Foundations of Well-being: Policy Strategies for Integrating Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health into Child Welfare
From birth to age 3, the brain undergoes its most dramatic period of growth, as babies learn to think, speak, walk, reason, and interact with others. This brief highlights the importance of IECMH for families in child welfare. It covers key components of the IECMH continuum of care and the importance of integrating ZERO TO THREE’s IECMH Guiding Principles and Best Practices for family support and reunification. Additionally, it suggests policy strategies for states to enhance collaboration between IECMH, child welfare, and other early childhood systems.
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Moving Away from Family Separation: Cross-Systems Strategies to Support Young Children at Risk of Child Welfare Involvement
Report March 12, 2026
Between October 2024 and April 2025, the BUILD Initiative hosted a six-part webinar series, offered through BUILD’s Prenatal-to-Three Capacity Building Hub. This report provides key learnings and highlights from the webinar series.
Community Births – A Solution to Maternity Care Deserts
Archived Webinar March 3, 2026
According to the March of Dimes 2024 report, "Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the United States," 1,104 counties, or about 35% of the nation’s 3,142 counties, are designated as Maternity Care Deserts.
Evidence for Expanded Access to Head Start and Early Head Start
Blog February 27, 2026
Head Start and Early Head Start have been proven effective for supporting young children’s development, and their parents, for many years. But did you know that Head Start and Early Head Start can reduce child maltreatment and child welfare system involvement?