Project Overview

Right from the Start (RFTS) is a Connecticut-based initiative that evolved from the outcry of parents, early care providers, and a range of community stakeholders for a coordinated comprehensive early care and education delivery system.  The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund convened teams of individuals and organizations committed to informing the process and the design of that system. 

The Right from the Start team operates on the premise that an early education and child development system must include local decision-making structures, parent engagement, results-based community plans, integration of state and local efforts and a thorough evaluation of progress.

The robust discussions facilitated by the Interaction Instiute for Social Change (IISC) have yielded the following agreements:

• This effort is about honoring and including the voice and successes of communities and families in any system building effort, including the Governor’s plan to create a coordinated system of early care, education, and child development at the state agency level.
• Right from the Start is focused on whole child development, and therefore strives to bring together stakeholders from both the education and health arenas, who are often not at the same table.
• The initiative emphasizes the need to better serve all of Connecticut’s families, and therefore lifts up for deeper analysis the racialized disparities in outcomes for children in the state.

Project Outline

The launch of Right from the Start in November 2010 included the constitution of a Process Team, made up of 15 individuals representing diverse interests and parts of the state, to construct a “pathway to action” for this system building/change effort.  I2011, IISC guided the Process Team through a rigorous stakeholder analysis to create a 40 person System Design Team (see Directory below) representing diverse perspectives, to take the work forward and into the subsequent designed phases:

• System Analysis (April-August 2011) - The System Design Team conducts research and analysis to explore the current state of early childhood in Connecticut and better understand different systemic dynamics and key leverage points for change.
• Vision & Values (September-December 2011) - Additional stakeholders from communities around the state outline a guiding vision and values for a new system aligned with the purpose of serving all children and families.
• System Design (January- March 2012) – The System Design Team drafts a template/blueprint for a new system, focusing on leverage points identified in the System Analysis phase.
• Implementation/Prototyping and Monitoring (April 2012 on –>) Agreed upon strategies and ideas are implemented and prototyped with built-in timetables for evaluation and adjustment.