Recognizing the broad social and economic implications of child care and early childhood policies, more state legislatures are taking a leadership role in developing early childhood programs. This book presents an in-depth look at how state legislatures are applying the lessons of early childhood research to a broad range of state legislative jurisdictions. Also it creates a framework for considering early care and education within the context of education, economic development, human services, public health, program regulation, and juvenile justice legislative jurisdictions. Separate chapters present the latest relevant program research and outline the range of state legislation related to each of these policy areas. The chapters are: (1) "The Role of Early Childhood Care and Education in State Public Policy"; (2) "Economic and Labor implications of Early Childhood Care and Education"; (3) "The Implications of Early Childhood Services and School-Age Child Care for Public Education"; (4) "The Implications of Early Childhood Services for Juvenile Justice"; (5) "The Role of Early Childhood Care in Health Policy"; (6) "Child Care Regulations and Quality of Care"; (7) "Early Childhood Services and Welfare Reform"; and (8) "Early Care and Family Support." The book also encourages further cross-jurisdictional consideration of early care and education policies across all these boundaries. This approach is discussed in more depth in the chapter on family support initiatives. Each chapter contains extensive notes. A list of additional resources is appended. (HTH)