Early Experiences Matter:
A Guide to Improved Policies for Infants and Toddlers

Policymaking is not an easy job, and policymakers need concise, practical information to use when crafting policies to address pressing social issues. Just like our work with very young children, policymaking requires a multi-faceted approach which brings together evidence from science, research and practice. ZERO TO THREE combines these elements in Early Experiences Matter: A Guide to Improved Policies for Infants and Toddlers, a comprehensive set of tools for use by policymakers and advocates.

The Policy Guide includes:

• Eleven concise issue briefs which support ZERO TO THREE’s policy agenda of Good Health, Strong Families, Positive Early Learning Experiences, and Systems Building
• Infant-toddler data to inform the policymaking process
• A compilation of the evidence for investing in the infant-toddler policy agenda
• A strategic look at ways to get started, with sample policy options and state examples
• In-depth issue papers and policymaking tools

The Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide was developed with the generous support of the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation and ZERO TO THREE's Carol Berman Fund. It is available for download from the ZERO TO THREE website at www.zerotothree.org/policyguide. A limited number of print copies are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request a single print copy of the complete Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide, please email policycenter@zerotothree.org.

Federal Policy Update

Funding decisions continue to take center stage in the federal policy process. On February 26, the President released an outline of his annual budget request. While the request generally provided only departmental-wide funding levels, it laid out a few important early childhood priorities for the Obama Administration. The President called for the creation of "incentives and supports for States to build comprehensive, coordinated, high-quality early childhood 'Zero to Five' systems." The request also cited the Recovery Act funding for Head Start, Early Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant, indicating the budget will sustain "critical support for young children and their families by building on these investments." Finally, the request mentioned the creation of a new Nurse Home Visitation program, with $87 million in mandatory funding for the program in FY10. A more detailed budget request is expected next month.

In addition, last week, Congress passed another Continuing Resolution through March 11 to have more time to complete the final omnibus spending bill for FY09, which began on October 1, 2008. The package, expected to be signed into law this week, contains $410 billion in discretionary funding for the nine remaining spending bills which did not see final passage in the 110th Congress. To find federal appropriation levels for programs impacting infants, toddlers and their families, please see the federal policy section of our website.

Meanwhile, implementation of the Recovery Act continues to move forward. In addition to ZERO TO THREE's conference call on March 18, we will also release an interactive tool in the coming weeks which will analyze Recovery Act funding across all the programs that impact infants and toddlers, from health to family supports to early learning. Stay tuned for more information!

Finally, President Obama nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services last week. If confirmed, Sebelius would be in charge of leading the Department's efforts across its various agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families which houses the Office of Head Start, the Child Care Bureau, and the Children's Bureau, among others. The Department also has jurisdiction over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which is responsible for providing health insurance coverage to low-income children and families, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) which houses the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which works on a host of issues, including children's mental health.