Legislative Working Group

The Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) are engaged in a collaborative effort to catalyze effective action by state legislatures across the country to design and implement policies that address the needs of young children and their families. The primary vehicle for pursuing this mission is a newly-established Legislative Working Group composed of nine legislators, each from a different state (Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin), five Council scientists, and a communications specialist. The goals of the group include the following:

• To provide a neutral, non-partisan forum for dialogue around early childhood issues among a politically diverse group of participants.
• To enhance the leadership capabilities of participating state legislators by increasing their knowledge of the science of early childhood and early brain development, as well as their understanding of the use of strategic frame analysis to guide effective communication with their peers.
• To enhance the ability of participating scientists to provide assistance to state legislators through increased understanding of the opportunities and constraints that characterize state-level policy making.
• To serve as independent and credible translators of the science of early childhood and early brain development for other state legislators, with a particular focus on facilitating dialogue on children’s issues that is informed by state-of-the-art knowledge and transcends political and ideological differences.

Embedded within the broad agenda of the Legislative Working Group, the Council-NCSL partnership is launching technical assistance activities in support of selected early childhood policy issues in a subset of the states, beginning with Nebraska, Arizona, and Washington.