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In brief
Brilliant Cities, a Detroit-based initiative dedicated to supporting families with children from “belly to 8,” is expanding to Philadelphia in early 2025 with its neighborhood hub model. These hubs offer daycare, early childhood education, tutoring, meals and health services, tackling systemic barriers that disproportionately impact underserved communities.
This expansion highlights a national need for holistic, community-driven solutions that go beyond early education. By integrating academic support with health, wellness and family resources, Brilliant Cities creates a complete ecosystem of care, ensuring families have what they need to thrive.
Models like Brilliant Cities offer a blueprint for reimagining how cities can support children and families, while strengthening communities at the same time.
Why this matters
Access to early childhood education is a key driver of long-term success, yet many families across the U.S. face barriers due to systemic disinvestment. These challenges extend beyond education, affecting child development, family stability and economic mobility.
Even with a 2024 Head Start wage increase, the shortage of early educators persists, limiting program expansion. Working families may earn too much to qualify for assistance but not enough to afford privatized care, adding financial strain that impacts both economic and mental health.
Brilliant Cities’ hubs address these gaps holistically, ensuring families have access to:
- Early learning and academic support — providing daycare, kindergarten-readiness and tutoring for school-age kids.
- Nutritious meals — alleviating food insecurity for children and families.
- Health care and developmental screenings — identifying concerns early.
- Mental health support — recognizing the needs of both children and caregivers.
- Parental support and workforce development — including job training, financial literacy and community-building resources.
By providing these services in a single, accessible location at no cost, Brilliant Cities ensures families don’t have to navigate disconnected systems to get the support they need.
What’s more, Brilliant Cities does all this in partnership with local families and other community partners to ensure services reflect their needs.
This neighborhood-based model aligns with national best practices for family well-being – reducing stress for caregivers while ensuring children have the support they need to succeed.
The early childhood education crisis: a nationwide shortage
The shortage of early education opportunities is a growing national crisis across the U.S., for many reasons:
- Classroom and teacher shortages — many cities lack space and educators, leaving families without affordable options.
- Funding vs. infrastructure gap — even when funding exists, facilities and staffing shortages delay progress.
- Families stuck in limbo — thousands of children remain on waitlists, forcing parents to choose between costly private care or missing early education altogether.
- The working-class gap — many families earn too much for subsidies but not enough to afford quality programs, leaving them without options.
What’s next: scaling the model to more cities
Philadelphia is just the beginning.
Brilliant Cities has plans for Pontiac, Mich., Cleveland and Chicago by 2027 – with 31 more cities on the waitlist.
The opportunity: supporting community-driven early learning
To replicate this success nationwide, policymakers, funders and community leaders must:
- Invest in infrastructure and workforce — expand classrooms, increase pay for educators and grow support hubs to meet demand.
- Prioritize integrated service models — focus on neighborhood-based approaches that combine education, health care and family resources in one location.
- Strengthen public-private partnerships — secure sustainable funding through philanthropy, corporate sponsorships and government investment to make these services widely accessible.
As Brilliant Cities expands beyond Philadelphia, it continues to demonstrate that early learning cannot exist in isolation — it must be embedded within a broader network of family and community support. When families have access to quality education, health care and economic resources, children, families and communities thrive.
RECOMMENDED READING
- Detroit-based Brilliant Cities to bring early childhood education and tutoring to Philly in 2025
- Complete Neighborhoods for Babies, Toddlers, and Their Caregivers
- Child Care Expenses Push an Estimated 134,000 Families Into Poverty Each Year
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