ZERO TO THREE Releases New Policy Brief on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program

Research about the early years teaches us that warm, responsive, and supportive relationships can buffer a child against adverse experiences such as persistent poverty, stress, poor health, malnutrition, family and community violence, and substance use and abuse. Now, as Congress considers reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, our knowledge about early childhood and brain development can chart a new course for young children and their families who are in poverty. Programs and policies targeted to families in poverty have the potential to not only raise families out of poverty but also effect lasting change on the developmental trajectory of a young child. With TANF scheduled to be reauthorized this year, we have the opportunity to refocus the lens through which we view policies and improvements in this program and place greater emphasis on healthy development and better, longer lasting outcomes for both parents and children. Read the new policy brief now!

Summer may be the time of year for vacations and lazy days, but as advocates we need to be looking forward! The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides funds for low-income, vulnerable families, is up for reauthorization in September. Your advocacy challenge this month is to meet with your members of Congress during the summer recess and tell them how TANF can support healthy child development and encourage participation in the workforce. Download July's Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar now!

ZERO TO THREE wants to know what's going on in your state!

We are currently in the process of updating our Baby Matters database, which contains information on state policies and initiatives impacting infants, toddlers, and their families. As we update Baby Matters, we seek your knowledge of new and innovative policies or initiatives happening at the state level for inclusion in the database. Please send your ideas and contact information to policycenter@zerotothree.org.

To learn more about how Baby Matters is structured and check out the information already included on your state, click here.

Federal Policy Update

The House of Representatives is now providing direction for next year’s federal budget, with troubling implications for important infant-toddler programs. Instead of the usual five year Budget Resolution, the House is planning to move a measure setting discretionary spending levels only for FY 2011. Responding to the concern over the federal budget debt and deficit, House leaders are projecting that total discretionary funding (funds available for annual domestic appropriations) will be $15 billion below the amount in the President’s budget, which already capped total spending at the FY 2010 level. While the budget blueprint merely sets the top line amount for all spending, not individual program allocations, such a cut in total funds could have negative ramifications for maintaining the increases included in ARRA for programs such as Head Start/Early Head Start and child care. The Senate is expected to adopt the House’s tactic of a one year resolution (referred to as a "deeming resolution"), although not necessarily with such deep cuts. The Senate previously reported a Budget Resolution out of Committee with a funding cap $4 billion below the President’s proposal.

Funding levels notwithstanding, the upcoming midterm elections means final action on appropriations may not take place until well after November. Members of Congress will need to hear about priorities from their constituents as they campaign. Broad-based and vocal public support for investments in early childhood services is critical to maintaining gains from ARRA funding.

Since December 2006, the Virginia Home Visiting Consortium (HVC) has worked to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of state-funded early childhood home visiting programs. The Consortium includes ten home visiting programs housed within five state agencies, as well as two private agencies receiving public funding. In 2008, Virginia home visiting programs served 27,245 families with children 0-5 years old. The Consortium's work focuses on five main task areas: infrastructure at the state and local levels, training, screening, data and evaluation, and quality improvement. In an effort to better address the diverse needs of families, Virginia is working to increase staff skills and build better linkages among local communities' existing home visiting programs, as well as between home visiting programs and health care or early education providers. The Consortium has also identified twelve core training topics in which all early childhood home visitors will be trained by the end of 2011.

Read the full state policy update now!

Early Learning Guidelines and School Readiness
Child Trends' new paper, A Review of School Readiness Practices in the States: Early Learning Guidelines and Assessments, discusses state Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs) and statewide school readiness assessments administered in kindergarten. The brief emphasizes the importance of early learning for children's development, and provides policy considerations for developing and utilizing school readiness assessments at the state level.

Website on Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Development
The BUILD Initiative and Smart Start National Technical Assistance Center recently launched the QRIS National Learning Network (NLN), a website devoted to the development and effective use of quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). The website features state-by state resources, reports, links, and a list of organizations that can provide more intensive technical assistance.

Linking Early Childhood and a Productive Workforce
The Society for Human Resource Management and the Partnership for America's Economic Success published a new brochure, Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Future Means Meeting the Developmental Needs of Young Children Today. This brochure includes data which reinforces that the current labor force does not meet today's business needs, and it provides evidence that investment in early childhood education is the best way to improve our nation's workforce and economy.

Effects of the Recession on Young Children
The Foundation for Child Development published their 2010 Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI), which includes the first comprehensive data on the impact of the recession on American children's overall quality-of-life. The consequences of a child living in poverty, even for a short period of time, can endure for years after. By 2010, the CWI projects that the recession will wipe out virtually all progress made for children in the Family Economic Well-being Domain since 1975.

Funding Opportunity for the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are now accepting applications for the FY 2010 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program. This grant will provide funds for the adoption and implementation of evidence-based home visiting services to pregnant women, mothers, and children from birth to kindergarten. The deadline for applications is 4:30 pm EST on July 26, 2010. For more information, click here.