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
64%
of children under the age of 6 years old have all available parents in the workforce
49,457
children under the age
of 5 years old
35,163
child care slots
in the region
1,328
child care slots needed to meet demand
$95,755,900
in lost business revenue due to inadequate child care
46%
of children started kindergarten without key skills
Contact
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.
