Tukwila childcare center supports mental health for the whole family

TUKWILA - A new childcare center in South King County aims to meld early learning and mental health, at a time when families with young kids are under strain.

The Voices of Tomorrow Center for Learning and Healing in Tukwila, which opened Thursday, will have three classrooms for children in the state's preschool program for low-income families. It will also provide behavioral support directly to the preschoolers, as well as to parents and the community more broadly, with a particular focus on serving immigrant and refugee communities that are prevalent in the city.

Services will be offered in Somali and English, as well as Oromo, Amharic, Swahili, Arabic and Spanish.

The center's model aims to address barriers that can hamper children and families from accessing comprehensive support in early learning settings. Traditionally, when a teacher notices a child is having behavioral struggles, they refer the child to a third party, said Voices of Tomorrow's co-founder and CEO, Zamzam Mohamed.

This can result in families struggling to navigate referral systems and finding themselves stuck on waiting lists, she said. The new facility aims to streamline that process and provide culturally responsive care.

"The goal and the model for this site is that everything is integrated into one," Mohamed said.

Mohamed said the project also helps address key challenges in early learning: A lack of facilities, a lack of providers - especially immigrant and refugee providers - and behavioral and mental health challenges affecting young children and families.

"For decades, we have witnessed children enter preschool carrying complex needs without having access to supporting systems necessary for help for them to thrive," said Iftin Hagimohamed, Voices of Tomorrow's co-founder and chief financial officer, at Thursday's opening. "We have seen the impact of trauma, the isolation of COVID, the developmental delays and behavioral challenges that festered from that, [and] the lasting effect of generational hardship that families have to deal with. This is a symbol, a beacon of their hope."

The center's opening comes as early learning has shouldered funding cuts under state budget pressure. This year, Washington policymakers cut funding for the state's childcare subsidy and for the Transition to Kindergarten program in some public schools. Last year, lawmakers cut funding in half for a program that supports mental health in childcare.

But the state's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program is expanding because of a substantial gift to the state from Ballmer Group, announced last year. (Ballmer Group also supports coverage of early education at The Seattle Times).

The new center will offer 60 ECEAP slots that are free to families who qualify, with classes starting in September. Nimo Early Learning will operate the ECEAP classrooms. Mental and behavioral services are available at the center now, provided by Zaif, a mental health care provider focused on serving immigrant and refugee communities.

Voices of Tomorrow, an organization that supports childcare providers and families, primarily in Washington's refugee and immigrant community, acquired and renovated the 6,200-square foot building with some help from state and local funding, through the state's Department of Commerce and King County's Best Starts for Kids initiative.

Dunio Jarato, the mother of 1-year-old twin boys, was at the center's opening Thursday and said she looked forward to utilizing the center.

"I like the way it was set up, the landscaping, everything. I also like how it's personalized to the kids," she said, noting - as many observers did with delight - the tiny sinks in the classrooms that were scaled to a small child. "The place just seems very warm and welcoming."

After speeches and a ribbon cutting, visitors toured the space, decorated in vivid but calming colors. Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, and Rep. Steve Bergquist, D-Renton, giddily investigated an itty-bitty door connecting a calm room (featuring stuffed animals, books and a train set) and an active sensory play room (with a climbing wall) on the behavioral health floor.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, in remarks before the ribbon was cut, acknowledged the center's opening had taken a lot of work and said investing in children's early years was key.

"I'm no expert in child development, I'm a lawyer, OK?" Ferguson said. "But I know that as a parent, when our kids were little, we did everything we could to invest [in them], right? … We just knew intuitively that it's such a critical moment in a person's life, is those early years."

Studies have found that high-quality early learning programs can pay off later with benefits to society.

A 2022 study from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that children who participated in ECEAP, compared with their peers who were eligible for ECEAP but didn't take part, were more likely to be ready for kindergarten and less likely to participate in special education in their early years of school. But there wasn't clear evidence that ECEAP kids did better or worse on 3rd to 5th grade assessments or in terms of high school graduation.

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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 6:37 AM.