We’re excited to share that the March issue of the ZERO TO THREE Journal (Vol. 39, No. 4) is dedicated to young children and families experiencing homelessness. SchoolHouse Connection’s own Dr. Grace Whitney, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, is guest editor of the Journal’s March issue, which includes a sampling of policies, practices, challenges, and opportunities at the intersection of homelessness and infant-toddler services. The authors cover topics ranging from early care and early childhood programs to parenting supports, housing, pediatrics, and young families.
The introductory article, written by Grace Whitney and Marsha Basloe, President Child Care Services Association, is available for free. The entire journal may be purchased for $15.00 from ZERO TO THREE.
Image above: Basloe and Whitney presenting on self-assessment for family shelters at the 15th World Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health.
Early Childhood Resources:
- [Webinar \\ Tuesday, Apr. 9, 1:00-2:15 PM EST] Sesame Street’s National Initiative on Family Homelessness
- Childproofing Checklist for Housing and Homeless Service Providers
- Early Care and Education Advocacy: A Tip Sheet for Housing and Homeless Assistance Providers
- Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: An Overview
- Online Training on Homelessness for Head Start and Child Care Providers
- Pathways to Partnership: Early Childhood Education
- Three-page brief summarizing the Head Start Program Performance Standards related to homelessness.
- A summary on Federal Child Care Regulations and Homelessness
“Although homelessness is not a new phenomenon, early childhood professionals are just beginning to explore the real and lasting impact of homelessness and how to specifically address the needs of infants and toddlers experiencing homelessness who—until quite recently—have been essentially invisible. Housing and homeless service providers have often sought child care so that parents could go to work, as if reserving a parking space for a car, without knowing about subsidized resources that might be available and without understanding that quality matters greatly for vulnerable young children. Some adult and family service programs still do not even count children as clients…Thus young children experiencing homelessness have been systematically shut out of services and supports available to more stable and resourced families, and these children continue to fall further behind as the bar for requisite developmental mastery by kindergarten entry continues to rise.”
– From “An Introduction to Young Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness,” Grace Whitney, SchoolHouse Connection, Washington DC, and Marsha Basloe, Child Care Services Association Chapel Hill, North Carolina.