Early Childhood Alliance

08/28/2026

What can we learn when we bring together family voice, community data, and the experiences of those working alongside young children and families?

That question was at the heart of Summer Merrick’s project for the Stanford Center on Early Childhood’s Zaentz Community Fellowship, The State of Early Childhood in Onondaga County, which she presented today.

Summer, Director of Help Me Grow Onondaga, an initiative of the ECA Onondaga, drew from local RAPID Survey Project data, local and community data, system mapping, and the experiences of community partners to take a closer look at our early childhood landscape.

At the heart of the project is something that guides our work every day: data can help us understand what is happening, but family voice and community context help us understand what it means.

Congratulations to Summer on completing the Zaentz Community Fellowship and helping us continue to ask important questions about how we can build a stronger, more responsive early childhood system in Onondaga County.

📊 Explore The State of Early Childhood in Onondaga County report: https://www.ecaonondaga.org/post/2026-state-of-early-childhood-in-onondaga-county

08/26/2026

We were honored to attend the Cabrini Health Foundation’s Nonprofit Leaders and Community Partners Reception yesterday.

The Foundation’s support has helped the ECA Onondaga build trusted relationships with families, better understand the challenges they face, and strengthen connections to resources that support healthy child development.

We’re grateful for their continued commitment to improving the health and well-being of communities across New York State and proud to be among the many organizations whose work they have supported.

08/25/2026

We are truly saddened by the passing of Dolly Parton, whose extraordinary legacy will live on through the millions of children and families touched by her generosity, imagination, and belief in the power of books.

Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, she turned that belief into a worldwide movement, helping children experience the joy of having books of their very own.

Here in Onondaga County, that legacy has taken root in an incredible way. Through the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County, more than two million Imagination Library books have now been gifted to local children, opening the door to countless stories, conversations, and moments of connection.

We are deeply grateful for the legacy Dolly leaves behind and the many ways it will continue to touch generations of children and families. ❤️

08/18/2026

📰 Onondaga County’s work to make developmental screening more accessible to families is getting national attention!

A new story from The Hechinger Report takes an in-depth look at developmental screening in New York and efforts to make screening more accessible to families across the state.

Here in Onondaga County, the story highlights the work of the ECA Onondaga, Help Me Grow Onondaga, and our many community partners. Since 2019, the number of annual screenings documented across our community has grown from about 150 to more than 4,600.

Developmental screening helps families better understand their child’s development, identify potential concerns early, and connect with resources and services when needed.

We’re grateful to the families and partners who shared their experiences and to reporter Sarah Carr for highlighting this important work.

Read the full story from The Hechinger Report: https://hechingerreport.org/in-new-york-most-kids-miss-recommended-screening-for-autism-speech-delays/

Also featured in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/nyregion/new-york-child-development-screenings.html

New community efforts across the country are helping to connect more kids to essential therapies

07/29/2026

🎉👏 🚲 Congratulations to The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee of New York, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the Town of Onondaga, Town of Onondaga Parks & Recreation, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board, and all of the incredible partners who helped bring Onondaga County's first Traffic Garden to life at Anthony J. Santaro Memorial Park!

This innovative space gives children the opportunity to build confidence and practice bicycle and pedestrian safety skills through hands-on play—helping create safer roads and stronger communities for years to come.

We're proud that Talk, Read, Sing Onondaga helped celebrate this exciting milestone by bringing a bicycle safety-themed StoryWalk® to the event, showing how reading together can reinforce important safety lessons while creating meaningful parent-child interactions.

Thank you to everyone whose vision, partnership, and support made this exciting project possible. We look forward to seeing children and families enjoy this wonderful new community resource for years to come!

07/07/2026

🧡 Every child deserves the support they need to thrive—and your voice can help make that happen.

If you're a parent, caregiver, educator, provider, or advocate, the Kids Can't Wait NYS Campaign wants to hear from you.

Take the "Share Your Dreams" Survey to help improve access to Early Intervention, Preschool Special Education, and inclusive child care across New York State.

Whether you've navigated these services yourself or simply want to see every child get the support they need, your perspective matters.

📝 The survey takes about 10 minutes, is available in English and Spanish, and closes Monday, July 13, at 11:59 p.m.

🔗 English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSPJN5P
🔗 Español: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P9CT2WG

06/29/2026

🎣 Smiles, sunshine, and special moments made for an unforgettable day at our 2nd Annual Fishing with Dads event! ☀️🐟

It was wonderful to see children and the important adults in their lives spending quality time outdoors, learning something new, and creating memories that will last long after the last fish was caught.

Thank you to our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Executive Committee, PAC member and parent leader Malik Scott, our volunteers, and all the families who made the day so special. We can't wait to do it again!

Take a look at some of our favorite photos from the day. 📸💙

06/23/2026

We're honored to be featured in the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York's 2025 Annual Report.

The story highlights efforts to strengthen access to early childhood supports across New York State and features Help Me Grow Onondaga and our partners at Oswego County Help Me Grow as examples of how communities are helping connect families to the resources they need.

We're grateful to the Health Foundation for its support of this work and its ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for young children and families.

Read the story: https://annualreport.hfwcny.org/stories/imagining-better-access-to-early-childhood-support-in-new-york/

Nonprofit organizations are known for their resilience and determination. “Making it work” in the face of inconsistent funding, limited resources, and increasing need is common for community-based providers. This was true even before the drastic shifts in public funding and policy we witnessed in 2025.

Nonprofits have always been an essential part of delivering the health and social services that hold our community together. But the nonprofit sector has been undervalued and under-resourced for decades. That disinvestment has left those important agencies, and the sector as a whole, vulnerable in moments like this.

The inevitable results of that instability will be fractured and disappearing services, increased costs for care and services, and a sicker community.

We have the opportunity in this moment not to just fix current problems or fill in gaps, but to work together to create a better future for the long run.

✨Instead of retrofitting services for older adults and their caregivers, let’s keep building health systems where respecting their needs and perspectives is standard practice.

✨Instead of individual nonprofits working on their own with few resources, let’s keep breaking down silos so agencies can share their strengths, learn from each other, and deliver care more effectively—together.

✨Instead of patchwork, hard-to-get services for parents and young children, let’s keep advocating for policies, funding, and infrastructure so that every child receives the care they need to thrive.

✨Instead of widening the disparities in our health care system based on race, class, and neighborhood, let’s keep strengthening community health centers where high-quality, affordable care is for everyone.

We invite you to explore our 2025 annual report—and to imagine better.

🔗 https://annualreport.hfwcny.org/

Thank you to the nonprofit partners who contributed their voices to this report:

Association of Health Care Journalists, ECMC's Buffalo Rising Against Violence Trauma Recovery Center (BRAVE TRC) and Population Health team, The Center of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease at SUNY Upstate Medical University, The Chautauqua Center, Early Childhood Alliance Onondaga, Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition Jericho Road Community Health Center, Healthcare Association of New York State, Integrated Community Planning of Oswego County, Inc. , Integrity Partners for Behavioral Health, Liftoff WNY, Impact HQ fueled by NSG (Nonprofit Support Group), Oswego County Office for the Aging, and REACH CNY, Inc.

06/23/2026

Big news for Onondaga County families!

Thanks to more than $55 million in new state funding, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) waitlist will reopen, helping hundreds of families access affordable child care and ensuring continued support for nearly 5,000 children across our community.

This investment recognizes what families, providers, employers, and community leaders know: child care is essential infrastructure. When families can access affordable care, children thrive, parents can work, and communities grow stronger.

We applaud the continued commitment to strengthening our local child care system and expanding opportunities for children and families throughout Onondaga County.

PRESS RELEASE: County Executive Ryan McMahon Announces Reopening of Child Care Assistance Program

06/15/2026

📚🎉 Congratulations to our partners at the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County on an incredible milestone—distributing their 2 millionth Dolly Parton's Imagination Library book in Onondaga County!

This achievement represents millions of opportunities for children and families to build a love of reading, strengthen early literacy skills, and create meaningful moments together through books.

We were honored to join community partners in celebrating this remarkable accomplishment and the lasting impact the Imagination Library continues to have on young children throughout our community.

📖 Here's to the next million books and the bright futures they help inspire! 💙