1710528412622

Strong Families, Ready Kids, Thriving Community

Invest in Children and Kent County’s Future

The earliest years of life are the most important for brain development and set the foundation for future success. The Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage helps children in Kent County enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn and succeed. A modest investment today saves money long term and leads to a strong future for our community.

Reasons to support renewal of the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage

Ready by Five helps thousands of children and families in Kent County.

  • In 2022, Ready by Five provided more than 12,400 young children and expectant parents from every zip code in Kent County access to programs that improve health, school readiness, and well-being. Thousands more families were supported with information about early childhood.
  • Early childhood services and programs, like prenatal support, parenting education, and early learning, are essential to building a strong social, emotional, and intellectual foundation for children.
  • Studies show investing in quality early childhood programs saves money and returns better long-term outcomes for health, education, and employment. Funded programs are well researched and based on evidence that children who participate are more likely to be successful in school and contribute to the local economy.
Photo by Jonathan BorbaN5 A3930

Reinvestment in Ready by Five will benefit children, parents, and our entire community for generations to come.

  • Ready by Five is already positively impacting thousands of children and families; reinvestment will allow more people to participate in these critical programs.
  • Ready by Five funding complements state and federal resources, ensuring more young children and families are served by high-quality, effective programs.
  • In 2018, Kent County voters overwhelmingly approved the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage because they recognized the importance of supporting new parents and ensuring young children have the resources they need to thrive. We have the opportunity to recommit to our kids and our community.
N5 A4163 1

Ready by Five is a fiscally responsible proposal that supports local parents and keeps children's development on track.

  • The Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage is administered by First Steps Kent, a nonprofit organization that brings together parents, services providers, advocates, and other stakeholders that align on early childhood development for the betterment of our communities.
  • First Steps Kent has used millage dollars exactly as promised and has transparently communicated this progress to Kent County communities.
  • First Steps Kent uses data to measure progress and identify our community’s most pressing needs to help ensure the right programs and resources are in place.
N5 A4073 1Isabel Media Studios First Steps Kent 178

Support Our Kids