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Children living in poverty are at greater risk for health and social problems and experience significant developmental risk factors and low levels of success. They often enter kindergarten two standard deviations below the norm and never catch up with their peers. Research has demonstrated that there is a way to change the trajectories and outcomes for the most disadvantaged children. Impressive research experiments conducted by academics in controlled settings have given us incontrovertible evidence that this can be accomplished through high quality early childhood education programming that additionally offers support services for the whole family. Research reflects that investments in the early years have very high rates of return while interventions at later ages in the life cycle have low economic returns. People who participate in enriched early childhood programs are more likely to complete school and much less likely to require welfare benefits, become teen parents or participate in criminal activities. Rather, they become productive adults. (James J. Heckman, PhD).
The Children’s Campus of Kansas City, Inc. (CCKC) was founded to close the gap between what we know and what we do in everyday practice. The Mission of the CCKC, incorporated in 2004, is to assure that children birth to five years of age who are most at risk for academic failure access the resources they need to succeed. This will be accomplished by agencies working together to support the health and well being of over 1,500 young children and their families each year. Agencies representing the fields of early care and education, family support, health-mental health, research, and the arts will co-locate on the campus and build a system of services that address the multiple needs of young children and their families. Additionally campus programs will link these families to other agencies in the community.
The CCKC will own and operate a 3-story, 72,000 square foot Educare Center built on land donated by the Dickinson Financial Corporation (located between 4th and 5th Streets, Minnesota to State Avenues, in Kansas City, KS). The cost of the building is $15.5 million. The building will be financed through a public-private partnership. Eight million will be raised through the capital campaign and an additional $7.5 million will be financed through Federal New Market Tax Credits and a 1st mortgage loan. The CCKC Board of Directors is overseeing the design and construction of the building and will manage the building, lease space to the tenants, establish business efficiencies, coordinate trainings across agencies, and support the community’s centralized intake and referral system.
The Children's Campus of Kansas City will house early childhood education services, family support services, and health, oral health, and mental health services for young children and their families. On the first floor of the building, Project EAGLE Community Programs will manage 12 model early education classrooms and direct the community’s Early Head Start program, the Healthy Start Program, the Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program – HOPE, and the Connections Centralized Intake and Referral System. More than 1,000 children and their families will receive services annually from Project EAGLE.
The Family Conservancy will occupy the second floor of the building and will provide mental health services, parenting education, crisis intervention, assistance to overcome poverty, and professional development services. They will serve 1,200 parents and 1,500 early education professionals annually. Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP) will locate on the third floor of the building. JGCP will improve children’s developmental experiences and their academic and social achievements through research.
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