Four River Counties Community Early Childhood Collaborative is of vital importance to the rural area of Far Western KY by serving Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton and Hickman Counties. Extension FCS Agent in Fulton County has served as the council chairman for the past five years. This Early Childhood grant advocates for the young child and their families by improving quality childcare, increasing parent knowledge, improving school readiness, and collaboration to meet the needs of the families.  The committee was able to secure an additional $31,800 in supplemental grant funding, which is a 73% increase in the years past amount.

Each event the CECC puts on such as Grow Event, Kindergarten Readiness Event, Best Start and Laugh and Learn Playdates is for parents and families to receive information about utilizing the five developmental domains of school readiness at home, child development information and importance of reading at home with their child. The target audience is families and caregivers with children five and under. The event is held in partnership with school administration, local libraries, Family Resource Centers, Murray Head Start and other community partners.

 According to the 2023 Early Childhood Profiles Fulton County was below the state average on all five developmental domains for school readiness. Fulton County Percentage Ready for Kindergarten was 53.6% which has increased from the past year. In 2023, Fulton County was above the state average on cognitive/general knowledge, self help and physical well being domains.