Building a connected, aligned, and efficient early childhood education system in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
In partnership with
The Vision
The goal of this initiative is to bring early childhood partners in Jefferson County together to build an innovative system that functions as a coordinated unit rather than a set of separate organizations — and design a grant structure that strengthens system alignment, reduces duplication, and incentivizes collaboration rather than simply funding activity.
THE Opportunity
Years of dedicated work by countless organizations and individuals have positioned Jefferson County for transformational change in its early childhood education (ECE) sector. The county has a unique opportunity to create lasting impact given the significant public investment flowing into the ECE ecosystem.
The Problem
Jefferson County’s early childhood ecosystem includes committed actors and important assets. However, the system continues to face challenges including fragmented coordination, duplicative efforts, thin resources, and unclear roles among key stakeholders. While individual organizations are working hard, the sector does not yet consistently function as a coordinated system.
Building a truly connected, aligned, and efficient early childhood education system requires more than funding a single organization. It demands active collaboration, strategic coordination, and dedicated time from multiple sector leaders working together toward a shared vision.
Without intentional alignment, new funding risks reinforcing silos rather than strengthening the system as a whole.
of children under five in Jefferson County reside in households earning less than the poverty line.
(Louisville Early Learning Workforce Study)
The state preschool program serves up to 26% of four-year-olds statewide and early learning access is highly fragmented in Louisville due to the high cost of child care and varying geographic availability.
(Louisville Early Learning Workforce Study)
of the children entering Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) 38% are ready to learn.
(Louisville Early Learning Workforce Study)
Blueprint Consensus SOLUTIONS
Improving System Integration
Beyond fostering partnerships among organizations, there must be an updated vision of how the roles of different sectors in addressing SDOH can be better integrated.
Building an SDOH Workforce
Success in addressing SDOH in a community, identifying a person’s HRSNs (health related social needs), and coordinating services requires trusted community-based workers with strong local knowledge. Community Health Workers (CHWs), social workers, and similar professionals typically have these attributes. For any community, however, a team with workers at different decision levels is needed, and the best team depends on community characteristics.
Financing SDOH Approaches
Upfront investments in non-clinical social services, and in the “infrastructure” of collaboration, are needed to achieve downstream gains. Typically both government and private investment is needed and appropriate. Policy changes should also ensure that budget rules, payment systems, etc., should make such community investment a logical business or public investment decision; that is often not the case today.
Addressing Data Sharing, Evaluation, and Experimentation
The federal government and states need to consider several steps to help build a cross-sector information infrastructure. Data sharing is essential for effective screening and for successful referrals. Accurate and timely data is also needed to measure the effectiveness of SDOH strategies and to build a more complete understanding of the connection between nutrition, housing, education, transportation, other factors, and community health. Improved data and cost-benefit tools are also seen as important for measuring the broader multi-sector impacts of an SDOH investment.
Next steps
Convergence is currently convening a Collaborative of a diverse group of representative stakeholders and experts through the summer of 2024, with the goal of finding consensus on a set of recommended policy changes. These federal and state actions will aim to create a significantly better policy environment for innovative collaborative efforts at all levels, to improve individual and public health.
The Solution
The Collaboration Project and Grants will provide leading ECE organizations with the resources they need to step back from day-to-day operations and invest their expertise in collective system building.
Over the next year, participating organizations will work together to:
- Map how their work aligns with and complements the entire ECE sector and each partner
- Clarify each organization’s distinct role and contribution to the ecosystem
- Identify gaps or redundancies and maximize efficiency across the sector
- Build a compelling, evidence-based case for sustained ecosystem funding
Through structured collaboration and shared tools, the project will help Jefferson County function as a coordinated system rather than a set of separate organizations.
Collaborative members
Alex Delworth, Center for Rural Affairs
Anna Gray, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Josh Mandelbaum, Environmental Law & Policy Center
Bill Menner, Iowa Rural Development Council
Chaz Allen, Iowa Utilities Association
David Osterberg, Professor Emeritus at University of Iowa
Emily Kavanaugh, The Nature Conservancy
Ethan Hoehendale, Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Hayley Moon, Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Irene DeMaris, Iowa Faith and Climate Network
Jordan Oster, Iowa Environmental Council
Katie Rock, BlueGreen Alliance
Kerri Johannsen, Iowa Environmental Council
Kristy Dahl-Rogers, Attorney
Libby Jacobs, Consultant
Lindsay Brice, Audubon Society
Lucas Beenkan, Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC)
Luke Seaberg, Iowa State – Extension
Michelle Bustinelos, Siouxland Planning Council & Iowa Council of Governments (ICOG)
Nick Boeyink, Conservative Energy Forum
Paige Yontz, AARP
Paul Lovell, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa
Rand Fisher, Iowa Area Development Group
Robert Palmer, Iowa Business Energy Coalition
Sarah Mills, University of Michigan
Tod Bowman, Center for Rural Affairs
Todd Miller, Iowa Solar Energy Trade Association (ISETA)
Waylon Brown, Clean Grid Alliance
Wendy Bredhold, Audubon Society
Project funder
Interested in funding a project in the future?
We rely on a diverse and growing mix of sources, including individual donors, foundations, and stakeholders at the table. Please contact Jenn Dziak at jenn at convergencepolicy dot org or check out our donate page if you are interested in providing support for another project or Convergence’s work more broadly.
