Synthesizing the Evidence for System Supports: Report to the Down East Partnership for Children

Since evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and practices began to emerge in the early childhood field, the Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) of Nash and Edgecombe Counties, a non-profit organization located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, has upheld that they must be implemented as part of the continuum of services that makes up the early childhood system. System supports, such as program coordination, evaluation, community leadership development, and community outreach, are part of the underlying foundation of that system that enables a community to effectively evaluate and implement effective, evidence-based strategies. As more and more funders move toward funding evidence-based programs, it is critical that the role played by system supports, such as program coordination, evaluation, community leadership development, and community outreach in implementing evidence-informed and evidence-based programs be integrated into funding priorities and decisions.