In 2023, United Way for Greater Austin received the Texas Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5), investing $484,500 over three years to strengthen early childhood support in Travis County. This report highlights what was accomplished and the foundation built to continue improving how families with young children access support in our community.
Two key strategies guided this work:
- Creating a sustainable way for families to share their voices through the launch of United Way’s Family Advisory Council and a dedicated Family Engagement Coordinator to lead this effort.
- Bringing healthcare providers into early childhood conversations by establishing a Physician Champion role.
Together, these efforts expanded the impact of the Success By 6 (SX6) Coalition, helping organizations collaborate more effectively to support families across the region.
Centering Family Voices in Early Childhood Planning
Funding supported the launch of the Success By 6 (SX6) Family Advisory Committee (FAC) and a new Family Engagement Coordinator role. This structure ensures parents and caregivers have a consistent voice in coalition planning and decision-making.
“Having a dedicated person is the greatest need. You can’t do this work haphazardly,”— Dr. Nicole Cummings-Lewis
FAC members were recruited through coalition partners including schools and community programs. Participants received stipends through United Way’s Community Compensation Plan, recognizing the value of parent and caregiver expertise and ensuring families could participate meaningfully in leadership discussions. Dr. Cummings-Lewis emphasized: “Compensation is non-negotiable.”
The committee was also designed to reduce barriers to participation by providing:
- Translation services
- Childcare during meetings
Through the FAC, parents helped shape priorities around advocacy, budgets, and community needs. This work was made possible through collaboration with community partners including Foundation Communities, Family Advisory Consultants, The Village Place and Open Door Preschool.
Bringing Healthcare Providers Into the Conversation
Early in this work, coalition members identified a key gap: pediatricians and healthcare providers were largely missing from early childhood planning conversations. Clinicians often identify developmental concerns early and help connect families to services, their involvement is critical to building a responsive support system.
In 2023, United Way issued a Request for Bids and selected Dr. John Hellerstedt as the initiative’s Physician Consultant. Over the next three years, Dr. Hellerstedt served on the Success By 6 Leadership Team, the Help Me Grow team and the Family Connects Physicians Advisory Committee
His leadership helped:
- Strengthen coalition strategy
- Improve collaboration between healthcare and community partners
- Raise awareness of programs including Family Connects, ConnectCTX, and Help Me Grow Central Texas
Measurable Impact
Over the three-year funding period, the initiative produced meaningful outcomes that strengthened early childhood support and community engagement.
Family Advisory Committee participation included:
- 10 Help Me Grow community outreach events
- 73 coalition meetings
- 23 parent leadership sessions
FAC members also reported increased economic stability through their participation, reflecting the initiative’s commitment to equitable compensation.
Through the Physician Consultant efforts, United Way also:
- Launched the Healthy Beginnings Workgroup, focused on helping families better navigate the healthcare system (read our first report here).
- Increased referrals to Family Connects, allowing more families to receive nurse home visits during the critical weeks after childbirth
- Designed a Developmental Support Navigator role, scheduled to launch in late 2026 to support families and providers addressing developmental concerns
Continuing the Work
Although the PDG B-5 funding period has ended, the success of this work highlights the importance of continuing these efforts.
United Way will continue the Physician Consultant role through Help Me Grow Central Texas (HMG-CTX). Over the next 12 months, the program will focus on onboarding a pediatrician to improve clinic screening and referral processes for developmental delays. Family engagement efforts will also expand beyond Success By 6 to ensure family voices are included across United Way programs.
New advisory councils are being developed for:
- 2Gen
- Connect2Thrive
- Success By Six Williamson County
Each will be modeled after the original Family Advisory Committee structure. Together, this work ensures family voices remain at the center of how early childhood support is designed and delivered in Central Texas.