Our Mission
The Pulaski County Community Early Childhood Council’s mission is to improve the quality of life for all children birth to age 5 in Pulaski County through initiatives on early care, school readiness, and strengthening families. We care, we prepare. PCCECC strives to accomplish that goal through family learning events, professional and family trainings, and outreach, all at no cost to Pulaski County residents.
As a community entity, the Pulaski County Council promotes the efforts of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood. During the 2000 legislative session, House Bill 706 was unanimously passed in both chambers of the Kentucky Legislature. At that time, it was the most comprehensive package of early childhood legislation in the nation addressing the needs of the whole child, which include: health care, family assistance, high quality education, and community involvement. In addition, it committed 25% of the Kentucky Tobacco Settlement Fund annually to support early childhood programs.
To ensure the best early care and education for our youngest citizens and to reach the long-term goals set forth by the KIDS NOW Initiative, local communities needed to take action. One of the strategies identified by the Early Childhood Task Force (1999) to help support this outcome was the creation of state and local partnerships to support services designed to meet the locally identified needs of children and families. This strategy became the foundation for the creation of the CECCs.
CECCs were designed to encourage local communities to establish and strengthen relationships, promote collaboration and coordination between early care and education providers, schools and the community as a whole, and involve individuals from a cross- section of the community who can foster efforts to improve outcomes for young children and families. CECCs use new and existing relationships within communities to build and sustain supports for early childhood development and learning. Pulaski County is proud to participate in this important initiative through the Pulaski County Community Early Childhood Council.