Take Action for Health Care
Download September's Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar The healthy development of infants and toddlers can be directly impacted by a parent's physical well-being. For example, mothers who lack health insurance are less likely to receive prenatal care, including screenings and diagnostic tests that are instrumental in improving birth outcomes. Once their baby is born, parents who have quality health care are also better able to work and care for their children. If they struggle to pay for medical care and prescriptions for themselves, it leaves their very young children at increased risk for poor health, developmental delays, and food insecurity.

Congress is back in session in September and ready to take on health care reform. As your members of Congress return to Washington, they will be working to move health care bills forward in both the House and the Senate. We challenge you to take action and urge them to make the health needs of parents and very young children a priority. As professionals working with young children, we must ensure that our members of Congress understand the impact that access to affordable health care for ALL family members has on our nation's youngest children!

Download September's Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar and take action this month!

State Policy Update

Oklahoma Public and Private Partners Invest $30 Million in Early Learning
In early August, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry announced that he will dedicate $15 million in federal stimulus funds to a new early learning initiative for the state's infants and toddlers. The new funds will create three high quality early care and education centers for very young children in the Tulsa Public School system, serving as a model for future expansion in other areas of the state. The stimulus funds are drawn from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, part of which allows governors to designate education funds at their discretion. The George Kaiser Family Foundation will provide matching funds, creating an initial $30 million investment in the early learning initiative. Tulsa Public Schools will also allocate an additional $2 million for operating costs.

The new centers will deliver services similar to those of Educare, a comprehensive program model that aims to ensure that at-risk children arrive at school ready to learn. They will serve an estimated 600 at-risk infants and toddlers.

Click here to read the full state policy update!

Publications & Resources

New NITCCI Website
The National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative @ ZERO TO THREE (NITCCI) recently launched a newly designed website that provides easier navigation, as well an updated selection of resources that focus on issues related to child care for infants and toddlers and the development of child care systems to serve them. The website also features an improved search function for the initiative database, which contains updated information on initiatives that address the needs of infants and toddlers in early care and education settings.

New Tool on Cultural Competence and QRIS
The Quality Benchmark for Cultural Competence Project (QBCCP) is an effort by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to determine the essential elements of cultural competence for early childhood programs and how to integrate these elements within quality rating and improvement systems standards. This work led to the creation of a new tool to serve as a guide to early childhood programs as they respond to the needs of diverse children and families. The tool further explains the project and the criteria that have been developed, as well as ideas for implementation and measurement.

Assistive Technology Self-Assessment Results
Tots-n-Tech Research Institute recently conducted a self-assessment of early intervention professionals in 46 states, aiming to collect state and regional information on the use of assistive technology and adaptations on infants and toddlers in early intervention programs. The self-assessment covered four areas including: Child evaluation and assessment, Individualized Planning (IFSP), Assistive Technology implementation and use, and Systems. For more information about the self-assessment tool and state specific results, click here.

Download ZERO TO THREE's Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide
The Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide is your set of tools for taking action and improving public policies that impact the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families. It offers you a wealth of policy options and strategies to use in your efforts to affect policy change and includes mini policy briefs, practical tools, in-depth policy papers, and more. All of the materials in the toolkit are accessible online, and we encourage you to use them in your work and disseminate them widely.