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Kent County approves $8.94 million Ready by 5 allocation after program update
Summary
The Kent County Board of Commissioners received an update on Ready by 5 services and voted to approve $8,937,005.60 in fiscal year 2026 millage allocations and an administration agreement with First Steps Kent.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 received a progress report on Ready by 5 early childhood services and voted to approve the fiscal year 2026 millage allocation recommended by First Steps Kent.
Ready by 5 Program Manager Kiana Garcia Zadaray told commissioners the voter-approved early childhood millage generates about $8,000,000 a year and supports parent education, early learning, outreach/navigation and healthy development for children ages 0–5. "Ready by 5 funds services and organizations that ensure that children are born healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track," Garcia Zadaray said.
The presentation noted Ready by 5 served nearly 15,900 individuals in 2024, an 8.6% increase from 2023, and that participation is concentrated among children ages 0 to 3. Jasper Tinoco, Ready by 5 data specialist, said outreach navigation completed roughly 74% of nearly 8,000 referrals from 14 agencies in 2024 and that early learning participation is highest in core urban zip codes including 49507, 49503 and 49508.
The program’s independent evaluators, BASIS Policy Research, provided an impact analysis that included data from 19 school districts (13 of which submitted assessment data) and 2,780 students who participated in Ready by 5 services since 2021. Tinoco cautioned that current data only allow comparison on academic readiness measures, and that Ready by 5 is working toward individual identifiers to track service type and duration for stronger impact analysis.
Kristen Geetson, president and CEO of Arbor Circle, described a case in which clinical consultation and provider support helped a 3-year-old move from part-time to full-time child care, allowing the child’s parent to maintain employment. "Keep is about relationships and creating safe spaces for children and child care providers to be successful," Geetson said, describing the Keep (Keep Early Education Positive) program funded in part by Ready by 5.
After questions from Commissioners Pacla, Faber and Womack about data collection, geographic reach and planned food-service RFPs, the board voted to approve the recommended allocation of $8,937,005.60 in fiscal year 2026 Ready by 5 millage funds, to approve the agreement for administration of Ready by 5 services with First Steps Kent, and to authorize the board chair to execute the agreement and amendments as needed. The motion was introduced "by PACLA" and supported "by favor" as recorded in the meeting transcript; commissioners voted in favor and none opposed.
The allocations and agreement will go to the full Board on Aug. 28 for final action.
