The World Forum seemed to provide a natural opportunity to bring together a smaller group to share and learn more intensely about public policies affecting early childhood development. What emerged is not just a leadership program, but rather a new dimension in the growing movement to improve the life chances and overall development of young…

Refuting the widely held belief that the child care crisis in America is irresolvableor that it can be resolved by simply relying on market forcesthis book presents an alternative vision for ensuring that American families with children will have access to high-quality, affordable child care, shifting the perception of the issue as primarily one…

Offers a rationale for including advocacy training in early childhood preparation programs, suggesting that, among other topics, such courses cover the history of early childhood public policy, current issues in early childhood, the mechanisms of policy formation and government operations, and political involvement. (KS)

From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life. Relationships and experiences with parents, caregivers, and preschool teachers during these early years "form the foundation and scaffold on which cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral…

Discusses the report released in October, 1988, by the Early Childhood Task Force of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Includes background on the Task Force, a list of members, a summary of recommendations, and strategy suggestions for early childhood educators to use in advocacy activities. (RJC)

Outlines four aspects of a revamped child care system in the United States: (1) neighborhood early learning programs; (2) a community support system for quality care; (3) reinvented financial assistance; and (4) a career development system. (KB)

This book, which is addressed to early childhood educators, offers a call to action that focuses on the whys and hows of advocacy, and provides strategies for selecting issues, building support, and joining with other advocates. Chapter 1 discusses the need for early childhood advocates, contributions advocates can make to the decision-making…

Provides tips on writing legislators to ask for their support for federal legislation for child care. (BB)

This article discusses the promise of parents as advocates on behalf of family support and high-quality care for infants and toddlers. The authors note that parents organize around specific issues or immediate problems. Parent action grows from the bottom up--from community advocacy to national issues. Effective public policy promotes parent…

At a time of tremendous expansion of early childhood services, funds to train the needed work force are almost unavailable outside of the Head Start community. This problem is compounded by the limited amount of attention that the topic of early childhood teacher preparation and professional development has received from researchers and…

While current early education and care funding still reaches only a fraction of preschool children, some states now have considerable experience in coordinating subsidized child care, Head Start, and state prekindergarten initiatives to enhance early education and learning opportunities for young children. Drawing on the experiences of Georgia,…

As Congress is scheduled to reauthorize the entire Head Start program in 2003, it is important to understand more about Early Head Start and the children and families the program serves. This policy brief, third in a series analyzing Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) data, synthesizes Early Head Start data from the most recently…

This policy brief synthesizes the proceedings of a symposium on children and family services, focusing on elements of successful collaboration among human services agencies. In the first section of the brief, the meaning of collaboration in the family services context is clarified, and ways in which the current focus on collaboration differs from…

Noting that increasing numbers of infants and toddlers and their working parents face a range of early care and development needs, this paper suggests that by establishing high quality child care and family support services, state legislatures can help families and caregivers nurture the development of infants while helping parents manage work.…

In order to achieve the expectations for children's learning stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, greater attention needs to be given to child care policy and funding. This report details a study examining strategies in seven states that have integrated early education program standards in child care, by directly tying standards to…