The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the Department of Health & Human Services. We promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals and communities.
- Birth to 5: Help Me Thrive Initiative of the US Department of Health and Human Services
This initiative draws heavily on previous developmental and behavioral screening efforts by consolidating materials from a wide array of federal agencies and their non-federal partners. As part of this initiative, they have published a compendium of research-based developmental screening tools appropriate for use across a wide range of settings and tailored guides for use with the screening tools geared toward nine different audiences including early care and education providers, early intervention providers, home visitors and families. The guides address the importance of developmental and behavioral screening, how to talk to parents, where to go for help, and how to select the most appropriate screening tool for the population served as well as the provider implementing the screening. - Tips for Early Care and Education Providers: Simple Concepts to Embed in Everyday Routines (PDF)
Researchers from around the country offer helpful tips that you can practice to help the young children in your care grow and learn. The tips are based on concepts of learning and development that can be worked into everyday routines. Each tip describes a concept, why the concept is important, and a step-by-step description of how to put the concept into action. We hope these concepts are useful in supporting all the children in your care. - Autism Awareness and Acceptance in Early Childhood Education
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects about 1 in 68 children in the U.S. (CDC, 2014), with more children being identified than ever before. The early childhood community has a unique opportunity to touch the lives of these children and their families in ways that can make a real difference.