King County’s Best Starts for Kids (BSK) levy, which is up for voter renewal on August 3, funds two important Northwest Center programs:
IMPACT provides consultation and professional development trainings to spread NWC’s mission and vision of inclusion to all of King County, with the ultimate goal of changing the landscape of early learning and childcare across the county to fully support children of all abilities. Our Early Supports team, thanks to BSK funding, was able to meet our families’ needs throughout the pandemic by pivoting to a telehealth model and delivering needed resources directly to families. Funding from BSK also helped Early Supports launch equity initiatives including language access and racial equity projects to make materials and services accessible to more families. Since King County voters passed the BSK levy in 2015, more than $368 million has been distributed to hundreds of other programs. These include:
Funded through a property tax, BSK was designed to help children realize their potential to be happy, healthy, safe, and thriving. The levy “Invests Early” by funding programs to support pregnant parents and children prenatal through five years old, and then “Sustains the Gain” through grants that support children, youth and young adults ages 5 through 24. If BSK is not renewed on the August 3 ballot, funding is set to expire on December 31, 2021. |
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