Special Edition on Building Early Childhood Systems
To ensure a good start in life, all children need access to high-quality and affordable early care and education, physical and mental health, and family support. Programs and services that address these areas are essential, yet they are only as strong as the infrastructure that supports them. To be effective, programs must be organized within cohesive systems that coordinate and align a broad array of services. Federal and state policymakers can help ensure the healthy development of all children within their states and communities by supporting comprehensive, coordinated, well-funded systems of high-quality, prenatal-to-5 services that foster success in school and life. Below you will find a variety of tools and resources on building early childhood systems which you can utilize in your advocacy on behalf of infants and toddlers.
ZERO TO THREE’s
What About the Babies? A Focus on Infants and Toddlers in State Advisory Councils
by ZERO TO THREE, describes the new requirements for State Advisory Councils from the 2007 Head Start Reauthorization and offers guidance to states on including a focus on infants and toddlers as they make decisions about the formation of State Advisory Councils and the activities of those Councils. Download ZERO TO THREE’s
Infants and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Checklist for States
, which is based on research about effective policies and best practices in states. The checklist is intended to spark discussion about the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families and to lay the foundation for building an effective early childhood development system in your state. Search
Baby Matters: A Gateway to State Policies and Initiatives for information on state policies and initiatives impacting infants, toddlers, and their families. You can search by category using the different elements of a system, search for your state, or search by keyword.
Common Vision, Different Paths: Five States’ Journeys toward Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Five Systems is joint report from ZERO TO THREE and Pre-K Now that articulates a common vision for early childhood systems in which programs work effectively with each other to provide high-quality early learning and comprehensive services.
ZERO TO THREE’s
What About the Babies? A Focus on Infants and Toddlers in State Advisory Councils
by ZERO TO THREE, describes the new requirements for State Advisory Councils from the 2007 Head Start Reauthorization and offers guidance to states on including a focus on infants and toddlers as they make decisions about the formation of State Advisory Councils and the activities of those Councils. Download ZERO TO THREE’s
Infants and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Checklist for States
, which is based on research about effective policies and best practices in states. The checklist is intended to spark discussion about the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families and to lay the foundation for building an effective early childhood development system in your state. Search
Baby Matters: A Gateway to State Policies and Initiatives for information on state policies and initiatives impacting infants, toddlers, and their families. You can search by category using the different elements of a system, search for your state, or search by keyword.
Common Vision, Different Paths: Five States’ Journeys toward Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Five Systems is joint report from ZERO TO THREE and Pre-K Now that articulates a common vision for early childhood systems in which programs work effectively with each other to provide high-quality early learning and comprehensive services.
