Celebrating Infant-Toddler Policy in 2009!
This Year's Policy Achievements for Infants, Toddlers & Their Families
Throughout 2009, ZERO TO THREE worked to keep you informed of important and innovative policy developments happening throughout the country. This past year included many historic ups and downs - new and energetic faces arrived in the White House, Congress, and state governments ready to move our nation forward, and we entered an economic recession that presented challenges for us all. 2009 also saw the birth of more than 4 million new babies in the United States, each of whom needs good health, a strong family, and positive early learning experiences to succeed. Despite the tight budgets in Washington, DC and state capitals, we all successfully worked together to advance and preserve policies that improve the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families.
At the end of each year, we recap the Top 10 federal and state policy achievements for infants and toddlers that recognize the role that we all play in supporting our nation's youngest children. We celebrate the accomplishments of Big Voices for Little Kids across the country and look forward to continuing our work in 2010!
Give the Gift of Thanks to Your Policymakers
Download the December Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar Now!
Policymakers at the federal, state, and local level all make decisions that impact very young children. But those decisions are not always easily made among many other pressing priorities. Despite the difficult economic times this year, there are many policymakers across the country that have been steadfast Big Voices for Little Kids. So whether their action was big or small, it’s important to let them know that their efforts on behalf of infants, toddlers, and their families are appreciated. Your challenge this month is to send thanks to a policymaker of your choice who has been a Big Voice for Little Kids this year. Download the December Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar now and take action!
Federal Policy Update
Last week, the House and Senate passed a conference report that combines 6 of the 12 FY 2010 appropriations bills. This omnibus bill includes the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill (LHHSE), which sets the funding levels for the majority of federal early childhood programs and services. The LHHSE portion of the bill would provide a total of $163.6 billion in discretionary funds, $8.5 billion more than FY 2009 levels (not including ARRA funds). This includes a $7.2 billion investment in Head Start/Early Head Start, $122 million above the fiscal year 2009 funding level, to provide high-quality, comprehensive early childhood services for approximately 978,000 children. Child care and early intervention services are flat-funded at FY2009 levels.
Meanwhile, the Senate continues to debate its version of health care reform. Several compromises have been reached to date, with a vote to end debate expected shortly.
Publications & Resources
New Family, Friend and Neighbor Care Resource Page
ZERO TO THREE announces a new section on its website which provides a host of resources designed for Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers on nurturing healthy early development. Topics on the FFN home page include: Supporting Social- Emotional Development, Discipline and Limit-Setting: Building Self-Control, Caregiver-Child Activities, and Building Strong Relationships with Parents. Look out for the following topics, which will be added to the site soon: Learning through Play, Brain Development, Temperament, School Readiness, Healthy Eating from the Start, and Media Usage.
Policy Brief on Early Childhood Mental Health
The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children recently published a new policy brief, Integrating Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with the Pyramid Model. The brief discusses early childhood mental health consultation and how it can assist in the implementation of the Pyramid Model for social emotional development. The brief also acknowledges potential policy issues that may occur as administrators attempt to integrate these approaches at the state and local level.
Report Highlights the Relationship between Housing and Food Insecurity
Rx for Hunger: Affordable Housing, a new report from Children's HealthWatch and Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston, shows that subsidized housing plays a vital role in protecting young children from food insecurity and the health risks of being underweight. On average, families with the lowest incomes spend more than 40 percent of their income on housing. However, research shows that these households provide better nutrition to their children when they are able to secure housing assistance. This report offers key evidence that increased support for subsidized housing must be part of the strategy for ending childhood hunger.
Child Care and Development Block Grant Participation in 2008
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has developed a new fact sheet, Child Care and Development Block Grant Participation in 2008. Data shows that fewer children were served through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program in 2008 than in 2007. The fact sheet breaks down the data by ages of children receiving assistance, the types of child care settings used, and the reasons families receive assistance. The statistics indicate that less than one third of the children who were served in 2008 were under the age of three.
|
