Know and Grow Oklahoma Early Childhood Project

The Potts Family Foundation (PFF) of Oklahoma City seeks proposals for the second phase of its three-part, statewide project, Know and Grow Oklahoma: Building Resilient Children, Families & Communities, funded by a portion of the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) appropriation and in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). 

“It is clear, in Oklahoma, that a portion of the ARPA funds needed to be earmarked for our youngest citizens and their families. The Know and Grow project is harnessing the engagement of community leaders and resources across the state to focus on infants, toddlers and their families who experienced the pandemic and now struggle even more with issues we know were prevalent in Oklahoma communities prior to the pandemic. We are especially proud to extend this opportunity to our rural communities, which are often left out of projects like this,” says Potts Family Foundation CEO AJ Griffin.

Phase two is now underway with the release of the Request for Proposals to fund Family Resource Centers (FRCs) across Oklahoma. Responses/proposals are due March 25, 2024. The RFP and its instructions may be accessed on the Potts Family Foundation website. Approximately $4.5 million will be granted to support establishing community FRCs with one-year grants offering two one-year renewal options. Grants will run from 2024 to December 2026. Special consideration for awards will be given to rural communities, however all Oklahoma communities are invited to submit a proposal.

FRCs are the most typical kind of family support and strengthening programs. They are known by many different names across the country, including Family Centers, Family Success Centers, Family Support Centers, Family Resource Hubs and Parent Child Centers. They may be community, school or faith based, and they serve to strengthen families with activities and programs developed to reflect and be responsive to the specific needs, cultures and interests of the communities and populations served.

The Oklahoma State Legislature awarded ARPA funding to PFF to support a focus on the well-being and resilience of children born from 2019 to May 2023, considered the pandemic years. We know early experiences matter for childhood development and family relational health. Because the last few years have been extraordinarily stressful for many families, children may be developing differently and benefit from updated systems of family support.

Phase one began last year and is currently wrapping up. Fifteen organizations across the state were awarded funds to conduct discovery projects whose purpose was to identify resources and gaps within their communities. Phase one awardees were Autism Foundation of Oklahoma, Oklahoma County; Youth Services for Choctaw, Pushmataha and McCurtain Counties; Hawkins House, NE and SE Oklahoma City; Our Daily Bread, Payne County; Reach Out and Read, Inc., Oklahoma County; Parent Child Center of Tulsa, Tulsa County; Parent Promise, Oklahoma, Cleveland and Canadian Counties; Pathways to a Healthier You, Inc., Stephens and Jefferson Counties; Pottawatomie Go, Pottawatomie County; St. Andrews Academy, Inc., Delaware County; SEOK Thrives, Atoka, Bryan, Choctaw, Coal, Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain, Pittsburg and Pushmataha Counties; Tri-County Health Improvement Organization, Alfalfa, Garfield and Grant Counties; Weatherford Community Coalition, Custer County; Western Plains Youth & Family Services, Woodward and communities within a 20-mile radius; and Great Plains Youth & Family Services, Greer, Kiowa and Washita Counties.    

Phase three will consist of the formation of a statewide Early Relational Health Corps, a grassroots, community-led network, open to anyone with an interest in supporting families with young children.

About Potts Family Foundation

Potts Family Foundation was created in 1980 and is a supporting nonprofit. The focus areas of the PFF are to provide support for sustainable early childhood initiatives with an emphasis on root causes; empowering people and organizations; impacting future as well as present human needs; leveraging resources for the greatest impact, and securing sustainability and the potential replication of evidence-based programs and services.