The Brighter Futures Initiative seeks to increase the school readiness and school success of Hartford’s 18,000 young children, from birth to age eight.  Launched in 1990, Brighter Futures is a 20-year, at-least $25 million commitment that targets four critical areas affecting a young child’s readiness for and success in school: child care and early childhood education, family support and parent education, health care; and the early grades of school.

Over the past year, based on the recommendation of an independent assessment of the Foundation’s long-term investment by nationally renowned UCLA faculty member Dr. Neal Halfon, the Foundation decided to put greater emphasis on activities that would result in three key outcomes: 1) systems change in early childhood; 2) greater engagement in the public sector; and 3) greater alignment between Brighter Futures-funded projects in Hartford and state policies and programs. 

As a result, in 2007, the initiative:

• Continued to strengthen the activities, visibility and long-term sustainability of the Hartford Mayor’s Office for Young Children, the first and only municipal office in the state whose mission is specifically to promote the health, safety and school success of all of the city’s young children.
• Collaborated with the Connecticut Commission on Children and the Governor’s Early Childhood Cabinet to bring resources and expertise to state efforts to develop an integrated system of health, education and support services for children.
• Joined with other funders and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to create a framework for the delivery of early childhood health care that includes critical preventive and treatment services for all children.

While focusing on strengthening the system of early childhood services in Hartford, BFI has also maintained its commitment to funding on-the-ground projects that impact young children and their families’ health and well-being.  To date, almost $23 million has been dedicated to Brighter Futures for projects that promote quality child care, health care, education, and family support. 

In 2007, the Foundation awarded grants of $610,000 for Brighter Futures-related programs to the following organizations:

Early Childhood Education and Training
Capitol Child Development Center, Inc.
Capitol Region Education Council
Catholic Charities, Inc.
Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc.
Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative
Hartford Department of Health and Human Services

Our Piece of the Pie
The Salvation Army of Greater Hartford
Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Family Support and Parent Education
Catholic Charities, Inc.
Children's Trust Fund
Family Life Education, Inc.
Mayor's Office for Young Children - City of Hartford
Trust House, Inc.
The Village for Families & Children, Inc.

Health
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center

Responsive Schools
Hartford Public Schools

Strengthening Community Capacity
Mayor's Office for Young Children - City of Hartford