- Quality. The Foundation has invested in a number of quality initiatives through the Metropolitan Council on Early Learning. http://www.marc.org/mcel
- Professional Development. In 1989, Penn Valley Community College, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and the Francis Family Foundation created the Francis Resource Center to provide community-based training services for child care providers. The Resource Center is such a success that other innovative early education training components were added. Today, the Francis Institute for Child & Youth Development is housed in a state-of-the-art, 36,000-square-foot facility on the Penn Valley campus. It serves more than 4,000 people a year, including child care providers, students, families and children. It offers college-credit classes that lead to vocational degrees and credentials, customized on-site training for child care providers, and a child development center that serves as a lab school. http://francis.mcckc.edu
- Public Advocacy. Currently only a patchwork of funding pays for early education and child care, leaving families to shoulder most of the burden. Public investments in early education are needed to support quality, accessible, affordable programs that meet community needs. The Metropolitan Council on Early Learning, Kansas Action for Children and Alliance for Childhood Education (ACE) make sure civic leaders and government decision makers do not forget about constituents too young to vote. http://www.kac.org