Parents
Welcome Families with Young Children
What is the Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council? The Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council works to strengthen program and supports for young children and families across Nevada. We bring people together to identify challenges, recommend improvements, and help inform decisions that affect families at the state level.
What is the Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council?
We recognize that families are experts and know their children best. When you share your experiences, ideas, and recommendations, you help us better understand what families need and where systems can improve. Your voice helps shape priorities and efforts that support children and families across the state.
By working together, families, educators, community organizations, and state partners can build stronger programs and services that meet the needs of Nevada families.
Get Involved
All families are welcome to join our meetings and events. There is no right way to participate, here are some options you can consider:
Share Your Voice
- Share your story, experiences, or challenges through a quick online form.
- Provide feedback on programs or services your family uses during a meeting.
Join Conversations
- Join an upcoming Family Leadership & Engagement Subcommittee meeting
- Apply to serve as a member of the Family Leadership & Engagement Subcommittee
Stay Informed
- Sign up here to receive meeting notifications via email.
The Office of Early Learning and Development (OELD) uses a Listserv to distribute email reminders, including the agenda with Zoom link. Be reminded about upcoming meetings and share your story, or listen in in the latest happening of the Early Childhood Community. - Explore First 5 Nevada “How to Get Involved” family page.
Family Story Spotlight
Check back for our Family Spotlights, coming soon.
Family Spotlights – Coming Soon
How does ECAC use your voice?
The Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council values your voice and participation as an important part of improving programs and services across the state. What families share helps guide our work and ensures decisions reflect real experiences and needs.
We use the experiences you share to:
- Understand what families need and experience
Your experience helps us learn what is working well and where families face challenges. - Identify gaps and barriers in services
Feedback from families highlights where programs, resources, or systems can be improved. - Guide priorities and decision-making
Family input helps shape our work plans, presentations, and recommendations we make to policymakers and program leaders. - Inform policies and advocacy efforts
What families share helps us advocate for changes with policymakers. - Strengthen programs and systems
We use family feedback to promote better coordination, access, and quality across early childhood services.
Share your Story
Your voice can influence decisions made by Program and State leaders.
When you share your story, recommendations or challenges, you help inform our advocacy efforts, strategic priorities, and recommendations to state and community leaders. Your feedback helps us identify barriers families face, improve coordination between programs and agencies, and promote policies that better supportchildren and families across Nevada.
The information shared through the Share Your Story Form helps guide our work toward our vision that all Nevada children are safe, healthy, and thriving, and that families are supporting in reaching their full potential. It also supports our mission to strengthen collaboration across early childhood programs and services so families can more easily access the help and resources they need.
We invite you to Share Your Story — to share your message and help shape our work. Share as much or as little as you like.
Participating in Public Meetings
Joining a public meeting can feel new or even confusing. ECAC meetings are open to everyone, and your voice is welcome. Here are a few simple tips to help you feel more comfortable participating.
How can the Public Participate?
Every meeting includes time for public comment, where anyone can share their thoughts on topics related to the agenda items. You may be asked to follow simple guidelines, like a time limit for speaking, so everyone has a chance to be heard. Public meetings are designed to allow community input and your participation matters.
Keep in mind, the subcommittee members may be asked not to take action on your comments until they can be added to an agenda at a later time. This is to ensure that you are fairly heard without debate, and that the group creates time to openly discuss the recommendations or matters you raise.
What is Opening Meeting Law?
Open Meeting Law means that meetings of public groups, such as the Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council, must be open and accessible to the public. This helps ensure that decisions are made transparently and that members of the public have the opportunity to listen, learn and participate.
What does “Quorum” Mean?
A quorum means that enough subcommittee members are present to hold the meeting and make decisions. For meetings subject to Open Meeting Law, such as the ECAC, a quorum is a simple majority of the members on the roster (more than 50% of the members).
Helpful Tips
- It’s okay to be new – many people attend for the first time
- You can simply listen - you do not need to speak during meetings.
- Check the agenda in advance to see what will be discussed and access the meeting link.
- Be prepared with a few notes if you would like to speak during public comment
- Keep your public comment brief and focused so your main point is clear. Public comments are often limited to 2-3 minutes.
- If you plan to speak – wait to be recognized by the chair before beginning.
- Most meetings are virtual. Contact us if you need help joining the meeting.
- Use the chat box to ask questions if you are unsure about something you heard.
- Only subcommittee members vote – members of the public may observe but do not participate in voting.
- Keep your microphone muted unless you are speaking so everyone can be heard.
- Be respectful of different viewpoints, even when you disagree.
Family Resources
ECAC Hot Topics
The Hot Topic page hosts many family support resources. Some examples of items you can find on this page are:
- How to find quality child care resources
- Health resources
- Family support programs
Partner Resources
Other Meetings You Can Explore
Many agencies, councils, and commissions that support children and families must provide opportunities for public participation and make their materials available for you to review.
First 5 Nevada
Check out the First5Nevada.org website — designed to help parents find support during a child’s first five years. This website offers a quick and easy way to find out which programs, services and resources you can quality for at no cost.
