Do you ever come across unfamiliar terms and acronyms in your advocacy work? Whether you are a lifelong advocate or a new big voice for little kids you may encounter new policy jargon every so often. That’s why we created a tool to help advocates better understand infant-toddler programs and policies, commonly used federal and state legislative terms, and useful advocacy terms and techniques. This interactive glossary allows you to quickly and easily find descriptions and definitions so that you can be an effective communicator and advocate for babies. Use the glossary now!

May 6th is Mental Health Awareness Day We have revised the May Developmental Milestone Calendar to include Mental Health Awareness Day on May 6th.  Learn more about Mental Health Awareness efforts and events in your own community by visiting the SAMHSA web site.

Federal Policy Update

The Senate Budget Committee reported out its version of a fiscal year 2011 Budget Resolution, setting forth total spending and revenue levels for the year ahead, along with plans for deficit reduction beyond what was proposed by President Obama. The Senate resolution proposes a freeze in most discretionary accounts, but does allow for increased investment in early childhood activities (such as Head Start/Early Head Start) as proposed by the President.

The House has not yet decided whether it will also put forth a companion Budget Resolution. With the mid-term elections approaching, members of Congress are reluctant to go on the record for specific spending and tax policy, despite broad bipartisan desires to get a handle on the Federal debt and deficit.

State Policy Update
Minnesota Builds Leadership Capacity in Communities of Color

Minnesota’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Action Program brings cultural communities together to develop the capacity to promote school readiness through advocacy and civic engagement. Ready 4K, a nonprofit early childhood advocacy group, started the Hmong Leadership Development and Mentoring Program in 2005. In 2008, this successful program was broadened to create the Cross-Cultural Leadership Action Program (CLAP), a partnership between Ready 4K and the Early Childhood Resource and Training Center, which provides community-based education to support the healthy development of children. CLAP focuses on developing leaders from the Somali, American Indian, Latino, African American, and Southeast Asian communities in the Twin Cities area. The goal of the program is to equip leaders with the information and skills necessary to promote early childhood education and advocate for changes that improve the school readiness of young children in their communities.

Read the full state policy update now!

Publications & Resources

Children's Mental Health: What Every Policymaker Should Know
The National Center for Children in Poverty released a new paper, Children's Mental Health: What Every Policymaker Should Know. This paper presents a variety of mental health statistics which reflect the need for improved mental health service delivery in the U.S. Research shows that one in five children birth to age 18 has a diagnosable mental disorder. Youth in low-income households, child welfare and juvenile justice systems and those in military families are at increased risk for mental health problems. The paper offers ten policy strategies to improve services and highlights the need to focus on young children.

Framing Child and Family Mental Health
The FrameWorks Institute has created a web page featuring resources developed from a multi-year study of public perceptions about child and family mental health. The research is intended to inform effective framing strategy related to mental health by gaining a better grasp of the gap between frames used by the media, expert knowledge and public understanding.

An Overview of Core Knowledge and Competencies in 36 States
Keys to High-Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers is a new brief from the National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative (NITCCI) that describes common elements found in the Core Knowledge and Competencies of 36 States. It includes information on age ranges; core knowledge categories; competency levels; and special considerations for children with special needs and cultural diversity.