Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-importance-of-early-childhood-advocacy-and-policy-takeaways-from-ohio/5025350/
Early childhood educational and developmental science have clear implications for policy across a variety of domains including: resilience and child well-being; the important role of play; the transition to kindergarten; early STEM; early childhood teacher education and preparation; quality prekindergarten programs; and infant and early childhood mental health (Ager, 2013; Bayat, 2015; Ferretti & Bub, 2017; Hostettler Scharer, 2017; Hurst et al., 2019; Melhuish & Gardiner, 2019; Montrosse-Moorhead et al., 2019; Nelson & Mann, 2011; Van Schagen Johnson et al., 2017; Yogman et al., 2018; Yoon & Larkin, 2018). Many early childhood advocacy and policy efforts are currently underway in the state of Ohio. In all these efforts, the goal is to provide a research-based approach for affecting policy through advocacy.
Opportunity for Every Ohio Kid
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine promoted his vision for Ohio’s children through the Opportunity for Every Ohio Kid initiative. This initiative consisted of six goals:
1. Improve access and increase the quality of early childhood education services.
2. Increase home visiting services for at-risk, first time mothers to give them the tools they need to promote child development and school readiness.
3. Provide a mental health professional in every Ohio school.
4. Reform the foster care system in Ohio.
5. ...