Below you will find links to organizations that provide information to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, and community members. 
The following organizations help local, state, and federal leaders make informed decisions as they take action to improve the lives of children.

Annie E. Casey Foundation

  • KIDSCOUNT
    KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. 

Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP)

  • Peer Technical Assistance Network
    The Peer Technical Assistance Network is a network of public and private sector administrators, policymakers and practitioners who are committed to working together to help their colleagues in other states and localities.  In 1995, the CSSP created the Peer Technical Assistance Network with the goal of accelerating the pace of change as states and communities seek better outcomes for children, youth, and families.
  • Current Projects
    Financing Reform of Children and Family Services and Governance Partnerships.

Council of State Governments (CSG)

  • Suggested State Legislation
    For more than 50 years, The Council of State Governments' Suggested State Legislation program has informed state policy-makers on a broad range of legislative issues. Through this program, volumes of draft legislation on topics of current interest and importance to the states are produced. See how other states are tackling difficult policy issues through legislation.
  • State Archives and Research Service (STARS)
    This a fully searchable, easy to use online database that contains thousands of pages of materials on innovative state government programs, including research, analysis and 50-state surveys.
  • Innovations Awards Program
    CSG’s Innovations Awards Program was established in 1986 to bring greater visibility to exemplary state programs and policies and to facilitate the transfer of those successful experiences to other states.

Education Commission of the States (ECS)

  • Education Issues: Early Childhood
    ECS’ Issue site on early childhood education and care is designed to help policymakers and educators make informed choices about issues relating to young children, from how to ensure quality to how to pay for programs.

Family Support America

Family Support America, formerly Family Resource Coalition of America, promotes family support as the nationally recognized movement to strengthen and support families and places the principles of family support practice at the heart of every setting in which children and families are present.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

  • Children’s Champions
    The National Association for the Education of Young Children promotes national, state and local public policies that support a system of well-financed, high quality early childhood education programs in a range of settings, including child care centers, family child care homes, and schools.

National Association of Child Advocates (NACA)

The National Association of Child Advocates (NACA) is the only national organization devoted to building the capacity of state and local child advocacy organizations. Founded in 1984, NACA is a nationwide network of child advocacy organizations working at the increasingly critical level of America's statehouses, county commissions, and city councils.

National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA)

National Civic League

  • Healthy Communities Initiatives
    We assist communities to build collaborative plans between citizens, government, non-profits and business and we promote decision-making that includes all segments of the community.  To this end, we offer the following services: speeches; training in healthy communities principles, skills and tools; design and facilitation of long-term healthy communities initiatives; and connection to a national network of healthy communities innovators at the local, state and national levels.
  • New Politics Program (NPP)
    The National Civic League established the New Politics Program (NPP) to recognize and promote innovative political reforms implemented across the country at the state and local level. The New Politics Program connects with the National Civic League philosophy that all major political reform begins at the local level, eventually building irresistible momentum for national reform.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

  • The Forum for State Health Policy Leadership
    Our mission is to improve decision making and leadership among state legislators with respect to current and emerging critical health policy issues.  The Forum was established in 1995 to respond to the challenges in health policy development facing states with record high turnover among elected officials.
  • ASI Children, Families and Health Committee
    The Children, Families and Health (CFH) Committee investigates state policy on a variety of health and human services issues that affect American families. The committee sponsors sessions to educate members on issues and provides a forum for legislators and staff to share information and experiences with their colleagues from other states. It is one of eight standing committees and one task force of the NCSL Assembly on State Issues (ASI). ASI meetings are open to all legislators and staff.

National Governor's Association (NGA)

  • NGA Center for Best Practices
    The Center provides Governors with tools, information, and ideas to provide innovative, cost-effective services to the people of our states.
  • Children and Families
    The National Governors' Association (NGA) has a long history of focusing gubernatorial attention on the needs of young children and the actions both the public and private sector can take to help families meet those needs. From child care to child welfare issues, the NGA Center for Best Practices is supporting Governors in implementing effective policy solutions through technical assistance, policy research, and other activities.
  • Early Childhood
    Activities include: Building Public and Political Will for Early Childhood Care and Education, State Early Childhood Policy Leadership Forum, Evaluating Statewide Early Childhood Initiatives, and reports, issue briefs, meeting summaries, and other online documents.
  • Extra Learning Opportunities
    Extra Learning Opportunities (ELOs) provide school-age children (ages five to eighteen) with recreational, academic, and development opportunities supplementing the education provided in a typical school day. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices is examining innovative state practices that expand and enhance ELOs and assisting states in mapping out current resources and creating a baseline for future investments in ELO programs.
  • The First Three Years: A Governor’s Guide to Early Childhood
    This guide is intended as a tool to help Governors and their policy advisors convey the importance of investing in a child's first three years to legislators, parents, businesses, and other community members who can become partners in the effort to give children a better start in life.
  • First Three Years: Finance Strategies
    The following resources may be helpful to policymakers in developing strategies to finance early childhood initiatives.
  • First Three Years: Early Care and Education
    This section includes examples of early care and education research and initiatives.
  • Promoting Responsible Fatherhood
    This brief highlights initiatives to promote responsible fatherhood and includes a short descriptions submitted by the nation's Governors of initiatives to promote responsible fatherhood that they admire.
  • Maternal and Child Health
    The public programs that address the health and well-being of pregnant women and children cut across multiple agencies and have multiple federal and state funding streams. The Governor has the unique role of directing multiple agencies and programs in the planning, coordination, and evaluation of services for this population. Governors also work closely with the private sector and the business community on initiatives to improve health status and strengthen families.
  • State Children’s Health Insurance Program (Title XXI)
    The States Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 provides states with the opportunity to design comprehensive and meaningful health insurance coverage for uninsured children.

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)

NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Our special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22).

  • State Resource Sheets
    The NICHCY State Resource Sheet for your state will help you locate organizations and agencies within your state that address disability-related issues. Included on NICHCY state sheets are: state senators, state governors, state agencies serving children and youth with disabilities, state chapters of disability organizations and parent groups, and parent training and information projects.