Goals and Domains
To improve outcomes for children and families by informing policymakers of data, best practices, and evaluation and by developing and supporting intermediary organizations in their work to improve policies.
Themes and Projects
Past
- Starting Points: An initiative to better inform policymakers and the public about the importance of the early years in the development of young children
- A deepening and expansion of the family support movement reflected in:
- growth of family support centers
- use of data as a way of measuring progress
- development of parent leadership
- A successful agenda around children's health care access that has influenced state policy and local implementation
- A comprehensive early literacy campaign that generated collaborative activities by universities, media, community, school, pediatric, parent, early childhood, and literacy providers
- Statewide media campaign to gain commitments from candidates for Governor to address children's issues in their campaign and once sworn into office.
Current
Continue prior work in policy development, systems reform, public engagement, program improvement and public/private partnerships, while adding a greater emphasis on the policy collaborative model and data availability and use for decision making. Policy Initiatives currently works in six areas: children's health; child behavioral health, early childhood education; strengthening parenting and family support; early literacy, and youth development.
Current work includes:
- Organization of a local collaborative to expand quality early childhood education
- Sponsorship of state policy changes that would improve preparation of teachers for children birth to age 8
- Policy adoption to reduce smoking during pregnancy
- Strengthen and expand the network of 31 family support centers
- Organize parent leaders to be a consumer voice on local and state policy issues
- Leadership of the Governor's Commission for Children and Families
- Development of early childhood mental health supports
- Better access and greater help to parents and caregivers of young children with behavioral problems
- Policy changes for improved early literacy
- Adoption of public policies to reduce youth access to tobacco
- Expanded children's health access campaign
- Promotion of after school youth places to reduce youth crime
- Advising of County Executive and leadership team on preventing youth crime
- Development of $5 million fund for research-based youth development activities
- Building a collaborative of children's researchers at three state related universities
In each of these projects, there are collaborations with primary partners, development of intermediaries, formation of policy collaboratives, work with other OCD divisions, use of data and best practices, close relationships with funders, information for policymakers, and learning/evaluation.
Future Directions
In addition to further development and implementation of current activities,
- Develop new issues, timely because of current developments
- Refine the policy collaborative model
- Develop policy scans at the request of funders
Contact:
Robert Nelkin
Division Director of Policy Initiatives
Office of Child Development
400 N. Lexington Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
PHONE: 412-244-7092
FAX: 412-244-5321
EMAIL: nelkin@ocd.pitt.edu
