We are proud to announce the inclusion of Book Babies in Smart Solutions: Effective Prenatal-to-Five Investments.
Developed by the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC) and the Smart Start Network, Smart Solutions is a virtual catalog of over seventy evidence-based and evidence-informed programs, interventions, and strategies designed to support children aged 0-5, as well as teachers, caregivers, and communities across North Carolina.
Smart Start, a network of 75 Local Partnerships serving all counties in the state, leverages state and private funds to foster better outcomes for children, teachers, families, and communities. Smart Solutions is a catalog of all the options the Network uses to create these better outcomes using state funding. Partnerships fund and coordinate county solutions based off Smart Solutions to ensure effective early childhood system-building work, advance child health, support families, expand literacy, and establish high-quality early learning opportunities.
Through funding from BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation, NCPC expanded Smart Solutions. After a rigorous review process, Book Babies was determined to be a high-quality solution to support babies and families throughout North Carolina.
“Over 100 solutions were reviewed by our evaluation staff to ensure that evidence-based or evidence-informed programs, strategies, and solutions are shared with Partnerships,” stated Casey Strange, Learning & Evaluation Director at NCPC. “Selected solutions either have research and evidence showing their effectiveness in supporting children and families or are trusted solutions that have been endorsed by North Carolina state agencies.”
Early childhood changemakers outside of the Smart Start Network can identify and prioritize local needs and use Smart Solutions to explore options to supporting their community’s prenatal-to-five population.
“By expanding the catalog to include a greater breadth of support for children and families, we can better meet the needs within each community, offering a comprehensive system of services, funding, and programs to cover the full ecosystem of early childhood,” stated Amy Cubbage, president of NCPC. “We need all of us to make a difference, and this catalog can make finding the right solution for early childhood providers, advocates, and leaders easier.”