Partner Spotlight: Invest in Children

Q. Tell us a little about your organization. Where are you located? Who do you serve and what do you focus on?

A. Invest in Children serves as Cuyahoga County’s Office of Early Childhood. We work with community partners to fund and provide programs and services for young children, their families, and the early childhood professionals who work with them.

Our work focuses on the prenatal to kindergarten period. This includes maternal and child health; child development; infant and early childhood mental health; parenting support; high-quality child care; and early learning. Through our partnerships in the public and private sectors, we endeavor to support and align a strong early childhood system.

Our vision is young children in Cuyahoga County are happy, healthy, and thriving.

Q. When was your organization founded, and what inspired your mission?

A. Leaders from Cuyahoga County government and our local civic, philanthropic and business communities came together in 1999 to create Invest in Children— an office devoted solely to the wellbeing, growth and development of children ages 5 and younger in Cuyahoga County. During that time, parent conversations, the media, and public-policy discourse focused heavily on early brain development and how the first five years of a child’s life were a time of tremendous brain growth. The creation of Invest in Children was our community’s stake in the ground to create a structure that prioritizes this critical period in a person’s life.

Q. What’s a recent project, program, or win that you're especially proud of?

A. After 25 years of co-funding infant and early childhood mental health services in Cuyahoga County, we are thrilled to host our first-ever Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health conference —in partnership with the Association for Infant Mental Health in Ohio (AIMHi Ohio)— on November 20. The event will bring together professionals, providers, caregivers, advocates, and system partners to explore the belief that children’s mental and emotional well-being is rooted in early relationships.

Q. What’s one issue you're keeping a close eye on right now?

A. As Cuyahoga County’s Office of Early Childhood, we continually monitor and discuss the issues that impact our youngest residents and their caregivers. These days, it feels impossible to choose just one. Broadly speaking, we are paying close attention to how federal policy decisions are affecting families with young children. This includes the changes to SNAP and Medicaid enacted through H.R. 1, including expanded work requirements that could affect family stability and access to essential supports.

We are also closely following the federal fiscal year 2027 appropriations process. While the House has proposed modest increases for child care and Head Start, Congress still faces the September 30 deadline to finalize federal funding. As negotiations continue, the final outcome will shape investments in programs that support young children and families, including child care, Head Start, and broader early childhood systems.

Q. How do you partner with families and communities in your work?

A. Invest in Children partners with more than 80 organizations by funding their outstanding work with young children, their families, and their communities. Our goal, through these partnerships, is for each organization to incorporate feedback from its participants into program decisions, design, and delivery.

For example, in our Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program, a Parent Advisory Committee, comprised of children’s parents and guardians, meets regularly with our staff and our partner, Starting Point’s staff, to provide insights about families’ experiences.

Similarly, the Family Advisory Committees that represent our four FamilySpace locations work with FamilySpace staff to ensure programming meets the needs of parents, caregivers, and children in the communities they serve.

Q. How did you first hear about or get involved with Groundwork Ohio?

A. We asked around, and we can’t remember a time when we didn’t know Groundwork Ohio. We've probably worked with Groundwork since its inception.

Q. What do you wish more people understood about the families you serve or the work you do?

A. The earliest years of a person’s life are incredibly important. Babies, toddlers and young children’s brains develop rapidly, and our investments help them establish a strong foundation for life.  

We also wish more people understood that child care is expensive for many families, and many families cannot afford it. This hurts children, who need socialization and education; families, who need to go to earn a living and put food on the table; and local economies because employers miss out on top talent. 

According to a 2024 report by Early Matters NEO, a coalition we co-founded that advocates for policy changes to support child care, 78 percent of parents in Cuyahoga County identified child care accessibility as a barrier to work.

Q. How do you work with other organizations or community partners to create change?

A. We work with a dozen key community partners, who work in maternal and infant health, infant and early childhood mental health, child development, and early learning. We also partner with approximately 70 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) programs. Our work together helps families learn to connect with their children, so they can learn, grow and feel secure.

Children who enjoy secure relationships and have the freedom to learn can grow into adults who positively impact our communities and world. This is how we work together to create change.

Q. What keeps your team inspired or grounded in this work?

A. Our team is deeply committed to young children and the adults who care for them: We know the first five years of a child’s life are a time of tremendous brain growth. We also empathize with parents and guardians, who juggle so much to try and do right by their children. We find purpose in knowing we make it possible for children to access —and their adults to afford— high-quality, necessary programs and services that will help give them a solid start in life.

Q. Why is advocacy important to your work?

A. Advocacy gives us a way to remind our elected leaders what it’s like to experience the world as a child, parent, guardian, or an early childhood professional. When federal and state officials truly understand these individuals lives and challenges, and, in turn, pass legislation that benefits them, our county office can provide additional —and substantial— programs and services to also support these groups. 

Q. What do you think is important to help make Ohio the best place to be a young child?

A. Children thrive when their parents and caretakers feel they have stability— a secure job, home and ability to put food on the table. For Ohio to be the best place to be a young child, we need to ensure families have the ability to achieve that stability. One way we can do that is to ensure parents and guardians can consistently access and afford high quality child care, so they can go to work and provide for their families.

We also can do this by continuing to invest in home-visiting programs, child-development programs, and infant and early childhood mental health programs. These supports help parents and caregivers feel confident in their roles, which allows them to provide the secure, loving environments children need to grow and thrive.