A landmark study by the CDC shows that children who have multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) have a much greater likelihood of being developmentally delayed, needing special education, and suffering from depression, heart, liver and pulmonary disease, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and teen pregnancy.
For these children, the need is not only to break the cycle of poverty, it’s to break the cycle of abuse and violence, the cycle of drug addiction, the cycle of incarceration, the cycle of early death. These children are truly the most vulnerable in society; in fact, they are nearly 13 times more likely to have been removed from their home. For infants and toddlers suffering from multiple ACE’s, science shows that toxic stress can cause disruption in the developing brain and body that affect both physical and mental health for a lifetime.
To address this gaping need, Kidango created an innovative model that partners our world-class early intervention team with the resources of Early Head Start and full day infant-toddler care.
By combining these three programs, highly vulnerable and at-risk infants and toddlers living in poverty benefit from full day child care plus the home visiting, health and mental health services, and family resources provided by Early Head Start. Families are no longer forced to choose between early intervention services or full day care – Kidango has made simultaneous access a reality.
Since 2016, Kidango has expanded this model to Oakland and Hayward. Kidango also was awarded a new federal Early Head Start grant to expand this model to San Jose.
