Reach Out and Read Bay Area
Reach Out and Read Bay Area

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INVESTING IN IMPACT

With more than 161 clinic locations we provide more than 191,000 children and their families with free books and resources that promote early childhood literacy.

Our evidence-based model is backed by a large and growing body of academic research. We utilize the existing medical infrastructure to encourage supportive, educational conversations with parents on the importance of reading aloud and the impact on children’s brain development.

Our Program
Reach Out and Read Bay Area promotes early language development skills and health through established systems of well-child visits with an intervention that has the potential to reach all young children in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma counties.
> See Our Program
191,000
children served annually
161
program sites
312,708
books distributed annually
OUR SOLUTIONS AND OUTCOMES

Reach Out and Read is uniquely positioned to address the challenges faced by children and families in the Bay Area. We’re scaling our evidence-based impact to reach ALL children in the Bay Area, particularly in under-resourced communities, as a tool to combat inequity, address social drivers of health, and alter the trajectories of children’s lives.

Our evidence-based model and two-generational approach is connected to:

  • Increases in shared reading across parents and children: Parents who receive Reach Out and Read are more likely to read daily with their children.

  • Significant improvements to children’s language development: Including proven improvement in language development by 3-6 months and higher receptive and expressive language scores, particularly when exposed to a higher “dosage” of Reach Out and Read over their first five years.

  • Unparalleled access via pediatric primary care: More than 90% of children in the US through age 5 visit a medical provider annually.

  • Mitigation of the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): The positive experiences promoted through Reach Out and Read offer a simple and effective strategy to facilitate a safe and supportive environment and buffer against the most harmful aspects of ACEs.

  • The potential to partner for impact: Reach Out and Read fosters early childhood development by integrating support from clinical settings and local communities to cater to the unique needs of the Bay Area’s children.
    • HOW DOES IT WORK
  • Clinicians use well-child visits to educate parents about positive parent-child interactions, language skills, and the developing brain.

  • Clinicians encourage parents to read aloud with their children, beginning at birth, and offer age-appropriate guidance.

  • During well-child visits, clinicians provide children from birth through age 5 a free, developmentally appropriate book to keep.

  • Clinicians use these books as a tool to assess developmental milestones.

    • Backed by peer-reviewed research, Reach Out and Read promotes positive interactions that foster healthy child development during the critical early years.

    BAY AREA IN THE NEWS

    Our Executive Director joined LIVE! IN THE BAY to chat about our mission to help promote literacy and the importance of diversity in children’s books.

    Gloria Rodriguez from ABC7 News in the San Francisco Bay Area recently interviewed Medical Champion Dr. Gena Lewis about the program.

    Thank you to the Overdeck Family Foundation, the Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Elevance Health, the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, and other partners for supporting our efforts in the Bay Area.