What is a Regional Hub?

As the state’s leading source of child care information, referrals, and child care industry workforce development for nearly 20 years, Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a key partner in the efforts of the Regional Hubs. 

What is a Regional Hub?
A regional hub is a coordinating body that provides resources in a designated area in Missouri with a focus on supporting families with children birth to age five. This coordinated support system is designed to ensure families have the knowledge and resources to make informed decisions about the safety, health, and education of their children. Regional hubs will be located throughout the state to improve access for Missouri families and children.

Purpose
Under a regional hub model, all of the sectors that support an early care and education system (e.g., parent education, home visits, preventative services, social services, preschool, and K-12 school districts) have a centralized place to focus their efforts, resources, and strategies towards a shared purpose of preparing children to be ready for kindergarten (e.g. school readiness). Together these sectors create a system of Early Care & Education Connections!

Regional hubs are designed to coordinate existing services for young children in a more direct, effective, and family-centered way. Hubs are not intended to become direct service providers themselves.

Missouri’s agencies are working together to create an aligned, coordinated and family-centered system that is easy to navigate.

Partnerships
A regional hub model requires partnerships with multiple community programs and resources to promote coordination and create transparency across the region. Partnerships may include public and private entities, families, home visitors, child care providers, early interventionists, resource specialists, community health centers, health departments and non-profit centers.

Activities
Staff in regional hubs provide families with up-to-date information about developmental activities, community resources and access to support services or other opportunities that support school readiness. Staff have knowledge of developmental milestones, social emotional development, early intervention, and other important themes in early childhood. The key activity in a regional hub model is to connect families with appropriate referrals to programs that support their unique strengths and needs.

This project is supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDGB-5), Grant Number 90TP0048-01-00, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2019. (September 2020)

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