Vision 

Hawai`i’s youngest keiki are healthy, safe and ready to learn. 

Mission 

To bring together government and non-government organizations to align priorities for keiki prenatal to age eight and to strengthen and integrate the early childhood system by streamlining services, maximizing resources and improving programs to support our youngest keiki. 

ECAS Goals

ECAS partners work across sectors to advance four core goals. 

(1) Babies are born healthy 

(2) Keiki are safe, healthy and develop to their full potential 

(3) Keiki are ready for school when they enter kindergarten 

(4) Keiki are thriving by third grade 

ECAS goals are also reflected in the Hawai'i Early Childhood State Plan, which includes data-informed measures of how well our youngest keiki are doing on each of these dimensions.

Theory of Change 

When babies are born healthy, into safe and nurturing families, and have equitable access to high-quality programs and services, they have a much greater chance of developing to their full capacity, reaching school ready to thrive and being set on a pathway to success. 


The following core factors are integrated into each project:

  • Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness

  • Family Partnership

  • Professional Development

  • Local/National Research

  • Community Engagement

The ECAS Network of partners aspire to:

  • Put children and families first

  • Honor differences in culture and language across communities

  • Address the needs of each island and provide opportunities for all to participate

  • Be evidence-based and data informed

  • Be implemented through the work of many government and non-government partner organizations


Network Structure

  • Six Core Content Teams work collaboratively to determine and implement systems-level strategies around their focus areas.

  • Some priorities emerge and grow into initiatives with cross-team participation.

  • ECAS also engages in Policy Efforts and Data Efforts to help support and further the goals developed across the network.

  • Backbone staff

Learn more about Backbone

Conditions of Systems Change