The Office for Children congratulates Fairfax Futures for being a first-time grant recipient of the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation. This multi-year grant award will directly support the Fairfax County Equitable School Readiness Strategic Plan by supporting two initiatives: 1) Promoting the Use of Developmental and Social Emotional Screeners Among Early Childhood Programs to Support School Readiness and 2) Strengthening the Fairfax County Early Childhood Educator Workforce Pipeline. 

OFC is delighted to work with Fairfax Futures in implementing these two initiatives. The first will support the county’s work to expand and promote the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2), a tool used in early childhood programs for developmental and social/emotional screening and which informs the provision of services for children and their families. The second initiative will create a mentorship program to support early childhood educators as they attain their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Supporting educators to attain a CDA not only helps them to advance their careers but also ensures that Fairfax County has a highly qualified early childhood educator workforce.  

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many early childhood programs have remained open, offering in-person programming that has supported children’s growth and development, helping to mitigate learning loss and support children’s school readiness. The two grant initiatives will directly support these early childhood programs and the educators who have persevered during these difficult times.

To learn more about the grant award and the programs it will support, read Fairfax Futures’ press release. For more updates, follow Fairfax Futures on Facebook and Twitter.