ftf_logo_north_pima_fundedIn October of 2009, First Things First (FTF) awarded the University of Arizona’s Child Language Center and Gruenwald Blitz Clinic for Communication Disorders in Children a grant for $100,000. Its purpose is to train preschool teachers and early care providers in the north Pima County area to recognize “red flags” associated with speech and language delays, make appropriate referrals to community resources, and facilitate speech and language of children in their classrooms or care setting. The goal is to help families of children with speech and language delays access therapeutic services that will help them catch up with their peers and be reay to learn, read, and succeed in kindergarten. The timing is critical. For every $1 we spend in these early years, we save $17 in much less effective remedial programs and lost potential later on.

FTF, approved by Arizona voters, works to ensure that our youngest children have access to quality early childhood experiences so they will start school healthy and ready to succeed. Across the state, FTF regional partnership councils – in collaboration with local leaders – identify the educational and health needs of children from birth through age 5 in their communities and fund strategies to address those needs. The program we will offer is funded by the FTF through the North Pima Regional Council and presented in collaboration with The Parent Connection and Southwest Human Development.