The early years of a child’s life are crucial for their development. Quality childcare and early childhood education programs, like Early Head Start and Head Start, establish the foundation for lifelong learning and success. Child care is critical to a parent’s ability to work, and using an ECE model means building activities and curriculum built on evidence-based frameworks that set individualized child development and family engagement goals. Head Start also funds services in the following areas.

Social capital or social cohesion, is key to a family’s well-being. Connecting families to supportive systems or cohorts such as church, school, and parent education programs that build deeper and resilient relationships that become a long term asset for families. Research demonstrates that being part of a community group of some kind is correlated with longer life and overall well being. These networks can also connect them to valuable resources such as job opportunities, community resources, and mentorship. By fostering these connections, families can develop stronger support systems, enhance their resilience, and gain access to new opportunities that improve their overall quality of life. 

Sonoma CAN joins Community Action Agencies across the country in embracing and implementing the Whole Family Approach, reflecting the commitment of the network to disrupt poverty and build brighter futures together.

Health and wellness is a foundational need to excel in every other part of our lives. The portrait of Sonoma has laid out the health disparities present in Sonoma County by race and location. Health is a multi-faceted system that includes physical, mental, and dental wellbeing, as well as preventive health and a recognition of social determinants of health that individuals can not control. These health factors relate to every other part of life, including housing, financial, and relationship stability. Access to food, income, and insurance are core components of health and fundamental to building health equity in a community.

When families achieve economic stability, they can focus on long-term well-being rather than constantly managing financial stress. This stability allows for better access to education, healthcare, and opportunities for growth and asset development. Programs that support economic stability often provide concrete supports to meet basic needs and build capacity, such as resource navigation, financial assistance, food and housing access, and training and coaching in financial capability. Services. Community Health Workers (CHWs) or Promotoras are bilingual and bicultural community members who provide these services to families from a relational and strengths based perspective.

Education is a lifelong journey that unlocks personal growth, career advancement, and economic empowerment. While individuals have a consistent drive to be independent and self-sufficient, we are intrinsically interdependent, and supporting each other as a community is what makes us strong. When basic needs are met and children have access to high quality education and safe activities parents have more capacity to seek further education or improved employment opportunities. Workforce development programs provide training and coaching for upskilling to higher paid employment opportunities. Or family coaches may support the enrollment of a caregiver into a college class or training program. Whole family agencies provide these services during the hours that children are in classrooms, or provide childcare, transportation assistance, and meals during evening trainings. Making programs accessible and supportive is what makes them successful.