Early Childhood Resource: The State of Babies Yearbook 2023

Back in 2020, Stephanie Smallwood blogged about the State of Babies Yearbook. This post serves as an update and refresh of this valuable resource for all of us in the public library where babies are welcomed everyday!

What is it?

The State of Babies Yearbook 2023 is supported by Zero to Three. Zero to Three’s motto is “early connections last a lifetime” and their focus is ensuring all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. This specific resource, The State of Babies Yearbook 2023, bridges the gap between science and policy with national and state-by-state views of how America’s babies and their families are faring. You can download the 187 page document on the website.

Where should I start?

Skim through the 2023 yearbook online and go to page 19 where there are overall rankings of each state using the GROW framework (getting started, reaching forward, improving outcomes, working effectively). Find out where your state lies within the framework to get a general state of babies in your area. Think about this as you investigate more of the document and/or the website. Full state profile data is available on the main website, simply click on “Get the Data” and choose state profiles. Then click on your state and start reading.

I live and work in Minnesota. I found it interested to look through The State of Minnesota’s Babies because while Minnesota was listed as “working effectively” overall, this was not the case for all areas. The Strong Families portion was especially interesting to me as Minnesota was significantly under or over the national average in many categories.

What can I do?

The 2023 Yearbook lists five urgent priorities:

1. The crisis in maternal and infant health (page 22)
2. Seizing the opportunity to promote positive infant and early childhood mental health (page 42)
3. A commitment to early care and education as a public good (page 62)
4. The hidden developmental threat of unstable housing (page 80)
5. The economic insecurity that engulfs many babies (page 94)

Urgent priority number three is highly relevant to us as librarians, go the yearbook and read more!

We, as librarians, can:

• Work with our coworkers to ensure they are familiar with best practices in welcoming babies, including families, and finding joy in reading.
• Make sure our knowledge remains relevant and do what we can in our programming to promote caregiver interaction and positive literacy experiences.
• Intentionally make our libraries welcoming spaces by being a welcoming, inclusive presence with a collection that supports and uplifts our communities
• Stay current on data and trends
• Advocate for our families with local policymakers

An Extra

Our committee recently finished updating the 2015 Babies Need Words Everyday campaign with a new booklist! Check it out and make sure these titles are in your collections to help our babies across the nation in getting quality materials: ALSC Babies Need Words Everyday

Today’s blog post was written by Katelyn Martens-Rodriguez, Youth Services Librarian at Washington County Library (Minnesota), on behalf of the ALSC Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee. She can be reached at katelyn.martens-rodriguez@co.washington.mn.us. This post addresses competency I. Commitment to Client Group, III. Programming Skills, and V. Outreach and Advocacy.

The post Early Childhood Resource: The State of Babies Yearbook 2023 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 Back in 2020, Stephanie Smallwood blogged about the State of Babies Yearbook. This post serves as an update and refresh of this valuable resource for all of us in the public library where babies are welcomed everyday! What is it? The State of Babies Yearbook 2023 is supported by Zero to Three. Zero to Three’s motto is “early connections last a lifetime” and their focus is ensuring all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. This specific resource, The State of Babies Yearbook 2023, bridges the gap between science and policy with national and state-by-state views of how America’s babies and their families are faring. You can download the 187 page document on the website. Where should I start? Skim through the 2023 yearbook online and go to page 19 where there are overall rankings of each state using the GROW framework (getting started, reaching forward, improving outcomes,…
The post Early Childhood Resource: The State of Babies Yearbook 2023 appeared first on ALSC Blog.  Read More

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