Ready Kids East County
Our Efforts: Reports & Insights
Systems Change and Capacity Building
Since its inception, Ready Kids East County (RKEC) has centered the experiences of the Black and African American community to guide its work. First 5 Contra Costa has aimed to create spaces where community members can come together, learn from one another, and build on their collective power to identify solutions and make change. The initiative also emphasizes professional development and training opportunities for a variety of service providers in East County. Over 100 individuals from a variety of service provider organizations have participated in trainings on anti-bias, anti-racist strategies in early childhood setting to incorporating anti-bias, anti-racist principles into literacy activities with young children.
Promoting Equity from Womb to Classroom
In 2025, we launched our next phase called “Womb to Classroom,” which seeks to support Black and African American families from pregnancy to school by connecting service providers to create “villages” that center Black families, and build stronger bridges over adversity “cliffs” such as the transition from early learning to a school district for Kindergarten. RKEC will support families by uplifting opportunities, creating networks, and cultivating pathways with cross-sector partnerships with the focus on building capacity for providers and families with Black and African American children, ages zero to five years old. Click here to learn more about
Expanding African American/Black-Focused Programming
First 5 Contra Costa has partnered with several service providers to develop or adapt programming to be culturally relevant and responsive to Black and African American families in East County. For example, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, developed a program called Lil Libraries Around Town which seeks to increase the quantity and quality of literary materials available for Black and/or African American children ages birth to five years old by creating literacy stations in barber shops. Additionally, First 5Contra Costa partnered with Counseling Options and Parenting Education to host parent education seminars designed with culturally sensitive topics for Black and African American families and led by culturally relevant instructors
Womb to Classroom: Discussion Highlights
Download an infographic that captures discussion highlights from our Womb to Classroom kick-off event. In January 2025, 45 community partners representing school districts, healthcare providers, early childhood education and care professionals, community-based organizations, and County departments and agencies came together to engage one another on the work that still needs to be done to better serve and center Black and African American families in East County.
Resource Kit for Families
The Ready Kids East County Resource Kit is a set of curated flyers that brings together
valuable resources from local organizations and agencies serving Black and African American families in East Contra Costa County. This kit reflects a collective effort to center the lived experiences of Black families and ensure that every child has the necessary resources and support from ‘womb to classroom.’
From Womb to Classroom
Read our latest report, From Womb to Classroom, that maps the collaborative network supporting Black Families in East Contra Costa and shows that community of practices are emerging and the network is poised for transformation.
