Since 1997, Reach Out and Read Kansas City has supplied doctors and nurses with developmentally and culturally appropriate books for children from birth to age 5. Partnering with health care clinics across the Kansas City metro area makes this program unique; trusted adults (health care practitioners) use the books during well-child visits as developmental assessment tools, and they talk with parents about the importance of reading routines, playing, and singing to their child every day. The program is designed to empower parents to prepare their children to excel in school.

UERC’s partnership with Reach Out and Read KC involves revising and refining data collection protocols for annual parent surveys, analyzing and reporting survey results, and exploring innovative ways to measure child-level impact.