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What We Do

Since 2005, VECF has served as Virginia’s public-private partner in building strategic and sustained focus on the healthy development and school readiness of our youngest children. VECF is the non-partisan steward of Virginia’s promise for early childhood success, working in tandem with diverse stakeholders to ensure equitable opportunities for all families with young children to thrive.

Our Areas of Work

Systems Building & Capacity
Partnerships & Innovation
Policy & Advocacy

How does our work show up in the world?

Young girl raising world on green lawn

An Example of Systems Building:

Ready Regions is a statewide network to provide strategic leadership and bring public and private partners together to ensure every child and family has access to quality child care services. Each of the nine Ready Regions serve as the entry point for early childhood care and education (ECCE) providers to participate in Virginia’s quality measurement and improvement system, Virginia Quality Birth to Five; implement regional Mixed Delivery efforts; coordinate enrollment across publicly funded ECCE programs; and engage families in designing a system that works for them. Ready Regions is driving a strong, public-private choice-based system that enables communities to develop innovative solutions to their unique challenges and priorities.

An Example of Partnerships & Innovation:

VECF launched the Early Educator Fast Track initiative to stabilize and strengthen the childcare workforce. This pilot program recruits and trains new assistant teachers in each Ready Region at a competitive wage and provides teacher training and ongoing professional development to strengthen the early education workforce. Through partnerships with early childhood care and education providers and Ready Regions, Fast Track is piloting strategies to ensure families have greater access to the services they need.

An Example of Policy & Advocacy:

The Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education (VBREE) is bringing the focus and heft of the business and economic development sectors in each Ready Region statewide to advance state investment in a strong early childhood and education system as essential to workforce and economic success. VBREE is committed to educating the public, engaging diverse stakeholders, and driving innovation for the role that accessible child care serves in Virginia’s workforce development and economy, including as a differentiator for Virginia in economic development, site selection, and workforce talent attraction and retention.

VECF Strategic Plan

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It is incumbent upon VECF to advocate assertively to disrupt inequitable systems and rebuild equitable and durable systems for the good of the communities.
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Virginia Early Childhood Foundation

1703 N. Parham Road, Suite 110
Richmond, VA 23229

(804) 358-8323

info@vecf.org

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Systems Building & Capacity

VECF guides and promotes effective systems because children are best able to thrive when their families are strong and well-supported. Equitable and effective early childhood systems can help ensure that supports for families are capable, coordinated, and aligned to impact children’s healthy development. As the convener for public and private sectors, VECF acts in an intermediary role to support local and regional early childhood systems-building capacity as communities develop solutions to their unique challenges impacting the healthy development of young children. By approaching systems building through a regional model, we strive to ensure that every Virginia locality can assertively and consistently deliver equitable early childhood opportunities. 

Partnerships & Innovation

VECF builds strategic partnerships and incubates innovation to advance solutions for increased access to early childhood opportunities at both state and regional levels. By convening and engaging diverse stakeholders including families, providers, and educators, VECF seeks to learn, inform, innovate, and influence Virginia’s early childhood landscape. VECF commits to discern gaps in the early childhood system; prioritize potential solutions based on equity, need, and impact; and identify innovative solutions for incubation in partnership with state and regional leaders and subject matter experts.

Policy & Advocacy

VECF assertively advocates for equitable policies, practices and investments for Virginia’s early childhood system. Uniquely positioned as the bridge between local and state level early childhood efforts in Virginia, VECF uses lessons learned from diverse stakeholders to inform policies, promote successful innovations, and institute sustainable change. By activating and lifting up the voices of parents, providers, and early educators, VECF and its statewide partners are able to shape policies and investments and hold policymakers accountable for progress. 

VECF also works to ensure that the Commonwealth’s policymakers have access to the data and information they need to make equitable and strategic policy and budget decisions. Through research like our Infant Toddler Gap Analysis Report, innovation like the Mixed Delivery grant program, or facilitation of state level discussions through the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education, VECF promotes a persistent problem-solving orientation, finding wins for Virginia’s children, families, and early childhood community.

What is Mixed Delivery For Children?

High-quality ECCE services provide children with nurturing and responsive care that prepares them for success in school and life. Quality ECCE services can increase child and parent wellbeing, reduce the need for special education, increase high school and college graduation, and increase income in adulthood. Importantly, affordable, or free ECCE services can also raise children and families out of poverty. 

What is Mixed Delivery For Families?

Mixed Delivery is available in many communities in Virginia and allows families the option of choosing a high-quality, publicly funded, private ECCE provider (center or family day home) that meets their child and family’s needs and preferences.  

What is Mixed Delivery For Programs?

Mixed Delivery provides contract-based public funding to private (non-faith-based) ECCE providers to serve eligible children, preparing them for success in school and life. In 2023, Mixed Delivery began reimbursing participating sites using the Cost-of-Quality, which estimates the true cost of running a high-quality ECCE site, including quality improvements and competitive compensation for early childhood educators. 

What is Mixed Delivery For Virginia?

By offering full-day, year-round ECCE at low or no cost to eligible families, Mixed Delivery allows parents to join or return to the workforce. Parents can focus on work, feeling secure that their children are in safe and high-quality learning environments, which supports family finances and Virginia’s economy. 

What is Mixed Delivery For School Divisions?

Mixed Delivery allows school divisions to work with private ECCE providers to expand access to publicly funded preschool services. Schools can work with Ready Regions to use VPI and Head Start in combination with Mixed Delivery in private settings. In addition to providing preschool this provides families with flexible options that meet their needs and preferences.