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Smart Start Northwest Kansas is administered and funded by the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund. The Children's Cabinet funds Smart Start Kansas from monies Kansas received from the Master Tobacco Settlement. Smart Start is not funded by taxpayers. Smart Start provides flexible funding to allow communities to respond to the needs of local children birth through age five and their families.
The Birth to Success Coalition oversees Smart Start Northwest Kansas. The vision of the Birth to Success Coalition is "Children have unlimited opportunities to succeed in school, communities, and life." The mission of the Coalition is "To improve the quality of early childhood care and education through professional development and to increase the supply and adequacy of early education and child care services."
 Early childhood research reveals that over 90% of brain development occurs in the first three years of life. Investing in early learning experiences, such as quality childcare and preschool, the child is better equipped to do well in school, hold a job, and become a productive citizen.
Today's economic reality does not give many parents a choice. More than 70% of children under age 6 have working parents. More children are cared for outside of the home at younger ages. Smart Start Northwest Kansas focuses on those outside the home caregivers such as family childcare educators, center educators, and Head Start and preschool teachers.
By providing services to early childhood educators, Smart Start is helping to ensure that the early learning experiences our children receive are positive. By giving our children a smart start, we can help Kansas children become successful and productive Kansans. NWKS.
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