The 2024 Early Learning Community Action Guide and Assessment Tool is the third substantial revision, building upon the 2017 Early Learning Communities: Building Blocks for Success and the 2018 Early Learning Community Action Guide.
These tools are designed to provide further guidance for local leaders to act on early childhood success for their communities through four building blocks that make up an Early Learning Community:
- Community leadership, commitment and public will to make early childhood a priority
- Quality services that work for all young children and their families
- Neighborhoods where families can thrive
- Policies that support and are responsive to families.
This original framework, developed by the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), was updated by CSSP on behalf of the Early Learning Nation Collective, an initiative that brought local leaders and national partners, including NLC, to develop solutions and systems tailored to benefit children and families in communities across the nation.
With decades of experience advising municipal governments, NLC’s Early Childhood Success Team continues to use the Action Guide and “Building Blocks” framework in advising local governments committed to building responsive systems for young children and their families.