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Public Policy/Advocacy/Activism
Arizona State School Readiness Board – Summary of 5 year Action Plan
www.governor.state.az.us/cyf/school_readiness/index_school_readiness.html
Governor Napolitano’s 5-year School Readiness Action Plan (Summary of Plan) is the starting point for building a high quality early childhood education system that supports the learning and development of Arizona's youngest children.
Children’s Action Alliance, www.azchildren.org
Children's Action Alliance (CAA), is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of all of Arizona's children and their families through research, policy development, media campaigns and advocacy. See website for information on current information and statistics on the status of Arizona’s children, child health, state budget issues and child abuse and neglect.
Children’s Defense Fund, www.childrensdefense.org
CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick or into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. See website for extensive research and resources on a wide range of children’s issues.
Stand for Children, www.stand.org
An affiliate of Children’s Defense Fund, Stand for Children encourages individuals to improve children's lives. Its mission is to identify, train, and connect local children's activists engaging in advocacy, awareness-raising, and service initiatives on an ongoing basis as part of Stand For Children chapters. See website for excellent resources, examples of grassroots efforts and successes.
The National Parenting Association, www.parentsunite.org
Site enables parents to become active by providing ways to get involved, learn about issues that matter to them, and take immediate action by e-mailing elected leaders.
National Institute for Early Education Research(NIEER), http://nieer.org
The National Institute for Early Education Research supports early childhood education initiatives by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. The goal of NIEER is to produce and communicate the knowledge base required to ensure that every American child can receive a good education at ages three and four. This site hosts excellent publications in many areas and extensive information about the economic returns of preschool. The site also has a great FAQ section with solid answers to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding early care and education.
Children Now, www.childrennow.org
Children Now is a national organization for people who care about children and want to ensure that they are the top public policy priority. Since 1988, Children Now has championed the needs of children with a successful combination of research and advocacy. Children Now is unique in its bi-partisan, strategic advocacy on behalf of the whole child. See the website for research and resources on focus issues including health, early care and education and others.
Parents Action for Children (formerly I Am Your Child), www.iamyourchild.org
Parents' Action for Children is the voice of America's parents. It is a national non-profit dedicated to advancing the interests of families and young children. Parents' Action develops parent education materials, connects parents with one another, and fights for issues such as early education, health care, and high quality and affordable child care. See website for extensive resources including suggested actions individuals can take to make a difference for children.
Public Agenda Online, www.publicagenda.org
Public Agenda is a non-partisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization. Using in-depth analyses and opinion studies they provide educational materials to explain major policy issues in an easy to understand, balanced way.
Stateline.org, www.stateline.org
This website covers the development of major issues in states to help journalists, policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies.
Community Mobilizing/Leadership
The Community Tool Box, http://ctb.ku.edu
The Community Tool Box works to support work in the areas of community health and development. This website has over 6,000 pages of “practical skill-building information” on 250 different topics. Resources include step-by-step instructions, examples, checklists and related resources.
The Center for the Study of Social Policy, www.cssp.org
The Center for the Study of Social Policy works to support states and localities in devising innovative strategies to ensure healthy outcomes for children. One of their current projects, entitled Policy Matters, seeks to “translate the best available research and practice evidence into policy benchmarks for comparing and tracking a range of state policies.” It provides excellent case points for policy development in various issue areas including early care and education. The Center also has relevant research on Community Building. (THIS COULD ALSO GO UNDER ADVOCACY)
The Community Organizing Toolbox – Neighborhood Funding Group, www.nfg.org/cotb
This website provides an interesting perspective on Community Organizing. It seeks to inform funding organizations about how and why they should invest in Community Organizing.
Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA), www.acosa.org/links.html
This is a membership association for community organizers, nonprofit professionals, activists and policy practitioners. See the links section for many excellent links to community development, community building and community organizing resources among others.
The Child Care Partnership Project, http://nccic.org/ccpartnerships/home.htm
This website links directly to the National Child Care Information Center’s Child Care Partnership Project. This project is dedicated to illustrating effective public-private partnerships in the area of early childhood through examples, resource materials and related resources.
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