County official outlines Healthy Children’s Fund and hub model for Meridian site

Sarah Simpson, introduced by district staff as a county presenter, outlined the Healthy Children’s Fund and how county capital and operating resources would support a Meridian Early Learning and Care Hub. Simpson said the fund is a property-tax-funded county program that supports early learning, provider capacity, capital projects and services for vulnerable children. "I am very lucky to be the supervisor for all the children and family programs at Whatcom County," she said, and described the fund’s portfolio of capital and service contracts.

Simpson gave budget breakdown ranges and described evaluation practices the county uses on funded projects: about $900,000 a year for administration and roughly 55–68% of the fund focused on early learning and care with the remainder on vulnerable-children services. She emphasized that the hub concept would bring occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech pathology, mental-health and housing case-management services closer to families in more rural parts of the county, reducing travel and fragmented care.