Montana Families See Long-Term Gains From $13 Million Early Childhood Fund

An independent analysis released in 2026 confirms that the Headwaters Foundation’s Early Childhood Initiative produced measurable policy and service outcomes in western Montana. The program, which operated from 2018 to 2024, invested more than $13 million to build local support networks for young children.

In rural Mineral County, the funding allowed educators, business leaders, and counselors to coordinate assistance for families. April Quinlan, the county health department’s family program supervisor, said the county’s specific model includes home visits that begin during pregnancy. These services include doula support and continue through early childhood. Quinlan described the change as transformative, noting that parents moved from uncertainty to becoming experienced advocates for their children.

"To go from maybe not really knowing anything about parenting to feeling like they're their own advocates for themselves, for their children, that they're an experienced parent, and then watch them go into leading other parents and doing work in the community to help other families," Quinlan observed.

The county received a five-year grant and renewed it for two additional years. The 2026 analysis found that the initiative raised awareness of local work and connected caregivers with nearby resources. It also helped pass legislation to strengthen early childhood investments in Montana. A related outcome was support for a statewide early childhood office. Zero to Five, a policy and advocacy organization, works on issues such as access to early care and education programs for Montana families.

Ashley Morton, a senior resource partner for the Headwaters Foundation, stated that the primary lesson was the capacity of local communities to make their own decisions. "Learning what community is capable of when given resources and the opportunity to work collaboratively to identify solutions and create change in the ways that they know their community needs," Morton outlined. Morton emphasized that the initiative was a start and that sustained investment is needed to maintain progress. The foundation is now seeking other partners to carry on the work.