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State Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines

States are in various stages of preparing infant and toddler early learning guidelines. The following documents have been prepared by individual States, and have information about the State’s early learning guidelines and related resources.

Arkansas

  • Framework for Infant Toddler Care includes program standards, six developmental strands (vignettes), assessment principles, guidance on professional development and training, and a glossary. Guides for families aligned with the developmental strands, titled Picture This, describe in clear language how young children learn and ways that caregivers can support infant and toddler development. This resource is available on the Web at http://www.arkansas.gov/childcare/prinmat.html.

Connecticut

  • Guidelines for the Development of Early Learning for Infants and Toddlers (April 2005, Draft for Comment) is organized by three age ranges and four domains. It includes benchmarks and suggestions for caregivers and a chart depicting the paradigm shift in thinking about young children’s learning as a result of recent brain research. This resource is available on the Web at http://www.wheelerclinic.org/children/ELGdraft2forweb.pdf.

Florida

  • Birth to Three Learning and Development Standards includes guiding principles, expectations for use of the standards, and six domains aligned with the Head Start standards and Florida’s preschool standards. “Questions to Ask Yourself” (for adults) includes brief descriptions of each standard and guidance to adults on caregiver behavior and interactions. A companion document, "Birth to Three Screening and Assessment Resource Guide" is also available. These resources are available on the Web at http://www.floridajobs.org/earlylearning/oel_performance.html.

Georgia

  • Georgia Early Learning Standards (birth to age 3) identifies the continuum of skills, behaviors, and concepts infants and toddlers typically attain during the first three years of life. The document addresses five domains of development and includes standards, indicators, and sample behaviors. Appendices identify the alignment with Georgia Pre-K, Kindergarten Performance Standards, and Head Start Child Outcomes Framework. This resource is available on the Web at the Child Care Services section of Bright from the Start's web site.

Kentucky

Louisiana

  • Louisiana's Early Learning Guidelines and Program Standards: Birth through Three (Revised October 2005) includes program standards, developmental strands, and indicators in six domains. The standards are aligned with the Louisiana Department of Education's Standards for Programs Serving Four-Year-Old Children. This resource is available on the Web at http://www.dss.state.la.us/Documents/OFS/LAEarlyLearningGuide.pdf.

Maryland

  • Guide for Healthy Child Development and Care for Young Children (birth to 3-year-olds) addresses four domains of development and includes Parent Tips and links to the State’s school readiness initiative, Ready at Five. This resource is available on the Web at http://www.dhr.state.md.us/cca/pdfs/guidechild.pdf.
  • Ready at Five has numerous resources for parents of infants through preschoolers (aligned with the guidelines). This resource is available on the Web at http://www.readyatfive.org/resources/early.html.

Ohio

Washington State

  • Early Learning and Development Benchmarks includes benchmarks for children ages birth to age 5 in five domains. The benchmarks include indicators of development and strategies for caregivers, and are formatted in a visual diagram. The document also identifies where indicators overlap in addressing multiple areas of development. A Guide to the Formation of Washington States Early Learning and Development Benchmarks describes the process Washington State used to develop the guidelines. These and other resources are available on the Web at http://www.governor.wa.gov/earlylearning/.

Additional State Resource:

California

  • Desired Results Developmental Profiles are not early learning guidelines in that they were developed as a naturalistic, observational assessment tool to track children’s development and learning in multiple domains. However, the profiles can be a useful resource in the development of early learning guidelines and associated components of the system, such as parent survey, assessment measures, and methods of data analysis for program accountability. The Desired Results Developmental Profile is part of California’s accountability system for all publicly funded early care and education programs for children ages birth through 13. The infant and toddler profiles are currently being revised. Information on the Desired Results, including the age-related profiles, parent surveys, adaptations for children with special needs, and training, is available on the Web at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/desiredresults.asp.

Updated March 2006