The Sandbox: From Ideas to Action - Launching the Common Agenda Work Groups

Members of the Family Navigation work group

Montgomery County, like most of the country, faces challenges in its early care and education (ECE) system. Disjointed funding streams, a lack of centralized governance, and gaps in coverage and data all contribute to stress in the system. It’s imperative that we row in the same direction so that we can do more for our youngest children, and faster.    

In July, following the recent introduction of the Common Agenda, the Alliance launched three work groups and a steering committee, all in support of the same goal: transforming the ECE system in our County. Each of these work groups is aligned to a specific strategy in the Common Agenda, and the groups will serve as community-based decision-making tables that bring together early childhood professionals, families, and other system stakeholders. We believe that policy decisions, program implementation, and regulations should be informed by the expertise of a diverse set of voices, and these groups will create space for collaboration and trust-building across every corner of the ECE community.  

Each work group meets every other month. They include:

• Access and Affordability 

  • Role: Expand affordable access to high-quality early care and education programs by reducing the cost and removing barriers for families.   

  • Current Priority: Determine intermediary steps toward the long-term goal of increasing the number of children in publicly subsidized seats to 18,000 by 2030. 

• Family Navigation 

  • Role: Engage with stakeholders to share information and ensure that families know how to navigate and access early childhood resources. 

  • Current Priority: Launch the Early Childhood Neighborhood Ambassador Initiative by spring 2026. 

• ECE Funding Campaign 

  • Role: Advocate for systems changes and new public and private funding for the early childhood system to reduce cost for families, raise wages and sustainability for the workforce, and make it easier for families and providers to access support. 

  • Current Priority: Build a strong coalition of partners by summer 2026 that is working toward a dedicated funding stream.

Work groups aim to tap into collective expertise, and each one brings together diverse voices to create solutions that are grounded in lived experience and professional insight. The work group framework supports adaptive and data-informed action, and the groups use the data dashboard as their guide to talk about what’s working and what’s not. In addition, the Alliance launched a steering committee to provide alignment, coordination, and accountability across the full scope of the Common Agenda. 

The Common Agenda also contains a fourth strategy related to advancing the ECE workforce: Recognize and advance the early care and education workforce to recruit, retain, and expand the number of high-quality educators. Across the County, stakeholders are already convening to discuss ECE workforce topics. The Alliance is building upon this work to help align the conversations with the strategic priorities set by the Common Agenda. We are currently partnering with the Early Care and Education Initiative (ECEI) as they complete a workforce compensation study, with the support of a project team of advisors. We’re also partnering with Montgomery Moving Forward as they convene work groups focused on moving forward the three strategies of their call to action.

The launch of the work groups and steering committee is a critical step in aligning our collective actions and delivering on the ambitious goals laid out in the Common Agenda. These work groups will translate the bold ideas within the strategies and key actions into implementation steps and will ultimately improve outcomes for children and the adults who care for them. The enthusiasm, energy, and commitment in these groups is inspiring. We’re building a movement, not just a plan.