State and Territory Infant/Toddler Child Care System Policies and Practices: A Tool for Strengthening Infant/Toddler Care Quality

This tool is designed to support state child care leaders and infant/toddler stakeholders as they assess, prioritize, plan, implement, and evaluate state policies in order to strengthen the quality of child care services infants, toddlers, and their families receive. The tool also aims to assist infant/toddler child care leaders as they create strategies, policies, protocols, and systems that:

• identify relationship-based care as essential to quality infant/toddler child care
• engage, inform, and connect with families of infants and toddlers
• strengthen the quality and conditions of the infant/toddler workforce to help meet the unique needs of infants and toddlers in child care settings
• increase the supply, health and safety, sustainability, and quality of infant/toddler child care settings
• coordinate and integrate cross-sector systems that serve infants, toddlers, and their families

User Guide for the State and Territory Infant/Toddler Child Care System Policies and Practices Tool

This user guide accompanies State and Territory Infant/Toddler Child Care System Policies and Practices: A Tool for Strengthening Infant/Toddler Care Quality. It is based on feedback from the policy tool’s developers and initial users and offers a variety of tips and strategies for maximum success using the tool.