Blog
Communities of Opportunity (COO)
Being housed, healthy, employed, and connected to one's community are basic human needs. Yet from neighborhood to neighborhood, access to these essentials vary widely. Race, income, and zip code are major predictors of how healthy we are and...
Technical Assistance & Capacity Building
Best Starts recognizes that many organizations, and the communities they serve, have historically experienced barriers to funding opportunities from government agencies such as King County. To address this, Best Starts provides free technical...
Youth & Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative
For low-income families, there are many challenges to maintaining a home and providing the basic necessities for growing kids in King County, the most expensive county in Washington state. To prevent youth and families with children from...
Youth Development
Young people thrive when they have safe, supportive environments that provide a sense of belonging and purpose. Best Starts for Kids partners with schools and community-based organizations to invest in programs that support mentoring,...
Transitions to Adulthood
Youth across King County deserve equitable access to opportunities that will support their long-term success. Best Starts for Kids’ Transitions to Adulthood strategy supports young people 16-24 years old who face barriers in meeting their...
Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline (SSPP)
The SSPP strategy invests in efforts to support youth and young adults in King County who, as a result of systemic and institutional racism, are more likely to be excluded from higher education and employment and pushed into the criminal legal...
School-Based Screening, Brief intervention and Referral to Treatment/Services
We know that COVID-19 and systemic racism have dually exacerbated underlying mental and emotional issues felt by young people throughout the ongoing pandemic. One of the ways Best Starts for Kids is supporting youth mental health in the renewed...
School-Based Health Centers
School-based health centers (SBHC) meet students where they are by offering comprehensive primary medical, behavioral health, and in some cases, dental services from clinics located within schools across King County. SBHC services support...
Positive Family Connections
When a young person has trusted adults in their life who can support them, it increases their likelihood that they will experience academic success, achieve and maintain financial stability and make choices that support their health and...
Liberation and Healing
Formerly known as the Trauma Informed and Restorative Practices strategy, Liberation and Healing addresses trauma and its impacts on young people by promoting strengths-based social and emotional supports through three programs: Liberation and...
Best Starts for Kids Dashboard
This dashboard shows the impact of Best Starts funding across its eight investment areas: Child Care, Investing Early, Sustain the Gain, Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Communities of Opportunity, Capital Projects, Technical Assistance and Capacity Building, and Data and Evaluation.