State

The state where a baby is born makes a big difference in their chances for a strong start in life. For the first time, ZERO TO THREE and Child Trends are telling the state-by-state story of America’s babies. The data can be used by policymakers and advocates to identify and act on the challenges facing the youngest members of society.

This policy brief from NCSL provides an overview of recent state legislation that supports infants, toddlers and their families, including state laws that: improve access to and quality of child care, ensure parents have time to bond with young children, and empower parents to support their child’s healthy emotional and physical development.

A fact sheet developed by the National Partnership for Women and Families makes the case for strengthening Rhode Island's existing paid family leave policies. 

As part of our focus on emotional development, Think Babies partner, Georgetown Center for Children and Families, released new resources for state policymakers and advocates. Their new report, Using Medicaid to Ensure the Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Infant and Toddlers, and related webinar highlights practical state strategies to ensure that young children and their families in Medicaid receive the support they need to support strong mental health. A...

In June 2018, the National Governor’s Association (NGA) convened an expert roundtable conversation to review the latest research on early childhood development and current state efforts to support infants and toddlers and their families. In partnership with the Think Babies campaign, NGA recently released a report of that conversation that lays out what state leaders need to do to ensure strong futures for babies and their families.

In this blog post, Think Babies national partner NCSL discusses the importance of healthy nutrition for infants and toddlers and how public policies  and programs can help.

This blog post from Think Babies state partner, The Children’s Alliance discusses the challenges faced by young parents of young children and how policies like access to quality child care can support them.

This blog post from the Think Babies state partner, The Children’s Alliance summarizes the first Washington State Strolling Thunder event held on July 27, 2018 in Seattle WA.

This article from the Warwick Post covers RI state lawmakers reading to infants and toddlers as a part of Rhode Island Reads.

This article from WPRI covers the recent wing by RI advocates, including Think Babies state partner Rhode Island Kids Count, of increased child care reimbursement rates for high quality programs, with the largest increases for those serving infants and toddlers.