Launching the Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa Year 2

The Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa (BEST) is a comprehensive, multi-component initiative that focuses on early childhood development and family engagement to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Based on decades of research, BEST centers its approach on evidence-based and evidence-informed supports that foster children’s brain development during the most critical years. Spearheaded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) in July 2017, BEST works with a wide network of partners to provide services to populations facing barriers to upward mobility and increase opportunities for children living in poverty to achieve lifelong success. BEST partners include nonprofit and public organizations that provide direct services to children and families, intermediary organizations that support backbone functions (e.g., continuous learning and improvement for the overall initiative), and other community organizations, such as local university researchers who offer subject matter expertise. Over a 10-year period, BEST and its network of partners aim to increase the percentage of children who are: