About Ready Region Chesapeake Bay

Ready Region Chesapeake Bay consists of the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg; and the counties of Essex, Gloucester, James City, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland, and York.

FirstSpark serves as the Ready Region Chesapeake Bay lead. The Ready Regions lead is responsible for on-the-ground coordination and integration of essential early childhood care and education (ECCE) services and resources.

Although one organization is identified as the Ready Regions lead, they must partner with school divisions, social and human services, quality improvement networks, ECCE programs, and other organizations involved in Virginia’s public-private early childhood system.

Ready Region Chesapeake Bay At-A-Glance

Ready Region

64%

of children under the age of 6 years old have all available parents in the workforce

Ready Region

49,457

children under the age
of 5 years old

Ready Region

35,163

child care slots
in the region

Ready Region

1,328

child care slots needed to meet demand

Ready Region

$95,755,900

in lost business revenue due to inadequate child care

Ready Region

46%

of children started kindergarten without key skills

Sources:

Percentage of Parents in Workforce: U.S. Census American Community Survey, 5-year estimates. 2019.
Children Under 5 Years Old: U.S. Census American Community Survey, 5-year estimates. 2019.
Existing Child Care Slots: Bipartisan Policy Center, Child Care Gaps Assessment. 2019.
Child Care Slots Needed to Meet Demand: Bipartisan Policy Center, Child Care Gaps Assessment. 2019.
Lost Business Revenue: Author calculations based on data from Ready Nation, Council for a Strong America, The Economic Impacts of Insufficient Child Care on Working Families. September 2018; U.S. Census American Community Survey, 1-year estimates. 2019.
Kindergarten Readiness: Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program results, Spring 2022, by Ready Region. Data provided by Virginia Department of Education.