Program Goals

The goals of Best Start are:

• Reduce barriers to services and resources.
• Address barriers to access that differentially impact specific demographic groups (e.g., language and/or race/ethnicity).
• Represent the community when influencing the policies and practices of systems.
• Inform the input and advocacy efforts of family and community members.
• Inform local programs and interventions about kindergarten-readiness levels.
• Identify and advocate for shared priorities related to influencing policies and practices across systems.
• Identify community priorities and track progress on population-level results.
• Mobilize local coalitions among key partners within networks and strengthen the capacity of those participating in the coalitions to advocate and apply for existing and/or new resources.
• Collect community-level data related to priorities for achieving population-level results to inform funding.
• Build power that influences the general public and legislators to enact new policies and funding.

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Best Start.

Essential Components

The essential components of Best Start include:

• The way Best Start embodies the work of policy change, practice change, and will building is through two principal strategies:
• Supporting the emergence of P–5 (prenatal to age 5) movements. In a P–5 movement, participants consciously commit together to hold themselves mutually accountable for progress toward the First 5 LA’s North Star, long-term results for children and families, and/or conditions of well-being.
• Partnerships are evolving into networks.
• One or more networks within the Best Start geographies are acting to increase Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, parents and residents.
• Leadership structures have begun within the Best Start geographies committed to cohering movements focused on population level results.
• Networks of people and organizations representing multiple stakeholder groups begin to coalesce around a shared commitment to achieve population-level results within Best Start geographies.
• Movements are emerging in the Best Start geographies
• Field Building - Through Best Start’s field building strategy, work is done collaboratively with partners to:
• Strengthen knowledge and practices essential for successful movement building
• Progress toward long-term results and community conditions of wellbeing, including knowledge and practices related to:
• Increased capacity of nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups to strengthen engagement within Best Start geographies.
• Strengthened ability of advocacy groups to engage in systems change to improve the built environment and/or other community conditions of well-being in partnership with parents and other organizations within the Best Start geographies.
• Feedback to particular streams of action (e.g., presentations, etc.)
• Improved county and municipal community engagement practices to inform decision-making about the built environment and/or other community conditions of well-being within Best Start geographies.
• Increase number of resources invested within Best Start geographies related to the built environment and/or other community conditions of well-being.
• Demonstrated incremental changes in values, will, mental models, practice, policy, and/or other actions in public systems that support progress on the built environment and/or other community conditions of well-being within the Best Start geographies.
• Evidence of changing values, mental models, practice, policy, and other changes within First 5 Los Angeles (F5LA), Best Start partners, and among others committed to effecting population results for children P–5 and their families in LA County and beyond.

Program Delivery

Parent/Caregiver Services

Best Start directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

• Best Start does not typically provide services as traditionally defined. Its focus is on parent leadership training and community network development. However, during COVID, Best Start needed to shift to providing direct services to better support community members. This remains an ongoing analysis to understand the balance needed for collective advocacy efforts while addressing basic needs of families.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Other

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Best Start has materials available in a language other than English:

Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Personnel that come with a community-centered approach, contracted services for community and organizational capacity building and technical assistance, communications, evaluation, general equipment, space, supplies, training expenses, translation

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

There is no minimum education requirement. Best Start has individuals with various levels of education working on different aspects of the program.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Joaquin Calderon, Senior Program Officer
  jcalderon@first5la.org
  phone: (213) 482-7818

Training Type/Location:

Informal consultation is available.

Number of days/hours:

Informal consultation is available.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Best Start.

Additional References