The
National Center for Infancy 
The
National Center for Infancy and Early Childhood Health Policy
There is increasing recognition in policy, research and clinical practice communities that the early childhood period provides the physical, cognitive and socio-emotional foundation for lifelong individual development. In the United States, however, the health and social needs of infants and young children often go unnoticed. Improving the structure, organization, financing and delivery of health services in a way that is maximally responsive to the needs of young children requires careful analysis of the unique needs of children, the creation of a set of standards and expectations based on these unique needs and the marketing of a set of principles as a standard that can serve as the basis of political decision making and resource allocation. The unique qualities of children deserve recognition in laws and policy. The National Center for Infancy and Early Childhood Health Policy will work to ensure the realization of this vision.
The Center is now developing a conceptual model of health determinants for infants and young children, and refining this model for policy and program planning purposes and to assist in establishing current levels and trends of health service needs and utilization. The Center will then analyze and monitor current and ongoing health system reform through multiple research projects. The Center will particularly emphasize the implications of managed care for young children. Finally, the Center will examine several distinct policy areas important to children’s well-being including immunizations, breastfeeding and the compounding effects of family poverty, drug use and mental illness. Research and policy analysis methods used to accomplish our goals and objectives will include analysis of secondary data sources; reviews of literature; surveys of pediatric providers, of MCH directors and of managed care organizations; analyses of federal, state and local funding patterns and organizational relationships; and the use of expert panels.
Four universities have been designated by the federal Maternal Child and Health Bureau as members of a consortium that will provide policy and research expertise to the Bureau. UCSF will focus on older children, Johns Hopkins University on women and perinatal issues, and Georgetown University is the site of the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. In addition to our age specific focus on children age 0 to 5, the National Center for Infancy and Early Childhood Health Policy at UCLA will work with these institutions on joint research projects and on providing support to the federal MCHB. We will form partnerships with national organizations that administer related projects in order to magnify the impact of our research. The Center intends to disseminate educational products in the form of written reports and briefs, a seminar series, national forums and through new electronic media including an Internet Web site.
The National Center for Infancy and Early Childhood Health Policy at UCLA is founded in the belief that it is possible to increase awareness of young children’s health and well-being through a combination of approaches which include: (1) a better conceptual understanding of the determinants of children’s health and greater knowledge on the part of policymakers of children’s health status and their risks; (2) a better understanding of how services can most effectively be organized and financed, given the growth of managed care; (3) special attention to information about important, specific health problems currently facing young children; and (4) dissemination of the latest research findings about infants’ and young children’s health needs to those in various fields who can help to increase the visibility of this population on the national agenda and increase recognition of the policy importance of their health care concerns.
Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities
National Center for Infancy and Early Childhood Health Policy