A Tribute to ZERO TO THREE's Lynn Jones

Within the infant-family field, we sometimes encounter people who are the model of what we want to be as a professional. Lynn Jones, a staff member of ZERO TO THREE, was one such person. She dedicated her entire career to the well-being of young children and their families, all the while demonstrating that professionalism comes from the quality of the relationships you build. Lynn was a shining example of how positive and long-lasting relationships improve the lives of young children, their families, and our field. She enriched the lives of everyone who worked with her and knew her, and she made a significant difference in the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families.

Lynn had over 20 years of experience working with young children and their families through direct service; training and technical assistance to providers; and through community leadership, team building, and program and policy development. She was also a policy analyst at the local, state, and national levels, finishing her career as a Senior State Policy Analyst with the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center.

Lynn coordinated the development of West Virginia's State Training and Registry System (STARS), a professional development system for early care and education providers statewide. She was an early childhood specialist with West Virginia's Governor's Cabinet on Children and Families and an early childhood consultant with the West Virginia Department of Education, the WV Birth to Three Program, and the WV KIDS COUNT Fund. Lynn authored The Building Blocks of Literacy: How Young Children Become Prepared to Be Readers and was the guiding force behind ZERO TO THREE's Baby Matters database and co-author of Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Recommendations for States.

Lynn's passing leaves a void for all those who knew her, but it also gives us a mission for the future. Lynn believed in being a strident and persistent voice for very young children, particularly those with developmental delays and disabilities. She exemplified Mahatma Gandhi's words that we must be the change we want to see in the world. In honor of Lynn's life and career, let us strive to be the change she wanted to see for all babies, toddlers, and families.

Download June's Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar

This June, let's give a shout-out to all the dads! In honor of Father's Day, your advocacy challenge is to become a detective and find out about fatherhood initiatives in your state. When your investigation is complete, share what you have learned and spread the word about the importance of fathers in the lives of very young children. Download June's Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar now!

Federal Policy Update

The budget remains the main focus of Congressional attention right now. The Senate Budget Committee has completed work on its version of the measure, but leaders will not take the plan to the Senate floor without direction from the House. House leaders are under pressure to act on a budget resolution that will provide for appropriations for domestic programs for the next fiscal year. As the appropriations process gets underway, the early childhood community is particularly interested in maintaining the funding increases in Head Start/Early Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant created by ARRA.

Apart from the budget, an oversight hearing is scheduled this week in the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss enrollment and eligibility processes in some Head Start programs.

State Policy Update
Colorado Promotes Quality through Social-Emotional Health Credential

Credentialing is one tool for improving quality in early childhood services and can be an important component of a comprehensive statewide plan for promoting social and emotional health of young children. The Colorado Office of Professional Development is committed to promoting quality by empowering and advancing professionals who work with infants, toddlers, young children and families. With guidance from the Colorado Social and Emotional Professional Development Planning Council, the Office of Professional Development recently completed their 3-year planning effort, released a comprehensive plan with seven goals, and established a voluntary credential specific to the promotion and prevention levels of social-emotional health. They began accepting applications in December 2009, and awarded six credentials so far.

Read the full state policy update now!

Publications & Resources

Podcast on Expansion of Home Visiting
A recent Early Ed Watch podcast from the New America Foundation features a discussion on What's Next in Expansion of Home Visitation. The health care reform bill included 1.5 billion dollars to be used towards home visiting programs over the course of five years. During the podcast, Lisa Schreiber, a policy consultant with ZERO TO THREE, discusses the most recent research on the impact of home visiting programs and how services will expand under the new law.

NCCP Brief on Promoting Young Children's Health in State Policy
Promoting Young Children's Health and Development: Taking Stock of State Policies is a new brief from the National Center on Children in Poverty. The brief highlights information on state policy choices that affect the health and well-being of children birth to age 5, including access to health care and continuity of care; maternal health care; and preventive screening and assessment. The brief also offers seven recommendations for states to make sure that low-income young children receive health care that promotes positive health, developmental, and educational outcomes.

New Early Childhood Highlights Series
Child Trends is launching a new Early Childhood Highlights series on the most recent early childhood research findings to inform state and federal policy discussions. Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for Early Care and Education is the first of two new briefs developed for the series and reviews the fundamental elements a QRIS; gives an overview of its impact on the quality of care and child outcomes; and identifies important considerations for developing a QRIS. The second brief, Early Head Start: Research Findings reviews key findings from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project as well as other evaluations of Early Head Start outcomes.