CREATING CONNECTIONS FOR BABIES

Relationship-building is at the core of our work with young children, and it also lies at the heart of effective policy and advocacy work.  With this knowledge in mind, the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center’s Creating Connections for Babies project is focusing on creating those connections which will positively impact state early childhood policies and services.  Creating Connections for Babies seeks to engage infant-toddler professionals, policymakers and policy shapers (e.g., professional advocates, philanthropists, business leaders, etc.) in policy change for infants, toddlers and their families within their state. 

Through this project, the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center will work closely with six states that are committed to engaging new leaders of the infant-toddler professional field in establishing coordinated, comprehensive services and policies focused on 0 to 3 year olds or ensuring their inclusion in a broader system-building effort: Kentucky, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Wyoming.  The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center will work to create connections between infant-toddler professionals, policymakers, and policy shapers in these six states by:

• Selecting one or two infant-toddler professionals as Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders, who will actively participate in the public policy process, recruit new members for the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network, and help connect those members to the state’s infant-toddler policy work. 
   
• Working with these Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders and a public-private partnership comprised of policymakers and policy shapers in each state to develop or implement an infant-toddler plan, further creating connections that will strengthen and coordinate state early childhood policies and services. 

The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center will support the six state public-private partnerships and their Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders in policy change for infants, toddlers and their families through training, technical assistance and resources.  The timeline for this project is January through August 2008.

This work is supported by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, convener and funder of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance.  The Alliance is a collaboration of organizations which are working to shift the odds for at risk children through developmental supports in the first five years of life.  As a member of the Alliance, ZERO TO THREE is working to improve policies which support the healthy growth and development of children birth to three through state and federal policy, as well as building the capacity of the infant-toddler professional field to participate in the public policy process as knowledge brokers.

For more information about the Creating connections for Babies Project, please see Frequently Asked Questions.

Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders

As part of the Creating Connections for Babies project, 12 infant toddler professionals in Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Wyoming have been selected as the first Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders. The leaders were selected by a committee comprised of ZERO TO THREE staff and public and private partners in each of the six states involved in the project.   The 12 Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders are:

Kentucky:
Amy Hood Hooten, Training Specialist, Child Care Resource & Referral, Western Kentucky University
Judith Steilberg, Children's Program Director, The Family Place
Click here to read profiles of the Kentucky Birth To Three State Advocacy Leaders.

New Mexico:
Alvino Sandoval, Project Dreamcatchers, Parents Reaching Out
Michelle Staley, Mosaic, Early Intervention Program Coordinator & Adjunct Faculty, New Mexico State University
Click here to read profiles of the New Mexico Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders.

New York:
Jacquelyn Jones, Director, Community Action Organization Early Head Start
Carole Oshinsky, Co-President, New York Zero to Three Network
Click here to read profiles of the New York Birth To Three State Advocacy Leaders.

Oregon:
Karen Enns, Program Manager, New Parent Services & Families First, The Next Door, Inc.
Jon Reeves, Child Care Resource & Referral Director, Child Care Information Service, Mid- Willamette Valley Community Action Agency
Click here to read profiles of the Oregon Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders.

Virginia:
Laura Allen, Children's Hospital Infant Service Coordinator
Ann Kellams, Medical Director, Newborn Nursery, University of Virginia Health System
Click here to read profiles of the Virginia Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders.

Wyoming:
Janet Stephens, Speech/Language Pathologist, Wyoming Child and Family Development
Dianna Webb, Director, Apple Tree Learning Center
Click here to read profiles of the Wyoming Birth To Three State Advocacy Leaders.

The Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders will participate in their state's early childhood public-private partnerships, which are working to advance state policies for babies and toddlers, and network with other infant-toddler professionals around the state to engage them in advocacy activities.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Debbie Rappaport (202-638-1144, x677, drappaport@zerotothree.org) or Liz DiLauro (202-638-1144, x634, edilauro@zerotothree.org).