The Think Babies™ NC Alliance seeks to build public awareness and policymaker support for what North Carolina’s youngest children and their families need to thrive: healthy beginnings, supported families and quality early care and learning experiences. The Think Babies™ NC Alliance is led by a dynamic, cross-sector Leadership Team of public and private early childhood organizations at the local and state level.
Vision
North Carolina will foster health, high-quality education, and economic well-being by prioritizing the supports we provide to our youngest children, focusing especially on our infants, toddlers, and their families from communities of color who face the greatest systemic barriers to accessing opportunities.
Focusing efforts on policies, programs, and funding that support infants, toddlers, and their families is essential to create a North Carolina where all children will get a healthy start and develop to their full potential in safe and nurturing families, schools, and communities.
In doing so, we must embrace a targeted universal approach that lifts up the disproportionate impacts on communities of color and those with low-incomes while recognizing that the system is deeply interdependent and must be strengthened in order to best serve those furthest from opportunity.
Mission
Bring a prenatal-to-three focus to efforts supporting equitable changes in policies, programs, and funding through a coordinated, cross-sector network of leaders in the statewide early childhood community who represent a range of perspectives and experiences across North Carolina, with an intentional focus on communities of color and those furthest from opportunity.
Leadership Team
The following organizations serve on the Think Babies™ NC Alliance Leadership Team:
BEST NC
Black Child Development Institute – Charlotte Affiliate
Child Care Services Association
Children’s Council of Watauga
Equity Before Birth
Guilford County Ready for School Ready for Life
Invest Early NC
March of Dimes
MomsRising
NC Association of County Commissioners
NC Association for the Education of Young Children
NC Budget and Tax Center
NC Child
NC Department of Health and Human Services
NC Division of Child Development and Early Education
NC Early Childhood Foundation
NC Early Education Coalition
NC Home Visiting and Parenting Education System
NC Infant and Young Child Mental Health Association
NC Institute of Medicine
NC Office of the Governor
NC Partnership for Children
NC Pediatric Society
Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina
The NC Early Education Coalition serves as the backbone organization for the Think Babies™ NC Alliance. If you have questions or would like to get involved, please contact us at [email protected].