About Ready Region Southside

Ready Region Southside consists of the cities of Danville, Halifax, and Lynchburg; and the counties of Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Brunswick, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward.

The Center for Early Success serves as the Ready Region Southside 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 Southside At-A-Glance

Ready Region

69%

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

Ready Region

27,423

children under the age
of 5 years old

Ready Region

15,560

child care slots
in the region

Ready Region

5,336

child care slots needed to meet demand

Ready Region

$74,135,900

in lost business revenue due to inadequate child care

Ready Region

44%

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.