King County's Best Starts for Kids: A Voter-Approved Child and Family Support Initiative

Challenges

Access, Scalability

Location

Washington

Stakeholders

Local Government, Nonprofits

Beneficiaries

Parents, Children

Overview

Best Starts for Kids is a comprehensive, voter-approved initiative in King County, Washington, that invests in the health and well-being of children, youth, and families from the prenatal stage through young adulthood.

Key Impact Metrics

$880M
expected to be generated by the renewed levy between 2022 and 2027
264K+
children, youth, and families reached in 2022
94%
of families in the homelessness prevention program remained housed after one year

Problem

Families and children face a fragmented landscape of services for health, education, and well-being, with funding streams that are often unstable, siloed, and insufficient to meet community needs. This lack of a coordinated, well-funded system leads to persistent inequities in outcomes, particularly for low-income communities and communities of color, and leaves critical needs like affordable childcare largely unaddressed.

Solution

King County government created a dedicated, predictable funding stream of hundreds of millions of dollars for a wide range of programs. A significant portion of these funds supports early childhood, including a new childcare subsidy program that helps families afford care and provides wage boosts to the early childhood workforce, directly addressing both affordability and quality.

Results

Beneficiary ImpactPartnership with 450 community-based organizations, and 264,000 individuals across King County served
Financial ResultsBest Starts for Kids distributed over $110 million to community partners, including $20 million allocated annually for the childcare subsidy program

Replication Tips

Build a broad coalition: Frame the initiative comprehensively to support children from infancy through middle school. This approach builds a wider coalition of support—from public health advocates to K-12 educators to housing advocates—than a narrow focus on a single issue. Commit to data and evaluation: The initiative operates under a results-based accountability framework, tracking performance measures and maintaining a public dashboard to demonstrate impact and ensure transparency to taxpayers.