These words became increasingly meaningful to Start Early Consulting and our partners as 2025 unfolded in unpredictable ways. Across the country we engaged closely with states and communities to navigate a quickly shifting federal landscape—together maintaining an unwavering focus to improve policy, increase investment and build innovative, responsive early childhood systems.
Network Reach: A Growing Network of Systems Changemakers
Throughout 2025, Start Early Consulting welcomed new and renewed partnerships for systems change. In 49 engagements, across 22 states and 17 communities, we were honored to support public systems leaders, advocates and coalitions in advancing policy and advocacy priorities, codesigning processes to align systems and centering the experiences of families and providers.
Our 2025 partners reflect the diversity of the early childhood field, serving families in every geographic corner of the country. A sample of our 2025 client list includes:
⊲ Ascension Early Childhood Ready Start Network, Louisiana
⊲ City of Akron, Ohio
⊲ Community Action of Central Texas
⊲ Mississippi Head Start Association
⊲ Nevada Department of Education
⊲ Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care
⊲ Santa Clara County Office of Education, California
⊲ Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
32
32 Communities
4,369 Engaged Caregivers, Community Members & Providers
4 Languages Used
12,000+ Email Readers Across 50 States WHERE WE’VE WORKED:
“ Start Early Consulting helped Akron take our early learning vision from concept to concrete action. Their expertise, structure and ability to engage diverse voices made all the difference.”
—Richelle Wardell,
Education and Health Strategist, City of Akron
TIMELY RESOURCES FOR SYSTEMS LEADERS TO NAVIGATE FEDERAL UNCERTAINTY IN 2025:
Responsive Engagement: Real-Time Insight for 2025
In a year that challenged early learning and care in unpredictable ways, Start Early leveraged its unique role in bridging federal policy and state and local advocacy to help partners meet urgent needs. We launched myriad new responsive supports to meet the moment for state and community leaders in our field. For example:
⊲ Rapid Response Leadership Advising —Thirty-two advocates and systems leaders activated trusted, confidential advising to navigate funding cuts, policy uncertainty and coalition sustainability challenges. Email: Consulting@StartEarly.org to learn more.
⊲ Policy Insight and Office Hours —Codesigned and hosted with Help Me Grow (HMG) National Center, Office Hours provided more than 50 HMG affiliates with timely federal policy updates and peer-problem solving to navigate funding and sustainability challenges.
⊲ Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Support—A collaboration between the Alliance for Early Success, BUILD Initiative, Education Counsel and Start Early provided the field with timely policy information, supported state applications and documented real-time PDG learnings.. Learn more.
Policy Priorities: Explore new Start Early resources and peer communities at the links below.
⊲ Together for Head Start ⊲ Together for Young Children with Disabilities
34 Policy Webinars, Blog Posts, Reports & Fact Sheets “ [The Start Early Consulting team] provided actionable expert advice, robust research and analysis, and a willingness to change course as we honed our...objectives. They provided the most substantive and useful consulting I’ve received in my career, and I’m grateful for the lasting work and collaboration we built together.”
—David Feigen, Director of Early Learning Policy, Texans Care for Children
Impact Spotlight: An Innovative Approach to Community Systems Mapping
In 2025, Start Early launched a new user-friendly systems mapping data tool for communities. Systems maps reveal complexities and opportunities in a system, support decision-making, strengthen return on investment and improve partner coordination. But our tool goes further:
⊲ An online, clickable dashboard makes data transparent and digestible.
⊲ New facilitated partnerships build system capacity.
⊲ Skilled facilitation builds community trust and buy-in.
⊲ Action planning is a catalyst for change.
In December 2025, we celebrated the launch of the systems mapping tool with a webinar highlighting the lived experience of leaders in Rochester, New York, and Contra Costa County, California.
Watch the webinar and explore systems mapping!
SYSTEMS MAPPING PILOT PARTNERS
We co-created the Start Early Systems Map with five diverse communities:
⊲ First 5 Contra Costa , Contra Costa County, California
⊲ ROC the Future Alliance , Rochester, New York
⊲ Chattanooga 2.0, Hamilton County, Tennessee
⊲ Sacramento County Office of Education , Sacramento, California
⊲ Whatcom County Health and Community Services , Bellingham, Washington
Partner Wins & A Look Ahead
Partner Success: 2025 System and Policy Wins!
Start Early positions our partners for success with supportive services like policy analysis, systems implementation and advocacy strategy. Here are some examples of how our 2025 partners soared!
⊲ Texans Care for Children successfully advocated for a new bill requiring three state agencies to create and implement a strategic plan to improve inclusion and transitions for young children with disabilities.
⊲ The City of Akron, Ohio, launched a 600-child Universal Pre-K Pilot, incorporating early childhood providers’ vision for a unified, high-quality early learning system.
⊲ Ascension Early Childhood Ready Start Network, Louisiana, leveraged a newly strengthened local coalition to design and pilot improved benefits and compensation for child care programs.
Our Impact Grows With You: Looking Ahead to 2026
As the early childhood landscape continues to shift in 2026, our resolve deepens. We pledge to:
⊲ Join partners to design for even greater system resilience so states and communities can find local solutions and weather all manner of unexpected storms.
⊲ Advance state and federal policy improvements and build lasting community for children with disabilities, home visiting and Head Start.
⊲ Expand philanthropic partnerships so more states and communities can receive no-cost Impact Initiative consulting services from Start Early.
⊲ Create deeper connections between systems by widely sharing learnings, wins and best practices from the field at local and national conferences and convenings.
We look forward to continuing to work with you toward our shared vision of a nation that prioritizes young children with early childhood systems that serve families seamlessly, prenatal through age five. Thank you for your trust in our partnership.
THANK YOU!
Resilient early childhood systems are built through collaboration and partnership. Thank you to the states and communities that invited us to support them in 2025.
We are grateful to the Bezos Family Foundation and the Malott Family Foundation for their generous support of our systems-building work this year.
Connect: Reach us at Consulting@StartEarly.org
Explore: Learn more about Start Early Consulting
News & Events: Sign up for the Policy Perspectives Newsletter
Invite: Include Start Early Consulting in your conference or convening at Consulting@StartEarly.org
