Each Child. Every Community.

Children are born ready to learn but may not have access to the experiences or environments that foster healthy brain development, such as engaged child-parent interaction, quality child care, and excellent health care. When we provide communities, early childhood professionals, and families with the tools and resources they need, we ensure quality early childhood learning opportunities and healthy brain development.

Smart Start brings communities together — parents, early learning and health professionals, educators, business leaders, and elected officials—to coordinate services and address service gaps based on data. Smart Start also provides the tools and resources communities need to fully engage young children in learning opportunities, so they can grow to be healthy, productive, and well-rounded students, parents, workers, and leaders.

This structure establishes a system for statewide governance and innovation with local inspiration that works in communities across our state.

Serving children from birth through 5, Smart Start works across the state to raise the quality of child care, strengthen families, improve child health and development, and support early literacy. The network implements other state, federal, local, and private programs and services, such as NC Pre-K, child care subsidy, and Head Start, serving as North Carolina’s system for early childhood health, development, and learning.

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