About Us

Mission Guiding Beliefs Role History Programs Bylaws Employment

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties, Inc. is to prepare children in our counties to enter and succeed in school.

The Coalition's Guiding Beliefs:

• Children are our community's most precious resource.
• A nurturing family environment is essential to allow children to reach their full potential.
• Prevention and early intervention are the most effective approaches, in both human and financial terms, to preserving the family, nurturing the child and enriching the community.
• Committed and qualified staff, volunteers and community members deserve to be valued, supported and involved in efforts to improve the community.

The Coalition's Role:

• The Coalition empowers parents to establish and maintain control over the education of their children and to become advocates on their own behalf.
• The Coalition engages the community by providing opportunities for involvement, growth and empowerment.
• The Coalition acknowledges its leadership responsibility by networking and forming collaborative relationships with other organizations and groups.
• The Coalition advocates for innovative, responsive and effective community-based services.
• The Coalition allocates its resources to maximize its effectiveness.

History

In the summer of 1999, the Florida Legislature passed the School Readiness Act (s. 411.01, F.S.). Its goal was to consolidate Florida's early education programs into a more efficient and cohesive system to deliver increased opportunities for children to achieve educational and personal success.

Both Pasco County and Hernando County formed School Readiness Coalitions incorporated as private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) agencies in early 2000. In 2005, a state mandate to decrease the number of School Readiness Coalitions became the impetus to consider alternative strategies for operations. Both Pasco and Hernando Counties united their services and enhanced one another's comprehensive programs to provide optimal outcomes for young children and families.

Our merged Coalition Board is charged with the oversight of all early learning programs to include School Readiness and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten in Pasco and Hernando counties including funding, contract management, and monitoring. The Coalition and Board work closely to coordinate a system of programs that jointly comprise a comprehensive set of services for children ages 0-8 and meet the specific needs of our counties.

Programs

School Readiness

School readiness funds pay a portion of the child care costs for low to moderate income earning families so that they may seek and maintain employment to support their families. Eligible families are assessed a fee on a sliding fee scale according to income. Without help in paying for child care costs, parents often have no choice but to quit their jobs as the full costs of child care can consume as much as 60% of salaries and wages.

The children in school readiness programs are assisted through screenings, assessment, and developmentally-appropriate early learning programs to assist them in getting ready for school. School readiness programs serve children birth to eight and some school-age children receive services before and after school.

Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten

Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten launched its inaugural year in 2005-06. The program passed and funded by the Florida Legislature provides 540 hours of free pre-kindergarten services for children who are four years old on or before September 1st or parents could choose a shorter more intense program in the summer operated by the school district. The goal of the program is to provide quality pre-kindergarten experiences for young children to assist them in becoming ready for kindergarten. Providers are key to the success of the VPK program. Visit our VPK section.

Quality Initiatives

Efforts to improve the quality of services available to young children and their families are a primary concern. The Coalition sets aside a portion of the funding received to target these issues.

Download our Inclusion Warm Line Services flyer.

Mobile Outreach Vans

The Mobile Outreach Vans are mobile libraries filled with books, toys, and teacher resources for promoting early literacy in young children. The vans visit over 300 child care providers in Pasco and Hernando Counties to provide classroom resources. This free service gives early educators the opportunity to check out materials to encourage children to learn through play.

Our Mobile Outreach Specialists bring the vans to community events in Pasco and Hernando Counties in order to promote VPK and School Readiness services as well as early childhood literacy. Thousands of books have been distributed through the Mobile Outreach Vans at community events.

Download the Mobile Outreach Van flyer

Resource and Referral

The Coalition's Resource and Referral program offers free information and referral services to all families seeking quality early care and school readiness programs and out of school time solutions. Resource and Referral's also assist in the recruitment, startup and support of providers and promote quality, availability and affordability of services available within their communities.

There are no charges/fees associated with a provider listing in the Child Care Resource & Referral Database or for referrals to your program. If you are asked to provide a payment for a referral or listing in the Child Care Resource and Referral database, please call the Agency for Workforce Innovation's Office of Early Learning at 1-866-357-3239. The information reported about a provider's program is objective program information that is based on standards that are attainable for providers based on their type of care.

For more information about the Coalition's Resource and Referral program please contact your local Coalition field office.

Pasco County
New Port Richey: 727-569-1004
Dade City: 352-834-0052

Hernando County
Brooksville: 352-754-5068

Tips for choosing quality childcare programs:

• Download Complete Family Guide in English
• Download Complete Family Guide in Spanish
• Download Checklist in English
• Download Checklist in Spanish

Bylaws

Our most current bylaws are available in Adobe Acrobat format below.

Coalition Bylaws as of February 26, 2009 (160kb)