Past Archives: 2011 • 2010

New York Zero-to-Three Network Events Calendar

NEW YORK CITY EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGIC WORKGROUP ISSUES A CALL TO ACTION FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS

A leading group of experts has just released a detailed White Paper that calls on public systems in New York City and State to take new actions to address the mental health needs of children before they start school – a time when early intervention and prevention can have powerful effects on how very young children develop. According to the New York City Early Childhood Strategic Work Group, the group that issued the White Paper, a growing body of research makes it clear that mental health problems in many infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are both more prevalent than commonly thought and very often go untreated: Research indicates that as many as 14 percent of U.S. children ages 0-5 experience social-emotional problems that negatively affect their functioning, development and school readiness.

Updating a 2005 report that had a positive impact on the way New York City and State address mental health issues for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, Promoting the Mental Health and Healthy Development of New York's Infants Toddlers and Preschoolers: Advancing the Agenda, Sustaining the Gains: A Call to Action recommends concrete steps that public systems serving children and families in New York City and State can take to help promote the mental health of young children, increasing the likelihood that they enter school ready to learn and with the social-emotional skills they need to start moving toward productive adult hoods.

NYZTT'S FIRST PERFORMANCE REPORT ON INFANCY LEADERSHIP CIRCLES SHOWS ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE "VOICE FOR BABIES" AND DEVELOP LINKAGES TO OTHER GROUPS AT THE LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE LEVEL

The past six months have seen the implementation of four new Infancy Leadership Circles across New York State. Additionally, four existing groups have continued to grow and interact with other Infancy Leadership Circles across the state, and a statewide meeting was held at the annual Infant-Toddler Forum at the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (NYSAEYC) Conference.

Six-Month Performance Report on Our Infancy Leadership Circles describes how the Circles act as a catalyst to create partnerships across the areas of Strong Families, Healthy Children and positive Early Learning Experiences while bringing an individualized approach to problem-solving issues in their local community. The report provides individual summaries and brief statistics for the four new groups ( Erie County and Niagara County in Western New York, Westchester County just north of New York City, and the "DOCS" counties—Delaware, Otsego, Chenango, and Schoharie Counties —at the northern fringe of the Catskill Mountains), descriptions of developing state, regional, and local linkages, and recurring concerns that have emerged across the state, as well as how the Circles were financed and managed.

The New York State Infancy Leadership Circles is a project of the New York Zero-to-Three Network based on mounting evidence that experiences in the infant and toddler years are vitally important for so many aspects of healthy development and a productive life. The Infancy Leadership Circles were first conceived in 2007 to be the communication pipeline for the infancy movement in New York State to advance comprehensive services for babies and their families. The current work has been supported in part by the New York State Council on Children and Families with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative.

Links to PDF handouts from our
2011 Annual Spring Conference Speakers

Beebe: The origins of 12-month attachment:
A microanalysis of 4-month mother-infant interaction

Beebe: Mother–Infant Research Informs Mother–Infant Treatment

Cohen: Playing with Fire

New York Zero-to-Three Network Releases Assessment of
New York City's Successes and Failures in Meeting the Needs of Infants and Toddlers

New York City is falling short in addressing the specific health and emotional needs of infants and toddlers, leaving them vulnerable to a host of physical, social, and educational problems later in life, says a report released today by the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Entitled "Unequal from the Start: A Check-Up on New York City's Infants and Toddlers, " the report points out that New York City is spending millions of dollars on the treatment of older children for conditions that could have been prevented in the first three years of life. Download the Network's press release, the executive summary, or the full report.