There's a Tool for That! Having the Right Advocacy Tools at Your Fingertips

We all know the phrase, "there's an app for that!" And when it comes to advocacy tools for infant-toddler professionals, we can also say, "there's a tool for that!" Over the last four years, the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network has created a broad range of advocacy tools and resources for professionals, like you, to help you advocate for public policies that better serve the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families in your state and community.

There are many advocacy tools to choose from - just like apps for your PDA - but among them are a few that are ideal to have at your fingertips.

• Building Relationships: Parallels between Infant-Toddler Development and the Public Policy Process - This article explores relationship-building in early childhood and in the world of policy and advocacy. With a deeper understanding of relationships and how to build them, we can be stronger advocates for infants, toddlers and their families.
• Glossary of Policy & Advocacy Terms: A Guide to the ABCs and Acronyms of the Infant-Toddler Policy Process - This interactive advocacy tool helps you make sense of the terms and acronyms commonly used in the public policy and advocacy arena, so you can be an effective communicator and an effective advocate for infants and toddlers.
• How a Bill Becomes a Law: Roles of Congressional Staff - This advocacy tool describes the process of how a bill becomes a law at the federal level and explains the roles of key Congressional staff.
• Understanding Your State's Public Policy Process - This advocacy tool provides you with resources to help you develop an understanding of your state and how policy decisions are made there.
• How to Write a Letter to the Editor and an Opinion Editorial - This advocacy tool outlines suggestions for writing letters to the editor and op-eds and getting them printed, as well as examples of published opinion pieces.
• How to Plan a Site Visit: Inviting Policymakers to See Your Work with Infants, Toddlers & Their Families - Use this advocacy tool to help plan and implement a site visit with your local, state and federal policymakers.

To help you get started in your advocacy efforts, or if you need a refresher on the basics of advocacy, you can download these tools and share them with colleagues and friends. Just remember, if someone asks you how to Be a Big Voice for Little Kids™, be sure to tell them, "there's a tool for that!" and encourage them to join the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network.

ZERO TO THREE Offers Technical Assistance Opportunity for States

ZERO TO THREE is pleased to offer a new technical assistance opportunity to support states in the intentional integration of Early Head Start and their early childhood system to expand high-quality services for infants and toddlers. With the recent growth of Early Head Start through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, state policymakers currently have a unique opportunity to build on the federal investment in Early Head Start. Yet states also face challenges in integrating Early Head Start into their existing early childhood system.

To this end, ZERO TO THREE will support five states in addressing these challenges, including: bringing state teams together for a meeting focused on including and expanding Early Head Start in their early childhood system; providing follow-up on-site technical assistance; and customizing a professionally designed ZERO TO THREE policy brief on Early Head Start to address a state need for information-sharing. Applications for this opportunity are due no later than January 29, 2010. Click here for more details!

Tell Your Policymakers What Quality Early Learning Looks Like
Download the January Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar Now!

What does quality early learning look like? Your members of Congress need to know, and YOU can tell them! Congress plays a vital role in establishing and supporting quality early childhood programs such as Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care. Now, Congress is considering a new federal funding stream, the Early Learning Challenge Fund. But do they know what quality looks like in the real world? Your advocacy challenge this month is to write an email to your members of Congress to help them understand what quality is and how they can help support it. Download January's calendar now!

Federal Policy Update

Just prior to recessing on December 24th after an extended legislative session, the Senate passed its version of the health reform bill (H.R. 3590) by a vote of 60-39. Although the House and Senate will not officially resume legislative business until January 12th and 20th respectively, Congressional leaders have been informally conferencing the Senate- and House-passed health care bills over the recess period. Their goal is to complete action on a compromise version and send it to the President Obama for his signature in time for the State of the Union address.

In other news, women participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will soon receive an increase in their fruit and vegetable vouchers to $10 per month. This increase was included in the FY 2010 Agricultural Appropriations bill, which passed last October.

State Policy Update
Rhode Island Launches BrightStars QRIS

In an effort to improve the quality of early care and education programs and increase options for parents, in December, public-private partners in Rhode Island celebrated the first year of BrightStars, the state's quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). The new initiative is the result of four years of careful planning by an array of partners, including the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children (RIAEYC), Rhode Island Kids Count, the United Way of Rhode Island, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Rhode Island Department of Education and the Rhode Island Dept. of Health. BrightStars is managed by RIAEYC and has an annual operating budget of $250,000 from both public and private sources. Click here to read the full state policy update!

Publications & Resources

Advocacy and Leadership Training Opportunity from NWLC
The National Women's Law Center is now accepting applications for the 2010 Progressive Leadership Advocacy Network (PLAN) program, which supports a diverse group of emerging advocacy leaders working to make positive change for low-income women and their families. Click here for more information and to apply. Applications are due by February 8th.

New Working Paper on Maternal Depression
The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation have released a joint working paper, Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children, which reviews new evidence on the effects of chronic and severe maternal depression on families and children. The consequences of not providing interventions to ensure maternal well-being can have a substantial impact on the healthy development of young children and the welfare of society.

Report on the Undercount of Children in the U.S. Census
In a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report, Why Are Young Children Missed So Often in the Census?, data from the Census Bureau shows that more than three-quarters of a million children under age five were not counted in the 2000 Census report. This significant undercount is partially due to the increasingly challenge of defining and capturing the nation's families. However, the accuracy of census reports remains crucial to many government programs serving very young children and their families.