Early Childhood and Maternal Health

Policymakers, business and community leaders, nonprofits, public agencies, and funders alike are all working to improve the health, learning, and economic outcomes for young children and families. Keystone Policy Center has a strong, proven track record of helping these stakeholders identify and work toward solutions on issues ranging from strengthening the early childhood development to moving forward with strategies and investments that create opportunities for and address the needs of both vulnerable children and their parents.

Throughout Keystone’s history, its team has developed and led collaborative, multi-stakeholder processes to confront complex national, state, and local policy issues, including connections between health and early learning, focus on early childhood development and prenatal health, connections to and support of caregivers, health and strength of the workforce, and health equity.

Throughout each process, we have maintained our commitment to working with a broad array of stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions to tough policy challenges.

Featured Projects

Young children reading

Birth Through Eight State Health Policy Framework

Keystone Policy Center partnered with the Alliance for Early Success to develop a roadmap to improve the health, learning, and economic outcomes for vulnerable young children — the Birth Through Eight State Health Policy Framework.

The project included working with key state and national experts as well as funders to identify ways to act on issues that improve the healthy development and learning outcomes for kids as well as bring together health and early childhood communities. Keystone’s team led the facilitation and planning of a meeting to establish strategies that would include policy direction, partnering ideas, and new ways to fund in this area with a lens on social determinants, health equity, and social capital. Following the meeting and stakeholder input, Keystone worked with the Alliance for Early Success to develop and produce a document, “State Policies that Support the Intersection between Health and Early Learning,” outlining opportunities for action.

Rose Community Foundation Early Childhood Mental Health

Early Childhood Mental Health

The Keystone Policy Center worked with Rose Community Foundation to develop a strategic plan on investments and work in early childhood mental health. This work included assessing partnership opportunities with state agencies, interviewing thought leaders on innovative ideas and opportunities, and identifying emerging ideas in other states around early childhood mental health. This work also included planning of a board, committee, staff, and donor retreat on early childhood mental health and a resulting strategic framework for investments.

Colorado 2Gen Action Plan

Keystone worked with Ascend to develop a Colorado action plan to achieve two-generation solutions (2Gen) outcomes in the state. Two-generation programs provide opportunities for and meet the needs of parents and their children togetherThe Colorado Action Plan is a roadmap for the next phase of the state’s efforts to ensure that all Colorado families and children are valued, healthy, and thriving and the roles of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in it.

Clinton Global Initiative

Clinton Global Initiative

Keystone Policy Center staff served as a senior adviser to the Clinton Global Initiative’s early childhood working group. Keystone’s work as a senior advisor involved engaging in participant recruitment, commitment development, strategic planning, and programming in conjunction with Clinton Global Initiative staff to meet the needs of over 100 community and national leaders in early childhood.