The ECCS Program builds comprehensive statewide systems of care for young children and their families. It helps families connect to the resources they need even before their babies are born.
Why ECCS matters
The earliest years—from pregnancy through early childhood—shape lifelong health and development. Yet during this critical period, families often must navigate multiple, disconnected services to get the care and support they need.
ECCS helps states build connected, family-centered systems that improve access to high-quality care for families with young children by identifying needs early and linking children and caregivers to services like health care, mental health support, parenting resources, and basic needs such as food and housing.
Program impact (key outcomes of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025)
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1,200+ Families actively involved in ECCS program design so that statewide health services better meet their needs |
20 out of 20 States developed strategic plans to advance health and wellbeing for all families from pregnancy through age 3 |
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1,000+ Partners participating across health, early learning, and human services in strategic planning and service delivery improvement efforts |
What this means for families:
- Easier access to care through better coordinated systems
- Stronger family voice in shaping policies and programs
- Earlier support for developmental and health needs
- Faster connections to services through shared systems and data
How ECCS awardees have strengthened systems
Since 2002, ECCS has helped states improve how services are delivered for young children and their families:
Systems integration
- Expanded coordinated intake and referral systems that give families an easy single-entry point to assess their health needs and efficiently connect them to services
- Improved data sharing to track access, identify gaps, and guide decisions
- Advanced state-to-local coordination to improve how systems work together across communities
Workforce support
Strengthened skills and knowledge in early childhood development across family serving workforce
Whole-family approach
- Aligned services across health care, early learning, family services, and economic supports to serve both children and caregivers together
- Elevated family voice in shaping policies and programs—ensuring decisions reflect real needs and lived experiences
ECCS: Health Integration Prenatal-to-Three
Launched in 2021, the ECCS: Health Integration Prenatal-to-Three (ECCS HIP-3) Program supported 20 state-level entities to advance ECCS goals. In FY 2025, HRSA awarded approximately $6 million (up to $300,600 each).
| Awardee | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Department of Early Childhood | Denver | CO |
| Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalition, Inc. | Tallahassee | FL |
| Hawaii Department of Health | Honolulu | HI |
| Illinois Department of Human Services | Springfield | IL |
| Louisiana Department of Health | New Orleans | LA |
| Maine Department of Health and Human Services | Augusta | ME |
| Michigan Department of Health and Human Services | Lansing | MI |
| Minnesota Department of Health | Saint Paul | MN |
| Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Jefferson City | MO |
| Executive Office of the State of New Jersey | Trenton | NJ |
| State of New Mexico, Early Childhood Education and Care Department | Santa Fe | NM |
| The Children's Cabinet, Inc. | Reno | NV |
| New York Office of Children and Family Services | Rensselaer | NY |
| Pennsylvania Department of Human Services | Harrisburg | PA |
| Rhode Island Department of Health | Providence | RI |
| The University of South Dakota | Vermillion | SD |
| Utah Department of Health | Salt Lake City | UT |
| Virginia Department of Health | Richmond | VA |
| Vermont Agency of Human Services | Burlington | VT |
| Washington State Department of Health | Olympia | WA |
In FY 2025, HRSA also invested approximately $1.2 million in the Early Childhood Systems Technical Assistance and Coordination Center to support awardees in applying current research and best practices.
FY 2026 ECCS SEED Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
The Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems SEED Project: Scaling Effective Early Childhood Systems Development (ECCS SEED) represents the next phase of the ECCS program. It shifts the focus from statewide planning to community-level implementation to build coordinated systems of care for families with young children, especially in high-need and rural communities.
The ECCS SEED will advance the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities by addressing the root causes of chronic disease in early childhood by improving access to health care, supporting early screening for children’s physical and mental health needs, and connecting parents to services that help them to care for their children. The ECCS SEED Project partners with states and communities to implement evidence-based strategies that improve access to quality care for prenatal-to-age-5 (P-5) families and promote healthy child development and family well-being.
Forecast Link: ECCS SEED Forecast