plans that address the specific needs of each community. As a result, the network will launch seven targeted initiatives in designated zip codes:

1. Training and Professional Development
2. Curriculum
3. Learning Materials
4. Emergency and Temporary Care
5. Technology for Child Care Providers
6. Technology for Households
7. Facility, Safety, and Security

Through the Network Support Hub, which administers the ELQN grant fund and oversees vendor procurement, resources will be mobilized to implement the community action plans . Local Network Organizations will continue to engage with communities, provide needed resources, and support the implementation of the initiatives, strengthening early learning and child care.

To learn more about the Early Learning Quality Network, visit https://childrentatrisk.org/elqn

ECIF – Centers of Excellence (COE)
In partnership with Collaborative for Children

Collaborative for Children facilitates the Centers of Excellence (COE) Program across Harris County to provide a 3-tier model of support and training for children, families and child care staff.

Child care centers in the Level 1 Model have the highest need, with 50% or more children receiving subsidies. These centers will receive intense on-site and remote intervention along with a professional learning community and access to the Collab-Lab. The COE Level 2 Model provides services to centers that have less than 50% of children receiving subsidies. The focuses for COEs Level 2 are teacher development, on-demand training, professional learning communities and Collab-Lab visits. The COE Level 3 Model provides pop-up centers to shelters, apartment complexes, community parks and large-scale events to connect families to resources that support social emotional learning and STEAM activities. For more information visit https://collabforchildren.org/.

Harris County Accessible Child Care Training & Supports (ACCTS)
In partnership with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston – Children's Learning Institute (CLI)

The Harris County Accessible Child Care Training & Supports (ACCTS) program is dedicated to enhancing early care and education by investing in the local child care workforce.

The ACCTS program will:

• Support up to 500 child care workers in obtaining the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential with free training and a $3,000 stipend.
• Provide 5,000 high-quality trainings to meet annual state training requirements.
• Offer up to 200 scholarships for specialized certifications in areas like infant and toddler mental health, working with children with disabilities, and assessing quality instruction.

Our ACCTS program focuses on three key strategies:

1. CDA Credentialing: Facilitating the attainment of various CDA credentials to improve job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and enhance workforce retention.
2. High-Quality Trainings: Offering evidence-based training options with compensation of up to $50 per session to meet state requirements and improve relevance.
3. Specialized Certifications: Providing scholarships for advanced certifications that enrich expertise, enable career advancement, and increase earning potential.

The ACCTS program aims to improve job satisfaction and retention by supporting fair compensation and removing barriers to professional development, paving the way for skilled growth and excellence in Harris County’s child care workforce.

ECIF – Kids’ Meals, Inc.

Kids’ Meals Inc. provides children relief from severe food insecurity and food deserts in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. The organization aims to end generational poverty by providing children with meals until they reach kindergarten thus negating low school engagement, substandard academic development, and poor emotional and physical health. The organization also delivers meals for every child in the home up to age 18 during the summer when most children do not have access to food in a school-based setting. A secondary component of programming is to distribute educational materials, essential information about vital wrap around services and distribute monthly newsletters which detail services and programs offered by collaborative social service partners. For more information visit https://kidsmealsinc.org/.

ECIF – Safe Babies

Safe Babies, implemented by First3Years, supports infants and toddlers in the child welfare system by directly engaging with birth parents and caregivers in foster and kinship care. Safe Babies coordinators are trained to support and enhance coparenting connections through collaborative meetings, trauma informed care and wraparound service delivery. The program also partners with families and professionals to develop strategies that prioritize the well-being of infants and toddlers, with a particular focus on transitions such as visitations, court proceedings, and changes in placement. For more information visit https://www.first3yearstx.org/safe-babies-referral

Harris County RISE
In partnership with The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD

RISE supports the continuum of care for young children with disabilities in Harris County through dedicated specialists, early intervention services, and transitional services such as ABA (applied behavior analysis). For more information visit https://www.theharriscenter.org/services/childrens-behavioral-health-services

Harris County Inspire
In partnership with The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD

Inspire will address inequities associated with the social determinate of health by providing grants to qualifying families to promote community inclusion and prevent institutionalization. Inspire participants can receive up to $5,000 in financial assistance for assistive technology, learning materials, and/or services directly related to the disability, plus $1,000 for respite care. For more information visit https://www.theharriscenter.org/services/idd-services

Harris County Helping Hands
In partnership with Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries (ACAM)

Helping Hands aims to facilitate the enrollment of 1000 eligible families and children in public safety-net benefits programs. This initiative is designed to assist disproportionately impacted households in accessing essential public benefits and services offered by the Harris County Office of County Administration. Furthermore, the program will enhance local organizational expertise and capacity to sustain ongoing enrollment efforts for Harris County residents, addressing participation gaps and fostering continued prosperity with vital support. 

Harris County Early Childhood Resiliency Fund
In partnership with Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (HCDVCC)

Harris County Early Childhood Initiatives aims to support the Domestic Violence (DV) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) response network, alongside the local IPV and DV response network in Harris County, to address the developmental needs of young children exposed to IPV and DV in Harris County. Through the Early Childhood Resiliency Fund, efforts will be made to mitigate the adverse developmental effects of early violence exposure by supporting trauma-informed programs and strategies tailored for these children. The fund seeks to target children aged 0-8 in Harris County, providing therapeutic and developmental interventions to counteract the negative impacts of DV and IPV exposure. 

ECIF – upWORDS

upWORDS implemented by Texas Children's Hospital is a 15-week early language development program which is offered universally to families with children 0-3 years of age. It is a part of the upWORDS Community Model, a tiered framework in which universal and targeted interventions work in tandem to achieve goals of supporting early brain development and reducing developmental disparities in Harris County. In addition, the Community Model also provides training to early care professionals that work with young children on topics including early brain and language development and positive parenting.

upWORDS initiatives include language development programs, home visitation for new mothers, developmental pediatrics for identified children, programming for children exhibiting speech and language delays, extended parent training, care coordination, training for early care professionals and providing families with kits containing educational resources. For more information visit. For more information visit https://www.texaschildrens.org/departments/upwords-program

ECIF – Rupani Foundation 

The Rupani Foundation uses community-driven approaches to provide holistic, culturally relevant support programs for resource-limited families parenting or expecting infants and toddlers. By partnering with the Hackett Center for Mental Health and Children’s Museum Houston for their “Thriving Together” program, the organization hopes to amplify efforts hope to improve relational health between caregivers and young children, build caregiver knowledge and skills for nurturing interactions, and address common feelings of isolation and stress within families facing systemic barriers. For more information visit https://www.rupanifoundationusa.org/

Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development (RAPID)

The Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Survey (RAPID Survey) is an ECI initiative that surveys Harris County families of young children 0-5 years old on the impacts of COVID. Harris County is partnering with Stanford University, the administrator, and University of Houston’s Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality, the facilitator, to implement this survey in various communities over 3 years. Visit for the latest Fact Sheet developed by the University of Houston and Stanford University: RAPID Fact Sheet