Comprehensive early childhood systems are critical to improving the physical, emotional, and social health and well-being of our nation’s babies and toddlers.

A well-coordinated early childhood developmental system brings together maternal health and pediatric care, early care and education, child welfare, and other human services and family support professionals, as well as community leaders, family leaders, policymakers, and others invested in the health and well-being of babies and toddlers.  

The ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center supports states and communities across the nation in building early childhood systems that improve the health and well-being of our babies and toddlers. The Center also works to expand the integration of high-quality early childhood services into pediatric settings to address the holistic needs of children and families.

The ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center aims to:

• Strengthen state ECD systems data by examining existing systems-building research, identifying gaps, and exploring what questions need to be answered.
• Accelerate ECD systems development by providing direct technical assistance and support focused on systems implementation and evaluation to state-level Implementation Sites and disseminating resources that can be used nationwide.
• Increase systems-building skills and the number of early childhood and health system leaders across the country by providing universal and specialized technical assistance opportunities that help ECD professionals build, implement, and evaluate their systems approaches.
• Advance the delivery of high-quality ECD promotion and support services in pediatric settings by providing national leadership, technical assistance, and coordination in support of the Transforming Pediatrics for Early Childhood (TPEC) program. In coordination with the Maternal Child Health Bureau and the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC), technical assistance and support is also provided to community health centers.

Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Evidence to Impact Center is led by ZERO TO THREE in partnership with the Help Me Grow National Center and American Academy of Pediatrics. Several other leading national early childhood and health system organizations serve as partners, including the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Family Voices, James Bell Associates, and Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities at Georgetown University.

Babies and toddlers need a variety of supports to thrive, yet families experiencing poverty and inequities often have limited access to the services they need, when they need them.

The Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECDHS): Evidence to Impact Center supports states and communities to build equitable and family-centered early childhood systems that work to secure the health and well-being of young children and their families. 

The Evidence to Impact Center provides supports and resources to state and community organizations to serve:

• Children from the prenatal period to age 3 and their families in communities with high levels of poverty
• Children and families who experience inequities and structural barriers
• Providers supporting young children and their families across early childhood areas, such as health care, early care and education, and social services

Download the ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center 1-pager

Watch the ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Program Spotlight Video