Arizona’s early childhood agency represents a commitment Arizonans made to our youngest children – that they would have the support they need to start school healthy and ready to succeed. Many young children in Arizona face significant barriers to their success, including poverty, trauma and lack of access to needed resources.
25,171
Population of young children (under age 6)
26%
Percentage of young children living in poverty
Priorities
The Pima South Regional Partnership Council makes strategic investments to support the healthy development and learning of the young children in the region. The regional council’s priorities include:
- Strengthening and supporting families through voluntary home visiting and family resource centers
- Scholarships for young children to access high-quality child care
- Improving quality and access to child care and preschool programs
“The First Things First Pima South Regional Partnership Council collaborated with our community partners to create a systems thinking, data-driven strategic plan that identified key priorities and strategically leveraged resources to ensure the development and learning of young children, families, and early childhood professionals in our region.”
Letícia Luján
Chair, First Things First Pima South Regional Partnership Council
Regional Key Impact Highlights
[State Fiscal Year 2024]
Strengthening Families and Early Literacy
- 290 families or caregivers served by receiving referrals or by participating in activities at family resource centers
- 492 families with young children participated in voluntary home visiting programs proven to reduce parental stress levels, increase connections to community supports, and improve children’s cognitive, motor, behavioral and social-emotional development
Quality Preschool and Child Care
- 91 child care and preschool providers were committed to continuous quality improvement of their early learning programs through Quality First
- 2863 children attended preschools and child care programs participating in Quality First
State Fiscal Year 2024 Total Regional Program Expenditures
| Quality and Access | $2,554,302 |
| Family Support | $2,367,792 |
| Professional Development | $430,250 |
| Health | $402,700 |
| Evaluation | $170,664 |
| Community Awareness | $41,678 |
| Total | $5,967,386 |
First Things First Staff
Jessica Harrington
Sr. Director, Southeast Regional Area
Roxanne Ochoa
Administrative Specialist III, Southeast Regional Area
Regional Office
Ste 100
