Best Starts for Kids
Putting every child and youth in King County on a path toward lifelong success
Promoting healthier, more resilient children, youth, families, and communities
Best Starts for Kids is a voter-approved initiative led by Executive Constantine to help put every baby born and every child raised in King County on a path toward lifelong success.
It invests in prevention and early intervention strategies that promote healthier, more resilient children, youth, families and communities. It is considered the most comprehensive approach to early childhood development in the United States, starting with prenatal support, sustaining the gain through teenage years, and investing in safe, healthy communities that reinforce progress.
Best Starts for Kids is making research based on the latest neuroscience available to all parents and caregivers so that every child and youth in our region has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Turning science into action
Executive Constantine has launched initiatives funded by Best Starts for Kids.
- Making it easier for children and youth to eat healthy, exercise and avoid harmful substances, such as tobacco, vaping and firearms.
- Opening three new School-Based Health Centers – located in Bellevue, Renton, and Vashon Island – where students can meet with medical-, dental- and mental-health providers at no cost.
- Preventing youth and families from becoming homeless by having case managers start by asking “What is you need to avoid being homeless?”
| King County Executive Dow Constantine |
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Read the Executive's biography |
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