Infants and Toddlers
High-quality child care and early education--with warm, responsive, skilled caregivers; healthy and safe environments; and linkages to community supports--helps promote healthy development for infants and toddlers and lays a strong foundation for the future. CLASP studies, develops, and promotes child care subsidy and licensing policies and investments to improve the supply and increase the quality of infant/toddler child care across settings, including child care centers; Early Head Start; family child care; and family, friend, and neighbor care. Our Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project provides a framework of policy recommendations for states. In particular, we focus on the needs of infants and toddlers in low-income families.
CLASP Heads to White House to Thank President Obama for Early Learning Proposal
On Monday, CLASP was proud to visit the White House with our partners from the Strong Start for Children Campaign to deliver 30,000 letters and pictures to Cecilia Munoz, Director of President Obama's Domestic Policy Council. Children and advocates delivered these messages to thank President Obama for proposing his early learning initiative.
The President's early learning initiative calls for historic investments to expand access to high-quality early learning programs through a comprehensive birth-to-five early education agenda. His initiative calls for a new federal-state partnership to provide low- and moderate-income four-year-old children with high-quality preschool. It expands voluntary home visiting programs that support parents with young children. It also provides increased access to comprehensive, high-quality child care for infants and toddlers through investments in Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.
Thanks to all of you who shared your letters, pictures, and drawings of appreciation! The White House was impressed with our strong showing and appreciates the hard work of so many to help bring this initiative to reality.
Stay tuned for campaign updates and successes as the White House's proposal works its way through Congress.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Martin/photosbyjeffrey.com.
- Stephanie Schmit | Nov 20, 2012 Early Head Start Participants, Programs, Families and Staff in 2011
- Stephanie Schmit and Jamie Colvard | Sep 13, 2012 Expanding Access to Early Head Start: State Initiatives for Infants and Toddlers at Risk
- Christine Johnson-Staub | Sep 11, 2012 Putting it Together: A Guide to Financing Comprehensive Services in Child Care and Early Education
- Christine Johnson-Staub and Stephanie Schmit | Jun 05, 2012 Home Away From Home: A Toolkit for Planning Home Visiting Partnerships with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers
- Child Care and Early Education | Jan 23, 2012 A Tool Using Data to Inform a State Early Childhood Agenda
- CLASP and ZERO TO THREE | Dec 19, 2012 Expanding Access to EHS: Illinois Child Care Initiative
- CLASP and ZERO TO THREE | Dec 19, 2012 Expanding Access to EHS: Illinois Prevention Initiative
- CLASP and ZERO TO THREE | Dec 19, 2012 Expanding Access to EHS: Kansas Initiative
- CLASP and ZERO TO THREE | Dec 19, 2012 Expanding Access to EHS: Maine Initiative
- CLASP and ZERO TO THREE | Dec 19, 2012 Expanding Access to EHS: Maryland Initiative
