Did you know you can go to the ZERO TO THREE Action Center to 1) Join the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network, 2) view the Baby Policy Blog and 3) search to find the contact information for your elected officials and their staff? It’s as easy as 1-2-3 to stay informed about policy developments impacting babies, toddlers, families and early childhood professionals, to stay involved with advocating effectively for infants, toddlers and their families, and to stay connected with other child advocates by visiting the ZERO TO THREE Action Center.
I received the below email from Rally On For Babies on 11/8/13. Please consider forwarding the alert to friends.
We are excited to let you know that both the House and Senate will introduce companion early learning bills next week. Representative George Miller (D-CA) with Representative Richard Hanna (R-NY) will be co-sponsoring the House legislation and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will be sponsoring the Senate bill. We are grateful for this bipartisan support for early learning for children from birth to five. Details of the bills are still confidential, but we are hopeful that it will reflect the President’s full early learning proposal and include important pieces dedicated to early learning opportunities for infants and toddlers! As a supporter of the Rally4Babies and an advocate for our nation’s babies and toddlers, we thank you for working with ZERO TO THREE to promote the baby agenda in these bills! We will share more information after the official introduction of the bills.
In the meantime, it is important to remember that many services that help supply the ingredients babies need to thrive—like developmental support through Early Head Start and stable and adequate housing—were cut by the sequester (across the board cuts) of FY 2013 funds. Right now the Congressional Budget Committees are negotiating over how to address the sequester cuts as well as the possibility of new investments in measures such as early learning to help secure future economic prosperity.
Check Tuesday’s edition of The Baby Monitor for more information on how the sequester has affected infants and toddlers. Then stay tuned on Wednesday for more news about the early learning bill and how you can help urge Congress to restore funding to the supports young children need and help give them a strong start by prioritizing investments in early learning.
Thank you again for being such a Big Voice for Little Kids®—and remember to Rally On for Babies!
Baby and Toddler Land 