VALPARAISO, IND. — First Things First Porter County (FTF), a leadership initiative of the Porter County Community Foundation, has been selected for The Stanford Center on Early Childhood (SCEC) 2026 RAPID Community Voices cohort. First Things First is the first organization in Indiana to be selected to participate with RAPID. The Porter County Community Foundation is the first community foundation in the country to lead a RAPID project.
RAPID Community Voices collaborates with local organizations to co-design and implement surveys to deeply listen to caregivers of young children in their communities. Collaborators then use these data and insights to inform local decision-making, action, and advocacy.
First Things First Porter County plans to harness RAPID data to better understand families’ experiences in Lake and Porter Counties, particularly amid recent childcare funding cuts, to strengthen advocacy efforts, and create a more complete and compelling narrative to share with local and state legislators.
Organizations partnering with FTF across Northwest Indiana to co-design and implement surveys include Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, Crossroads YMCA, Duneland Family YMCA, Duneland School Corporation, Geminus Corporation, Help Me Grow Porter County, Merrillville Community School Corporation, One Region, Portage Township YMCA, and Valparaiso Family YMCA.
“First Things First is honored to be selected for this important data gathering and storytelling project that will accelerate our communities’ efforts to understand the needs of families with very young children,” said Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, FTF Executive Director. “We cannot do this work alone, and we are eager to collaborate with partners who are critical to the success of our RAPID surveys.”
Following a tremendous response to the 2026 call for applications and a rigorous review process, the SCEC selected FTF alongside five other organizations to join this growing network of RAPID Community Voices collaborators: United Way of West Alabama, Early Matters San Antonio, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association and Waupaca County, THRIVE Family Health & Education Center (Durham County, NC), and Oneida Reads.
Now in its third cohort, RAPID Community Voices aims to collaborate with local organizations and leaders to implement place-based surveys over two years. The purpose of Community Voices is to (1) promote data-informed programs, advocacy, and policymaking at a community level and (2) build the capacity of public, private, and nonprofit community-based organizations to efficiently and effectively gather and act on the voices of and data from parents, families, and/or child care providers.
First Things First Porter County empowers the community to ensure every child has a healthy, thriving start to life through a seamless connection with the prenatal to 3 ecosystem that prioritizes brain development, language, & early relational health. Together with more than 70 community partners, First Things First Porter County is changing the culture around prenatal – 3 by developing a community-wide agenda, building a seamless ecosystem of support, and advocating for polices that support babies. Learn more at www.firstthingspc.org.
