Comprehensive, equitable, and family-centered early childhood systems are critical to improving the physical, emotional, and social health and well-being of our nation’s babies and toddlers, especially those in families who experience inequities and structural barriers.
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 equitable and family-centered early childhood systems that improve the health and well-being of our nation’s 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 Center works to increase the implementation and evaluation of evidence-informed, equity-focused early childhood systems strategies among states and communities. The Center also works to expand the integration of high-quality, early developmental health and family well-being services into the pediatric setting, a critical touchpoint for families during their children’s most crucial years of development.
The ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center aims to:
- Strengthen the evidence base of state ECD systems by examining existing systems-building evidence, identifying gaps, and exploring what questions need to be answered to ensure the evidence base reflects diverse voices and experiences.
- 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 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, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, and Institute for Child Success.
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
