May 2026 Newsletter
A Message from Kerrie Urosevich
Aloha Commit to Keiki ʻOhana,
As we prepare for another important election season, candidate conversations, forums, and the Governor’s Breakfast in the coming months, I’ve been reflecting on how far we’ve come and the incredible partnerships that have shaped Commit to Keiki over the years.
What began as a shared commitment to elevating the needs of Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki and families has grown into a strong statewide collaborative grounded in relationships, trust, and a collective belief that early childhood matters. It has truly been an honor to help lead this work alongside all of you.
With that, I want to share that after 13 deeply meaningful years coordinating the Early Childhood Action Strategy Network (ECAS), I will be leaving ECAS to serve as the new CEO of the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC). My last day with ECAS will be June 12.
I know Commit to Keiki is in good hands and well-positioned to continue advancing this important work. Vivian Eto has been named Interim Executive Director and will continue supporting Jared Ellis in coordinating Commit to Keiki’s efforts. Vivian and Jared are thoughtful, dedicated leaders who care deeply about Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki and families. DVAC is also represented on the Commit to Keiki Steering Committee, and I look forward to continuing to champion this work whenever and wherever I can.
Learning from California’s Choose Children campaign, receiving guidance from then-Senator Jill Tokuda, and then testing our Commit to Keiki strategy during the 2020 mayoral races proved to be a powerful and effective approach to ensuring our elected leaders prioritize early childhood development.
A heartfelt mahalo to everyone who believed in this new upstream approach to engaging candidates, educating them on prenatal to five priorities, securing commitments, and then working alongside them to fulfill those commitments! Approaching early childhood development from a comprehensive set of pillars (early childhood mental health, family violence prevention and early care and learning) is not only true for healthy development but has helped our elected leaders better understand the importance of investing early.
I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together through Commit to Keiki, including:
• Reinstating Early Childhood Coordinators in every county, helping create county-specific early childhood strategies and pathways for funding to reach keiki, ʻohana, and providers.
• Supporting the expansion of public preschool programs, peer-support programs, workforce development efforts, and stronger birth-to-five priorities across state systems.
• Securing six years of voter trend data that continues to inform policy, funding, and program priorities related to early care and learning, family violence prevention, and early childhood mental health.
• Elevating Commit to Keiki’s three pillars through storytelling, community engagement, social media outreach, and strategic partnerships.
• Hosting more than 25 candidate conversations and forums focused on educating leaders and securing commitments to early childhood priorities.
• Maintaining a deeply committed Steering Committee that continues to work collaboratively across all three pillars.
These successes were made possible by your commitment to working together, the courage to prioritize shared goals above your individual organizations, and your willingness to continue showing up, educating, and advocating on behalf of our youngest keiki and their families.
I don’t know how to properly mahalo all of you for your years of Commit to Keiki leadership, thought partnerships and shared journey of implementation. I’ve learned so much from each of you and am grateful for the friendships we’ve formed.
I look forward to continuing this work alongside all of you, now wearing a DVAC hat, but carrying the same deep commitment to our youngest keiki and their families.
Aloha nui,
Kerrie Urosevich
Executive Director, Early Childhood Action Strategy
Co-Chair, Commit to Keiki
Earlier this month, the 2026 Legislative Session came to a close. While several early childhood measures did not ultimately pass, the session reflected growing awareness among lawmakers of the challenges facing our youngest keiki, their families, and the workforce that supports them. Important progress was made in advancing these conversations, strengthening partnerships, and building momentum for continued advocacy. Commit to Keiki remains committed to advancing these priorities and building momentum heading into next session.
Below is a recap of where Commit to Keiki’s key measures landed at the close of session.
Erin Henderson Lacerdo
Executive Director
Association for Infant Mental Health in Hawaiʻi
Behind every effort to support Hawai‘i’s keiki are champions leading the way. In this series, we spotlight leaders and organizations whose work is helping to strengthen the systems that care for our youngest keiki and their families. This month, we are honored to feature Erin Henderson Lacerdo, executive director of the Association for Infant Mental Health in Hawaiʻi (AIMH HI), a local, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the emotional well-being and development of infants and young children by growing and supporting a network of professionals and a system of care that is founded upon infant and early childhood mental health practices.
Q: What personal or professional experiences have most shaped your commitment to supporting young children and families in Hawai‘i?
A: Early in my career, I had the opportunity to work with children of incarcerated parents. Seeing young children yearn for connection to their parents was heartbreaking in many ways – and seeing those children and parents want to be together helped me to see that the bond between the two will never go away. The strength of that bond is what made me want to support families from the very beginning of life and work to ensure all children the opportunity to feel the love of another. I reflect back to that experience and imagine that with support, those children may have different opportunities than their parents.
Q: From your perspective, what does a strong, resilient early childhood system look like? What’s at stake if we fail to strengthen it?
A: A strong, resilient early childhood system is one that works together. In my current role, I have the opportunity to work with a wide range of providers who are in the early childhood arena. Each program and service is doing the very best with what they have. If we can find a way to work together, our collective effort will outweigh what we can do alone. If we fail to strengthen that system, we are looking at a generation of children who are being impacted by our inability to coordinate services so families have an easier experience in navigating all that is available to them.
Q: Is there a project, program, or initiative you’ve been involved in that you feel represents meaningful progress for young keiki and families? What was its focus, and what impact did it have?
A: Our Promising Minds Fellows Program is an effort that began in 2020 and served over 100 early childhood professionals to date. The Fellows Program creates a network of interdisciplinary professionals who are steeped in the foundations of infant and early childhood mental health across our state. This program has impacted the lives of hundreds of children on every island through the training and support of these providers. Our Fellows are deeply committed to serving young children and their families, and after going through our program, they have a deeper understanding of and respect for the family story – and a recognition that the relationship is the mechanism for change.
Q: Is there a project, program, or initiative you’re currently supporting that you would like to highlight? What outcomes are you working toward?
A: In the field of mental health, most providers use the same manual to provide diagnoses. One of the greatest projects we’ve worked on for our state is working as part of a team to utilize a diagnostic manual that is specific to early childhood. This cross-sector team includes mental health clinicians, the Hawaii State Department of Health/Family Health Services Division, the Hawaii State Department of Human Services/MedQUEST, community partners, and national support from ZERO TO THREE. This team is providing training for diagnosing professionals, created a crosswalk to align the diagnosing manuals, and is working on a provider bundle payment so there can be increased access to developmentally appropriate treatment. This is an ongoing project that aims to provide infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children with the targeted and age-appropriate support they need to thrive in their later years.
Q: Where do you see the greatest opportunity to strengthen systems that serve Hawai‘i’s youngest keiki and their caregivers?
A: The greatest opportunity we have is to build the relationships around Hawai’i’s youngest and their caregivers. When we can be in a trusting relationship with one another, we can overcome systemic barriers and make changes that feel overwhelming. Through these relationships, we can also uncover the strengths of each community by centering the family experience and allowing the providers to have a voice in how changes are made, as they are the ones who know the families and communities best.
Civil Beat, May 5, 2026
Hawaiʻi Families Need Preschool. Who Will Fund It?
Hawai‘i News Now, May 9, 2026
Lawmakers pass $55 million bridge funding for Native Hawaiian programs
Hawai‘i Tribune Herald, May 11, 2026
Five Hawaii Island early childhood education sites to close
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 18, 20256
What Happens When We Stop Investing in Our Youngest Keiki?
A recent Civil Beat article, Hawaiʻi Families Need Preschool. Who Will Fund It?, highlighted something Commit to Keiki and many of our partners have been raising awareness about for years: Hawaiʻi’s early childhood system is fragile, underfunded, and struggling to meet the needs of local families.
The story focused on uncertainty surrounding preschool access, child care shortages, workforce challenges, and the closure of family-child interaction learning programs across the state. Perhaps most concerning, it underscored how quickly progress can stall when long-term investments and sustained support are missing.
High-quality child care and early learning programs are about far more than simply giving parents a place for their children to go during the workday. These early experiences help shape brain development, social and emotional health, school readiness, and long-term success in life. When families cannot access affordable, stable, high-quality early learning opportunities, the impacts extend far beyond the classroom. Economic stress increases, parents are forced out of the workforce, and families can become more vulnerable to challenges like untreated mental health needs, chronic stress, and family instability.
That is why Commit to Keiki has always advocated for a more connected approach to supporting young children and families. Child care and early learning, early childhood mental health, and family violence prevention are deeply interconnected. When families have stable support systems early on, keiki are more likely to thrive emotionally, socially, and academically.
Research consistently shows that investing in early childhood development benefits keiki, families, and our economy. Every $1 invested in early childhood programs generates as much as $7 in societal returns through improved educational outcomes, stronger workforce participation, and reduced long-term social costs.
The Civil Beat story is an important reminder that investing in our youngest keiki cannot be treated as a short-term priority or addressed in silos. Building a healthier, more resilient Hawaiʻi requires sustained investment in the systems that support our youngest keiki and families from the very beginning.
May is Mental Health
Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to elevate conversations around mental health and emotional well-being. Yet when mental health is discussed, young children are often overlooked, even though the earliest years of life are the most critical period for brain development.
Early childhood mental health refers to a young child’s developing ability to form secure relationships, regulate emotions, and learn within the context of family, culture, and community. Research continues to show that babies and young keiki are deeply affected by the experiences, relationships, and environments surrounding them. Challenges such as financial hardship, housing instability, family conflict, or limited access to child care can all impact a young child’s sense of safety and well-being. Because babies and toddlers cannot verbalize what they are experiencing, these challenges often appear through behavior changes such as sleep difficulties, excessive crying, clinginess, emotional outbursts, or developmental regression.
At the same time, stable and nurturing relationships are one of the strongest protective factors for young keiki. Responsive caregiving helps buffer stress, strengthen resilience, and support healthy development. But caregivers need support too. Policies and programs that help families meet basic needs, including affordable child care, nutrition assistance, paid family leave, home visiting, and access to mental health services, are investments in our keiki’s long-term health and well-being.
In Hawaiʻi, an estimated 29,000 children under age five are in need of mental health services, and the need for early intervention and family-centered care continues to grow. Across our state, healthcare providers, early learning professionals, and community partners are working every day to strengthen support systems for young keiki and caregivers. Their efforts are helping families access care earlier, reducing stigma around mental health, and strengthening the support systems that promote healthy child development and family well-being.
Mental Health Awareness Month is an important reminder that supporting early childhood mental health is not only about addressing challenges after they emerge. It is about creating the conditions that allow our youngest keiki and families to thrive from the very beginning. Continued collaboration among policymakers, nonprofit organizations, educators, and community leaders will remain critical to ensuring Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki grow up healthy, supported, and resilient.
Supporting Keiki Mental Health During Spring Break
As keiki settle into summer break, changes in routine, schedules, and daily structure can bring both excitement and challenges. Small, intentional moments of connection and consistency can help children feel supported during this transition. We’re sharing a few simple reminders to help families support their keiki’s mental health and well-being throughout the summer months.
