CDI Early Learning Centers

Community safety

San Fernando Valley

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Families in underserved communities face overwhelming stress due to poverty, housing instability, and limited access to resources. The 2024 Parents Under Pressure report from the U.S. Surgeon General warns that chronic caregiver stress can harm children’s emotional and cognitive development. Play is essential for healthy brain development, yet safe, developmentally appropriate play spaces remain scarce in and surrounding Canoga Park and Reseda—two of the highest-need areas in the San Fernando Valley. As a result, children miss key opportunities to build school readiness skills, while parents lack support to meet their children’s needs.
CDI primarily serves low-income Latino families, many of whom face language barriers and distrust public systems. Without access to early, community-based services, children are more likely to begin school unprepared, increasing their risk of lifelong challenges. These early disparities contribute to long-term instability and decreased community safety.

The Early Learning Centers support healthy child development, family wellness, and safer communities by engaging children ages 0–6 and their families in an integrated, community-driven model focused on promotion, prevention, and intervention. Open year-round, the ELCs are free, drop-in spaces offering access to developmentally rich environments and essential services.
Promotion: Safe, museum-quality play spaces—including infant/toddler zones, an indoor climbing tree, and outdoor gardens—encourage learning, social interaction, and family bonding.
Prevention: Weekly structured group activities—such as reading circles, arts and crafts, parent education workshops, and children’s classes—promote essential cognitive, social-emotional, language, and motor skills in children; increase parental knowledge of child development; and reduce family isolation.
Intervention: Free screenings identify developmental and family risk factors early, with referrals to appropriate services as needed. Our strong network of partnerships with 40+ local agencies ensures coordinated support and comprehensive care.
Additional services include a weekly food distribution, health services, and community events that engage children in stimulating activities and help families build connections.
Our Early Learning Centers are uniquely positioned to reach high-risk families, who might shy away from formal support programs, with stigma-free support that builds trust, resilience, and long-term community safety.

Our work will help transform Los Angeles County into a place where all families—especially those facing adversity—have the tools, support, and confidence to raise healthy, thriving children. Grounded in the evidence-based Strengthening Families framework, our programs build five protective factors that reduce the risk of child abuse, enhance child development, and increase family resilience, ultimately improving community safety.
During the grant period, we will expand the capacity of our Early Learning Centers to serve 9,100 unduplicated children and their families—a 12% increase over our most recent 12-month period. For longer-term scaling, the ELCs provide a replicable model for financially sustainable expansion across other communities. By leveraging our extensive network of community partners and volunteers, we are able to maintain low operational costs while delivering a wide array of free services to families.