Infants, Toddlers, and the 2010 Census

Believe it or not, the Census may very well be the most important form any of us will fill out this year. As you know, the Census is all about counting people. Numbers may not be your thing, but we can assure you that the Census is simple to complete and is vitally important when it comes to supporting the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families.

Why should the Census be a priority for infant-toddler professionals and the families we serve? The Census has a variety of purposes, most notably to allocate more than $400 billion in federal funds each year. These federal funds support many programs focused on young children, such as the Child Care and Development Block Grant and WIC. Census data are also used by state and federal government agencies, private foundations, and nonprofit organizations to make decisions about how and where to focus resources and services.¹ When young children are not counted, resources are not distributed where they are needed most.

As the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT project notes in its new publication, Why Are Young Children Missed So Often in the Census?, children are the age group most often missed in the Census, with the highest undercount among the very youngest children. In fact, in the 2000 Census, children birth through age 4 accounted for 75% of the overall undercount of children (totaling 750,000 young children).² That is a considerable number of very young children not being counted, and it has significant implications for the work we do to support the healthy development of infants, toddlers, and their families.

The 2010 Census will take place on April 1, 2010. Census forms will be mailed in March, and every household will be asked to answer just 10 short questions. You can do your part by promoting the Census and giving infants and toddlers the voice they deserve. Young children "are totally dependent on the rest of us to make sure they are counted accurately. Yet, they will be the ones to suffer the consequences if their community does not get the resources it deserves for schools, clinics, or child care centers."³ You can be a Big Voice for Little Kids in the 2010 Census by downloading our March Advocacy Developmental Milestone Calendar and promoting the Census in your program, with the families you serve, and in your community!

State Policy Update
Louisiana Initiative Supports Programs in Improving Quality

With support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Child Care Rebuild Collaborative in Louisiana is piloting Bridge to Quality, an initiative to help early care and education centers improve their quality of care and business practices. While Louisiana's quality rating and improvement system, Quality Start, provides financial incentives for participating programs that earn at least two stars on the quality rating scale, support to help programs reach that level is limited. Using an intensive coaching model, as well as financial support, Bridge to Quality aims to assist centers in reaching at least three stars on the rating scale by the pilot's end. The pilot is guided by a steering committee consisting of representatives from the State Department of Social Services Division of Early Child Care and Education, Office of Family Support (which administers Quality Start), the local child care resource & referral agency, the local United Way, and a number of local early care and education advocates.

Read the full state policy update now!

Publications & Resources

Request for Applications for Doctoral Dissertation Research Support
The National Quality Improvement Center on Early Childhood (QIC-EC) has released a Request for Applications (RFA) for doctoral dissertation research support. The QIC-EC will award $25,000 for two years to advanced-level doctoral students conducting research on preventing the abuse and neglect of infants and young children (0-5) and promoting child and family well-being. The application deadline is June 9, 2010. A pre-application webinar for prospective applicants is scheduled for Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 3:00-4:30pm EST. To register, click here.

Early Ed Watch Podcast on Early Learning Councils
This month, the New America Foundation kicked off their bi-weekly Early Ed Watch podcast series with a conversation about Early Learning Councils with Christina Satkowski, the author of The Next Step in Systems-Building: Early Childhood Councils and Federal Efforts to Promote Policy Alignment in Early Childhood. The podcast gives a brief overview about Early Childhood Advisory Councils and the report provides a 50-state survey on how states are making progress in establishing Early Childhood Advisory Councils. To listen to the podcast, click here.

Promise of Home Visitation: A Guide for Policy Makers
Realizing the Promise of Home Visitation: A Guide for Policy Makers, a new issue brief from the Family Violence Prevention Fund, discusses the opportunities to improve outcomes for children by addressing domestic violence in home visitation programs. The brief includes examples of promising programs and practices, as well as policy and practice recommendations.