{"id":8834,"date":"2018-02-23T18:30:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T18:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec2-52-14-78-51.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com\/?post_type=regions&#038;p=8834"},"modified":"2026-03-19T23:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T23:41:47","slug":"east-maricopa","status":"publish","type":"regions","link":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/regions\/east-maricopa\/","title":{"rendered":"East Maricopa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arizona\u2019s early childhood agency represents a commitment Arizonans made to our youngest children \u2013 that they would have the support they need to start school healthy and ready to succeed. Many young children in Arizona face significant barriers to their success, including poverty, trauma and lack of access to needed resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>58,035Population of young children (under age 6)12%Percentage of young children living in poverty<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Map-EastMaricopa.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><small>(Click for a detailed map.)<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><b>Priorities<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"region-strategic-priorities\" class=\"margin-top-10\">\n<p>The East Maricopa Regional Partnership Council makes strategic investments to support the healthy development and learning of the young children in the region. The regional council&#8217;s priorities include:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ftf-list\">\n<li>Scholarships for children to access high-quality early learning<\/li>\n<li>Improving the quality of child care and preschool programs<\/li>\n<li>Strengthening families through parenting education, voluntary home visiting and family resource centers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 20%; vertical-align: top;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-56394 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Lenay-Quote.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Lenay-Quote.png 200w, https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Lenay-Quote-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 3.83507%;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.1649%;\"><em>&#8220;There is a large body of research that demonstrates how important a child\u2019s early years are for their future success. As parents, families, caregivers, and educators, we can support children\u2019s growth, just by reading, singing, and playing with them every day. As a community, we can support families and young children, ensuring they get access to the resources and support they need to lay a strong foundation for our collective future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Lenay Dunn<br \/>\n<\/strong>Education Researcher and Chair, FTF East Maricopa Regional Partnership Council<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Early Childhood Matters.<\/p>\n<p>90% of a child\u2019s brain grows before kindergarten.<\/p>\n<p>Learn why<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Regional Key Impact Highlights<\/span><br \/>\n<\/b>[State Fiscal Year 2025]\n<p>Strengthening Families and Early Literacy <\/p>\n<p>7388 families or caregivers served by receiving referrals or by participating in activities at family resource centers<br \/>\n213 families with young children participated in voluntary home visiting programs proven to reduce parental stress levels, increase connections to community supports, and improve children\u2019s cognitive, motor, behavioral and social-emotional development<\/p>\n<p>Quality Preschool and Child Care<\/p>\n<p>95 early care and education providers improved the quality of early learning programs by participating in Quality First.<\/p>\n<p>Preventive Health<\/p>\n<p>95\u00a0early childhood educators received child care health consultation or support in maintaining health and safety standards in early learning settings<br \/>\n49 child care and preschool providers received mental health consultation proven to enhance teachers\u2019 confidence in dealing with students\u2019 socio-emotional needs, improve teacher-child relationships and prevent expulsions<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Programs Our Region Funds<\/p>\n<p>First Things First supports early childhood programs in Arizona through grants to community organizations that provide services\u2014at no cost\u2014for young children from birth to age 5 (before kindergarten) and their families.<\/p>\n<p>Find Programs<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">State Fiscal Year 2025 Total Regional Program Expenditures<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"su-table su-table-responsive su-table-alternate su-table-fixed\">\n<table style=\"width: 445.012px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px\">Quality and Access<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\">$4,265,767<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px\">Family Support<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\">$2,041,641<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px\">Health<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\">$955,022<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px\">Evaluation<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\">$199,462<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px\">Community Awareness<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\">$66,624<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 322.012px;height: 33px;text-align: right\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 123px;text-align: right\"><strong>$7,528,516<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>First Things First Staff<br \/>\nMailing Address<br \/>\n1839 S. Alma School Rd., Suite 100, Mesa, AZ 85210<br \/>\n 602.771.4980<\/p>\n<p>Annette Bourne<br \/>\nRegional Area Director<br \/>\n &#x61;&#x62;&#x6f;&#x75;&#x72;&#x6e;&#x65;&#x40;null&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x74;&#x68;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x67;&#x73;&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x2e;&#x6f;&#x72;&#x67; 480.584.9002<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Ciolli<br \/>\nRegional Specialist<br \/>\n &#x6c;&#x63;&#x69;&#x6f;&#x6c;&#x6c;&#x69;&#x40;null&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x74;&#x68;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x67;&#x73;&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x2e;&#x6f;&#x72;&#x67; 602.771.4993<\/p>\n<p>Feather Beatty<br \/>\nTribal Regional Specialist<br \/>\n &#x66;&#x62;&#x65;&#x61;&#x74;&#x74;&#x79;&#x40;null&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x74;&#x68;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x67;&#x73;&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x2e;&#x6f;&#x72;&#x67; 602.884.0165<\/p>\n<p>Cynthia Gandara<br \/>\nAdministrative Specialist III<br \/>\n &#x63;&#x67;&#x61;&#x6e;&#x64;&#x61;&#x72;&#x61;&#x40;null&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x74;&#x68;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x67;&#x73;&#x66;&#x69;&#x72;&#x73;&#x74;&#x2e;&#x6f;&#x72;&#x67; 602.771.4963<\/p>\n<p>Regular Council Meeting Dates<\/p>\n<p>View schedule<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arizona\u2019s early childhood agency represents a commitment Arizonans made to our youngest children \u2013 that they would have the support they need to start school healthy and ready to succeed. Many young children in Arizona face significant barriers to their success, including poverty, trauma and lack of access to needed resources. 58,035Population of young children &hellip; <a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/regions\/east-maricopa\/\">Read More<i class=\"fas fa-arrow-circle-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-8834","regions","type-regions","status-publish","hentry","regions-east-maricopa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First Things First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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