Last week, Congress continued to forge ahead on negotiating an Appropriations deal. Democrats and Republicans reached a topline spending agreement for a fiscal 2023 omnibus, three of the four top appropriators on Capitol Hill said late Tuesday, December 13th, 2022. Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said in a statement that negotiators had "reached a
The First Five Years Fund (FFYF) released the findings of two new polls conducted immediately following the 2022 midterm elections by the bipartisan team of Hart Research Associates and New Bridge Strategy. The surveys found that voters and small business owners across the political spectrum overwhelmingly endorse federal government action on child care and agree
The House of Representatives passed the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 on December 2, 2022, in a 390-26 vote. The bill, named for the late Representative from Indiana, would reauthorize the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, which was due to expire in September of this
ZERO TO THREE, in collaboration with Morning Consult, released a new poll showing strong support for reinstating the Expanded Child Tax Credit among parents of infants and toddlers. The poll results show: More than four in five (85%) parents say it is important for Congress to reinstate Child Tax Credit reforms, with bipartisan agreement on
Congress has than four weeks left to pass legislation in the 117th Congress and there are several important items that need to be addressed in that time. Although there are still races that haven’t been called, news outlets have predicted that Democrats will retain control of the Senate and Republicans will gain a narrow majority
SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan released a report analyzing data from twenty states that have formed broad-based coalitions to move prenatal-to-three priorities forward. This report describes the prevalence of homelessness among infants and toddlers in these twenty states; gaps in access to early learning programs; and recommendations for increasing enrollment
March of Dimes recently released its 2022 Report Card, which presents the state of maternal and infant health in the United States (U.S.), Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico in an interactive online format. The report card indicates the maternal and infant health crisis is worsening for all families and examines mom and baby health and
After more than a decade of efforts by activists, New Mexico became the first state to create a permanent fund for child care on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. The ballot initiative was approved by more than 70% of voters and amends the state constitution, spending nearly $150 million a year on early learning. The fund
In October 2022, the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison released a new policy brief about diaper scarcity titled, “Diaper Dilemma: Low-Income Families Face High Costs And Limited Supplies Of An Essential Good.” “Diapers are a critical element of care for infants and young children, and a substantial expense for many
ZERO TO THREE released a new report in partnership with Child Trends that uses State of Babies Yearbook data to cast light on the specific Social Determinants of Health for babies and their families. The report shows that while many young children are thriving, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native babies and those in families