ZERO TO THREE’s Policy Center is vocal on Capitol Hill and in states across the nation, providing policy and advocacy resources about the importance of the first three years of life. To ensure all babies have a strong start in life, we promote good health, strong families and positive early learning experiences for all infants and toddlers, with special emphasis on those impacted by racism, economic inequality, and other forms of oppression.
We interact with national, state, and local policymakers to demand the programs babies need, such as child care, paid family and medical leave and the expanded Child Tax Credit.
Who We Are
Our policymakers have a responsibility to prioritize babies.
We are a non-partisan, research-based center working at all levels of government and across multiple issue areas that affect babies and their families. Our work includes:
- Federal policy
- State and local policy
- Advocacy through Think Babies™
- A focus on Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health across our work
- Child welfare transformation through the National Infant-Toddler Court Program
[Strolling Thunder] made me realize just how important it was not to tune out, because decisions that impact our lives are being made every day, whether or not we choose to engage.


What We Do
Shaping systems to support babies
ZERO TO THREE has decades of experience fighting for policy changes that improve the lives of babies and their families. No other organization has our track record of influencing decision makers to consider how their choices affect our babies.
- We build resources that illustrate how babies and their families are faring across the country.
- We recruit powerful parent advocates and work with state partners to ensure their voices are heard by policymakers at every level of government.
- We support policy and advocacy leaders in states building better systems and working toward policy wins for babies.
- We advocate and lobby for policies that affect millions of families with young children.
Related Resources


Getting Policymakers’ Attention! Key Findings from New IECMH Message Testing


Meet Miriam Calderón, Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE
Be a Big Voice for Little Kids
Bring attention to what babies and their families need to thrive.