Policy Publications

New York's Infant-Toddler Resource Center: Better Care for Babies -The first three years of life are fundamentally different from all others, with the brain growing at breakneck speed and creating the foundation for all later learning.  Early experiences can greatly influence that development. With child care now a critical source of early experiences for a growing number of children, the New York City Infant-Toddler Resource Center arms practitioners and programs with the knowledge and skills they need to get babies and toddlers off to a good start.

Early Care and Education – What It Costs - Advocates and policy makers are increasingly concerned in establishing what it costs to support high-quality early care and learning. CCI’s policy brief series takes a close look at the issue, providing program models and their associated costs, per program and per-child.

            To learn more about half-day community pre-k costs, click here.

            To learn more about the cost of full-day, year-round options, click here.

2009 Legislative Agenda - The state's leading early care and learning coalition has developed an agenda for this year's state budget to protect child care and pre-k funding, and to reverse a proposal to cut home visiting programs by 25 percent.

2008 CCI Primer - Provides a comprehensive look at the early care and education services throughout the City. Our analysis, which includes data on access, funding, and services, helps members of the field, advocates and policy makers identify current challenges and opportunities

2008 CCI Primer Addendum - Addendum to 2008 Primer, which includes updated information.

2008 CCI Primer Highlights - 2008 CCI Primer Highlights Power Point Presentation - Provides a highlight at the early care and education services throughout the City. Our analysis, which includes data on access, funding, and services, helps members of the field, advocates and policy makers identify current challenges and opportunities

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Strenthening and Expanding Prekindergarten in the Children First Reorganization - If you want to learn about how the Department of Education's reorganization will affect community-based pre-k programs, check out this paper which takes a close look at the issues, from curriculum to contracts.

The Best in the Nation: A Plan for Early Care and Education - Advocates want to make our state's early care and education the Best in the Nation, this policy brief provides an overview of what it will take.

Building the Best Requires Quality - What are the key elements of quality in a statewide system of early care and education? This paper provides a roadmap for advocates and policymakers.

Rethinking Child Care - The Administration for Children's Services has a strategic plan to improve the city's child care system. Every advocate and provider should read what the plan says about enrollment and city priorities.

Early Childhood Workforce Development Program - New York State needs to do more to develop and support a qualified early childhood workforce. This proposal lays out a roadmap to what policymakers can do to help early childhood professionals get the credentials and compensation they deserve, so they can provide quality early learning opportunities for children.

Paid Family Leave - Do you believe that all workers should have paid family leave? CCI and other advocacy groups have issued a position statement in favor of legislation to make it happen.

Infant and Toddler Programs - The Workforce - Read this policy brief to find out how a better trained workforce will directly impact the health and well-being of our children.

Background Information for Think Tank Meeting on Governance - This document provides some background on early childhood planning and system building around the country for a Think tank meeting on governance.

Report on the Think Tank Meeting on Governance - On February 7, 2008, the Center for Children's Initiatives invited a group of early childhood experts to help us to reflect on what CCI had learned from other states about governance and to apply that knowledge to New York City. This report highlights some of what the attendees learned, questions needing further exploration and possible next steps.

Investing in New York City - An Economic Analysis of the Early Care and Education Sector. Prepared by CCI as a companion to the New York State report "Investing in New York. An Economic Analysis of the Early Care and Education Sector". This report is based on New York City specific information and data and focuses on the economic impact of the early care and education sector in New York City.