Shaping State and Local Policy for Early Childhood

At ZERO TO THREE, we work with state and federal policymakers to support every community’s infants, toddlers and their families.

Here’s a look at some of our early childhood policy advocacies:

• Child care: Families should be able to access affordable, quality child care. Related bills we support include the Child Care Stabilization Act and the Child Care for Working Families Act.
• Early Head Start: This important national program helps children from low-income households who are at risk of falling behind at school. Unfortunately, the program’s current funding only serves 11% of eligible families. We advocate for policymakers to increase funding through the Appropriations process.
• Economic support: To help families provide the financial stability young children need to thrive, we advocate for the expansion of the enhanced and fully refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC).
• Local family support policies: Families want to provide the best for their children but may lack adequate support. We advocate for the Strengthening America’s Families Act (SAFA), which would change child welfare policy and practice.
• Infant and early childhood mental health: The Infant and Early Childhood Grant Program enables communities to address infant and early childhood mental health more effectively. We also push for Congress to increase Community Mental Health Services Block Grant funding to include infants.
• Paid leave: We advocate for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which would provide 12 weeks of paid time off for employees to spend with a new child.