Our Mission: Wake County SmartStart is a nonprofit organization with the mission to build the capacity of families and the community to prepare children for success in school and in life. Officially formed in 1996, Wake County SmartStart works to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of child care, provide preventive health and early intervention services and offer family support services. Together, community volunteers, staff members, child care providers, schools, organizations, and local businesses all strive to realize SmartStart's mission and build a strong foundation for children's learning and development beginning at birth. We believe that: * Learning begins at birth; * All children deserve the best opportunities for learning and development; * Families and communities play a critical role in children's learning; and * Collaboration is essential to accomplish our vision. Core Values Wake County SmartStart is guided by a set of core values. These core values define what is important to us as an organization and are the basic elements of how we go about our work. Our core values affect how we interact not only with our community's children and families, but also with each other.