August ICS eNews

ICS Helps Reach Out and Read Support Millions of Children Nationwide

Our team is helping Reach Out and Read's 40,000 clinicians support 4.6 million children across the nation

Our Evaluation and Practice team partnered with Reach Out and Read, a national organization of pediatricians providing children’s books and education to help families make reading a shared daily routine.

ICS’s strategic partnership with Reach Out and Read increased their impact across the nation – from co-creating a measurement tool with caregivers to better understand their experiences at the doctor’s office, to helping a network of pediatricians implement research-based practices in their clinics. These services have not only allowed the Reach Out and Read networks to work more effectively, but have also empowered the caregivers who are being directly served by the program. By participating in co-creation, they have become active participants in the process and are raising their voices to ensure their unique needs are being met by the pediatricians who serve them.

Learn more about our measurement & evaluation services.

Read our ICS 2024 Annual Report for more information about this and other projects from the past year.

Register Now!

Housing Innovation: Children's Edition

Deborah DePaoli and Pam Bryant at the first annual Housing Innovation: Children's Edition summit in 2024.

Join us for the second Housing Innovation: Children’s Edition in Columbia, SC. This gathering, co-hosted by the Early Childhood Common Agenda, focuses on addressing the intersection between the housing crisis and its impact on young children and their families.

The 2025 year's summit brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, public sector organizations, community advocates, and students, all united by a shared commitment to ensuring that all children have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.

Whether you're a policymaker, service provider, or concerned community member, this is a space for people who care deeply about housing for children and are ready to take action. Together, we will explore innovative solutions, share best practices, and build the partnerships needed to drive real change.

Friday, November 7

10am - 3pm EST

Phillips Market Center

117 Ballard Court West Columbia, SC

Click here to learn more and to register for the event.

Learn more about ICS's partnered initiative,

the Early Childhood Common Agenda.

In Case You Missed It:

ICS Launches Strong Nation Initiative

ICS launches Strong Nation initiative to continue Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, ReadyNation, and Mission: Readiness advocacy work

The Institute for Child Success (ICS) recently announced the seamless continuation of the essential children’s advocacy initiatives previously led by Council for a Strong America (CSA). Following almost thirty impactful years of mobilizing law enforcement, business, and retired military leaders to champion evidence-based policies that strengthen our nation by supporting children, CSA concluded its operations in late 2024. In light of this transition, ICS has committed to preserving the legacy of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, ReadyNation, and Mission: Readiness by adding these initiatives to our existing portfolio of work to ensure the success of children.

Through the launch of ICS’s new Strong Nation initiative, we will collaborate closely with former CSA staff and members to ensure that Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, ReadyNation, and Mission: Readiness continue to thrive at both the national level and in those states with established offices working to promote the programs (Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington).

For over a decade, ICS has partnered with the former CSA and we are excited to carry forward its essential programs and vision through the new Strong Nation initiative. Strong Nation will enhance the mission of ICS, empowering us to ensure that even more young children and their families succeed and thrive, while continuing to mobilize the impactful voices of law enforcement, business, and retired military leaders.

To learn more about Strong Nation, please contact Jill Boxler at jboxler@strongnation.org or visit

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, ReadyNation, and Mission: Readiness.

Jamie Moon, President and CEO of ICS

Jill Boxler, Executive Vice President of Strong Nation

Carolinas Collaborative Receives $1.5 Million in Grants to Transform Child Mental Health

The Carolinas Collaborative is a network of advocacy leaders and pediatric health experts in North and South Carolina.

The Carolinas Collaborative for Child Advocacy and Residency Education announced it has been awarded a significant 3-year, $1.5 million grant to address pressing disparities in child mental health across North and South Carolina. This transformative funding comes from a consortium of leading philanthropic organizations, including The Duke Endowment, Dogwood Health Trust, HopeStar Foundation, and Maynard Family Foundation.

The Carolinas Collaborative, a robust network of advocacy leaders and pediatric health experts representing all eight pediatric academic institutions across North and South Carolina, is built on the fundamental principle that fostering the well-being of all children necessitates the seamless integration of effective clinical, community, and population health strategies. They aim to tackle existing inequities in pediatric and adolescent mental health throughout the Carolinas by strengthening infrastructure, dismantling barriers, and expanding capacity to address critical regional equity issues related to mental health.

The Carolinas Collaborative is fiscally sponsored by the Institute for Child Success. Learn more about their work.

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ICS works on behalf of children from prenatal to age 8.

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