For a family with a new baby, a lot can feel unclear. Is this behavior normal? Does my child need extra support? Who do I even call? Summit County families now have a free program built to answer exactly those questions, called Strong Starts, and it exists – in part – because of the efforts of the Early Childhood Alliance, a Park City Community Foundation initiative that brings together local partners to strengthen support for young children and families, pushed to make it happen. 

What is Strong Starts? 

Strong Starts is a home visitation and care coordination program through the Summit County Health Department, serving pregnant women and children from birth through age eight. Kelsey Filmore, the program’s nurse, and a team of care coordinators come to the family, not the other way around, acting as a single point of contact connecting families to whatever they need. Whether it’s for a developmental screening, a referral to a mental health provider, help enrolling in Medicaid or childcare assistance, or something as practical as making sure a car seat is installed correctly. 

The program is designed around a simple idea: catching a concern early, when a baby is a few months old rather than a few years old, can change the entire trajectory of a child’s development. Home visits typically include a check-in on the caregiver’s wellbeing, a developmental screening for the child, a home safety review, and education on topics like nutrition and safe sleep, with follow-up visits scheduled as often as families need them. 

Strong Starts is open to any Summit County resident who is pregnant or has a child up to age eight. Families can be referred by a provider, a neighbor, a friend, or themselves, simply by reaching out to the Summit County Health Department. 

How it’s Going So Far 

A couple of months in, Strong Starts is still in its early days. The team is actively getting the word out to providers, schools, and childcare programs across the county, so more families know it exists, and referrals are picking up steadily as awareness grows. This summer, Early Childhood Alliance hosted a webinar with Strong Starts nurse Kelsey Filmore so community members and partner organizations could hear directly from her about how the program works and how to make a referral. You can watch the presentation here.  

Program staff has already seen the difference a single connection can make. In one case, this program assisted when a child’s Medicaid coverage had lapsed, and the family qualified for WIC and a free car seat, opening the door to resources that the family had been going without. That is the kind of gap Strong Starts is built to close, not a lack of care in the community, but a lack of connection to it. 

How it Came Together 

Strong Starts did not appear on its own. When Early Childhood Alliance Steering Committee members noticed families struggling to find timely early intervention support, they convened local and state partners around the issue, and when a four-day window opened up to apply for federal funding to launch exactly this kind of program, that groundwork meant Summit County was ready to move. The county was awarded the funding, and Strong Starts was born. 

It is a good reminder of what Early Childhood Alliance is for: connecting the right people, at the right moment, so good ideas do not stall out for lack of a coordinated push. Park City Community Foundation is proud to support that work. 

Families or providers who want to learn more, make a referral, or request a visit can contact the Summit County Health Department directly or contact Kelsey Filmore at kfillmore@summitcountyutah.gov.