More than half of babies being born today are children of color.
Introducing Building for Babies: State Policy Self-Assessment Suite
Infants and toddlers have complex needs. This state policy self-assessment is meant to serve as a grounding tool in infant-toddler policy for states.
This suite of materials can help you and your team understand the big policy areas that are important for babies and determine policy priorities you want to pursue. It will help your team examine proposed/existing policy and point to additional resources and examples of innovative state efforts.
ZERO TO THREE worked with individuals across sectors to include key policies that carry the biggest impact for babies and their families and that serve as an opening in these areas for states to plan for action. The tools are designed to provide a foundation for state-level discussions that should include authentic engagement of those most impacted, data analysis, problem-solving via shared decision-making, policy change, implementation and ongoing continuous quality improvement.
State Self Assessment Tool Video by Joe Weedon
How to use this suite
Choose to use one piece or all three. This video describes how you can use this suite to examine policies, improve access, increase family voice and find national resources and examples of policies in states that are improving the lives of their youngest residents.
Building for Babies
State Policy Self-Assessment Tool
Infants and toddlers have complex needs. Therefore, ideal state and community systems will support all families, recognize their unique circumstances, prioritize accessibility for those who have been made the least proximate to opportunity and engage those most impacted by policies in making crucial decisions about program structures.
The self-assessment tool groups policy recommendations into four sections that align with ZERO TO THREE’s Policy Framework:
- Good Health
- Strong Families
- Positive Early Learning Experiences
- Collaboration and System Building
You can work with your team to have discussions about one or more sections of the tool. It can be used to analyze whether recommended policies are in place and how well they are being implemented. Use the online tool to explore the recommendations and to print sections or the entire tool.
It is nice to be able to have a clear starting point with the prompts and to know that the responses stem from a place of experience and expertise. It is nice to know where the conversation is going and being able to make the changes we need.
The ZERO TO THREE Baby Book
Resources and State Examples to Guide Policy Change
As your team begins to explore policy development and implementation, you may need to better understand policy implications and implementation efforts across the country. The resources and state examples included in the Baby Book are not comprehensive but will help deepen understanding across a wide variety of the issues that impact babies and their families. The Baby Book is dynamic and will be updated regularly.
Racial Equity Rubric for State Policies
An analytic tool that can be used to assess the racial equity impact of policies, initiatives and programs.
This racial equity policy rubric offers an important analytical framework for guiding the policy development process. It can be used on its own or as part of the self-assessment process. It can be used at various stages including policy drafting, program development or program evaluation and budget development, to ensure organizational alignment with racial equity goals.
The earlier a racial equity rubric is employed, the better, as this will help align racial equity goals with a proposed policy/program to improve outcomes and minimize negative consequences for those most affected by structural inequities.
This rubric can be helpful to anyone involved in the policymaking process. Individuals, teams and coalitions who develop policy (including people with lived experience related to the policy issue), advocacy staff, program evaluators and technical assistance consultants can all use this tool. It is most helpful to employ the racial equity policy rubric collaboratively to inform decision-making across a team or group of partners.
ZERO TO THREE State Policy Technical Assistance
Our staff would be happy to help you and your team think about how to use the tools highlighted on this webpage or with any of your state infant and toddler policy goals. Feel free to contact us to set up an initial conversation.
