Reach Out and Read is a national literacy program taking place in the pediatric exam room. In New Jersey, they are serving approximately 65,000 young children (ages 6 months through 5 years) at 81 sites. 16 of the state’s FQHCs participate in this program.

Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 with its first program at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center). By 2001, dramatic growth brought the Reach Out and Read model to all 50 states, with almost 1,500 sites distributing 1.6 million books per year.

Today, Reach Out and Read partners with more than 5,500 program sites and distributes 6.5 million books per year. The program currently serves one in five children living in poverty in this country, and continues to grow each year with the vision that one day the Reach Out and Read model will be a part of every young child’s checkups.

From the Today Show: