Skip to content

Young children who lack at least one loving and consistent caregiver in the earliest years may suffer severe and long-lasting development problems. This landmark study of scientific brain research shows environmental stress, even among infants and toddlers, can interfere with the proper development of neural connections inside the brain essential to a child’s proper social and emotional development. This report recommends that early childhood programs balance their focus on literacy and numerical skills with comparable attention to the emotional and social development of all children.

From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development  was published in 2000 by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Research icon

Our Research Work

We conduct research and evaluations to elevate the expertise of early childhood professionals and support better learning environments.

Learn More

Support Our Work icon

Support Our Work  

Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap. With your support, we are getting closer to this reality every day. 

Give Now

What we do icon

What We Do 

Our holistic approach ensures that we impact every aspect of early childhood development so children, families and educators can thrive.  

Learn More

How parents and caregivers speak to children significantly affects their I.Q., literacy, and academic success later in life, according to University of Kansas child psychologists Betty Hart and Todd Risley.

Hart and Risley found that the number of words and encouragements and the breadth of vocabulary heard by a child during the first three years of life can dramatically affect language development and I.Q. Their study was informed by close observations of 42 1- and 2-year olds and their families for more than two years.

From those observations, the researchers estimated children in professional families hear approximately 11 million words per year; while children in working class families hear approximately 6 million, and children in families receiving public assistance hear approximately 3 million words annually.

For more information on the study, read: Hart, B. & Risley, T.R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.

Research icon

Our Research Work

We conduct research and evaluations to elevate the expertise of early childhood professionals and support better learning environments.

Learn More

Support Our Work icon

Support Our Work  

Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap. With your support, we are getting closer to this reality every day. 

Give Now

What we do icon

What We Do 

Our holistic approach ensures that we impact every aspect of early childhood development so children, families and educators can thrive.  

Learn More

The Start Early national policy team provides policy consultation and advocacy expertise to early education leaders and advocates across the country. We work to improve and expand the policies and programs that create quality early learning programs and effective early childhood systems.

Our 2019 State Policy Update provides a snapshot of states’ early childhood education policy priorities and budgetary changes during the 2019 legislative sessions.

Included in the report:

  • Legislative, budgetary, and administrative changes across 33 states organized by topic to demonstrate the breadth of the work done by state early childhood leaders and advocates.
  • Data that illustrates trends across state-level early childhood policy changes, how states are thinking about priority populations, and how state advocates are involved in federal-level policy advocacy.
  • Stories from state advocates that give voices and faces to the policy wins and demonstrate the direct impact of their work.

2019 State Policy Report

Full Report

Link

Download Full Report

Overview

Link

5-page introduction and overview

Download Overview

Abbreviated Version

Link

Download Abbreviated Version

Contact Us

For questions or more information, contact the Start Early national policy team.

Email Us

Let's talk icon

Stay Connected

Sign up to receive noteworthy developments in state and federal early childhood news, policy trends and stories highlighting work across our network.

Sign Up

Resources for professionals icon

Resources for Professionals

From interactive courses to engaging events, we support educators in building powerful practices that transform teaching and learning.

Learn More

The Illinois Policy Team works closely with partners and legislators to help shape the foundational elements of the state’s early childhood system, including major funding streams, legislation and federal and state initiatives. With a long history of work that is rooted in our deep experiences in Illinois, the team diligently advocates for high-quality early childhood services that children and families need beginning prenatally and through the first five years.

Over the last year, through legislative, administrative and grassroots advocacy, we successfully championed a number of noteworthy bills to became law that are significant to young children, parents, teachers and other early childhood practitioners. Perhaps most notably, the Illinois General Assembly passed the state’s fiscal year 2020 budget with significant funding for the state’s early childhood system.

2019 Illinois Legislative Summary

Legislative Summary

Link

Noteworthy developments in early childhood policy in Illinois

Download Legislative Summary

Take action icon

Take Action

Raise your voice and encourage lawmakers to prioritize early learning and care at the local, state and federal level.

Action Center

Let's talk icon

Stay Connected

Stay up to date on early childhood policy issues and how you can take action to ensure more children have access to quality early learning and care in Illinois.

Sign Up

Resources for professionals icon

Resources for Professionals

From interactive courses to engaging events, we support educators in building powerful practices that transform teaching and learning.

Learn More

This account of Illinois’ work from the 1980s to the early 2000s to raise young children to the top of its policy agenda offers insight to other states as they continue to push for public policies that respond to accumulated research findings about the importance of the early years. This publication shares what policymakers, advocates, and funders in other states might learn from Illinois’ approach and a breakdown of which strategies hinged on conditions unique to the state, and which hold promise for success elsewhere.

Key Findings

Lessons learned from Illinois’ decades of early childhood advocacy include:

  • Build from core beliefs, not blueprints. The key advocacy organizations that contributed to advances in early childhood policies and programs have shifted focus on strategies, constituencies, and policies, but they have never lost sight of the core beliefs and commitments that unite them.
  • Build leadership. The Illinois story was made possible by bold moves and behind-the-scenes leadership by elected officials, community leaders, advocates, and philanthropists.
  • Focus on building inclusive, diverse relationships with a variety of early childhood stakeholders, including communities, elected officials, agency staff, early childhood professionals, and the media.
  • Take a marathon approach. Illinois early childhood advocates made a commitment to work with others toward shaping and implementing, over years and even decades, policies and programs aligned with their core commitments. They have taken a marathon approach to early childhood policy, recognizing the incremental nature of progress and the sustained support required to achieve it.

Publications & Resources

Raising Young Children to the Top of the Policy Agenda: Lessons from Illinois

Link

This account of Illinois’ work from the 1980s to the early 2000s to raise young children to the top of its policy agenda offers insight to other states as they continue to push for public policies that respond to accumulated research findings about the importance of the early years.

Download Raising Young Children to the Top of the Policy Agenda: Lessons from Illinois

Policy Team & Collaborators

Let's talk icon

Stay Connected

Stay up to date on early childhood policy issues and how you can take action to ensure more children have access to quality early learning and care in Illinois.

Sign Up

Contact Us

For questions or more information contact, Ireta Gasner, vice president, Illinois policy.

Email Us

Resources for professionals icon

Resources for Professionals

From interactive courses to engaging events, we support educators in building powerful practices that transform teaching and learning.

Learn More

We have heard both enthusiasm for and skepticism about the use of technology in the early childhood field. One area of discussion is the use of technology to reach and support parents and other caregivers of children. Because of technology’s potential to engage parents and the many questions surrounding its efficacy, The Early Learning Lab decided to focus on this issue. After a comprehensive information gathering and interviewing, we’re excited to release the report NextGen Technology: Insights and Recommendations to Support the Parents of Children Ages 0–3 with our insights and recommended action steps.

Publications & Resources

Note: Reports were published prior to the Start Early and The Early Learning Lab merger.

Full Report: NextGen Technology

Link

This report shares insights and recommendations to help increase the effectiveness of technology in supporting parents of children from birth to age 3.

Download Full Report: NextGen Technology

Executive Summary: NextGen Technology

Link

This summary presents key insights and recommendations to help improve parent-facing technology.

Download Executive Summary: NextGen Technology

Take a closer look icon

Case Studies & Reports

The Early Learning Lab shares insights, tools and innovation processes developed through its solutions with the broader early childhood field.

Learn More

Professional development icon

The Early Learning Lab

An innovation lab that uses human-centered design + systems thinking + technology to transform how we meet the needs of young children and families.

Learn More

What we do icon

Services & Solutions

The Early Learning Lab develops innovative technology solutions designed to empower parents, caregivers and teachers.

Learn More

Stay Connected

Sign up to receive news, helpful tools and learn about how you can help our youngest learners.

Sign Up

Little girl with blue headband