Explore new and exciting updates from Best Starts for Kids.
This was originally posted on the DCHS Cultivating Connections blog. Providers currently contracted with Best Starts for Kids are invited to join Dr. Susan McLaughlin, Director of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services, to...
Best Starts for Kids is updating the process for making funding decisions. New legislation, Ordinance 20086 is helping ensure Best Starts is delivering the most benefit to our community in partnerships with grantees and contracted providers. ...
Outdoor play is essential to early learning but can be unsafe in high temperatures because young children can't regulate heat as effectively as adults. Shade supports quality play, increased play time, and learning. In 2025, King County...
Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect a new deadline. We are excited to share that the Best Starts for Kids Youth Healing Project request for proposal (RFP) is now open! This funding opportunity closes on August 14, 2026 at 5:00...
We’re excited to announce our keynote speakers for the 2026 King County Youth Summit! King County Executive Girmay Zahilay will provide the welcome address and Jessica Warner, youth leader and Chief of Staff for the Washington Youth...
The application deadline is June 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm Pacific. Best Starts for Kids is hiring a Help Me Grow (HMG) Coordinator (Project/Program Manager II) to strengthen systems that connect children and families to the resources they need -...
The application deadline is May 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm Pacific. Best Starts for Kids is hiring an Early Supports Supervisor to lead and support a team responsible for planning, implementing, and continuously improving King County's Early Support...
We know that many parents and caregivers are looking for summer camps and activities that are low- or no-cost. Each year Best Starts highlights affordable activities and camps available to King County kids and young people. We will continually...
Child care workers provide an essential service to our children, families, community and economy, but most child care workers live near or under the poverty line. Best Starts is investing in the child...
The application deadline is 11:59 pm March 14, 2026 Pacific. Best Starts for Kids is hiring three Strategy Leads to lead Best Starts' Transitions to Adulthood, Stopping the School to Prison Pipeline and Liberation and Healing from Systemic...
We offer equity-centered workshops for King County early childhood providers.
This dashboard shows the impact of Best Starts funding across its eight investment areas: Child Care, Investing Early, Sustain the Gain, Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Communities of Opportunity, Capital Projects, Technical Assistance and Capacity Building, and Data and Evaluation.