First3Years

Our vision is that all infants and toddlers in TX are surrounded by an ecosystem that supports the healthy development of their early mental and relational health.

We serve the community by linking research to practice and making it accessible to all.

As part of our overall mission to create and support a higher quality workforce in the infant-toddler field, First3Years works to support and recognize those who have specialized skills and training around infant mental health through our Endorsement Program.

With regards to advocacy, First3Years has demonstrated effectiveness in educating and influencing policy makers. First3Years was instrumental in the Texas Legislature's raising the pre-service training requirements for child care licensing from 8 to 24 hours, and ongoing professional development training from 8 to 24 hours per year.

• Improving the Health and Well-being of Maltreated Infants and Toddlers: Our independent
evaluation of Safe Babies by The Institute for Family and Child Wellbeing at UT Austin showed:
o Increased reunification for Safe Babies vs. comparison groups, meaning families are more
likely to experience healing and return home together.
o Decreased recidivism, meaning that when children exit foster care, they are NOT re-entering
the system 6 or 12 months later measured against the comparison group showing 11% & 17%.
o Better health outcomes. Safe Babies cases are more likely to be referred to and receive
early intervention services and exit foster care developmentally on track.

• Partnering to Promote Relational Health: In partnership with Columbia University and UNT,
First3Years is launching an initiative to focus on relational health screenings through use of the Welch
Emotional Connection Screen (WECS). This is the first community-based implementation of the
model in the country. “The WECS can help professionals who work with families to better understand
behavioral problems in a new way and provides more helpful support based on those insights.”

• Building Capacity for a Specialized Infant-Toddler Workforce: First3Years continues to provide
trainings and mentoring that enables professionals in the field to apply current developmental
research to their work with families. In 2018, more than 2,570 individuals participated in nearly
12,500 hours of training. Participants’ feedback highlights how “Understanding trauma informed care
helps me (the professional) serve my maternal/child health clients better.”

• Celebrating the Critical Importance of the 1st Three Years: 2018 was a year of planning to launch
Baby Day™ (February 2019) – the first celebration in the country to highlight how wonderful the
early years are for early brain development. Nearly 1,500 individuals participated in activities across
the state that promoted bonding and delight.

First3Years was founded in 1980 by early care professionals who were concerned about the quality of care young children receive. A statewide organization, the mission of First3Years is to educate, advocate, and collaborate to advance the healthy development of infants and toddlers.

Our programs:
• Increase awareness of the critical importance of the first three years of life.
• Support conditions that enhance the quality of infant and toddler/caregiver relationships.
• Advocate for policies and practices that support the healthy development of young children, and
• Educate the birth-to-three workforce in best practices.

First3Years is the only organization in Texas working across sectors to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers through training and certification. Parents, caregivers, and professionals must have access to current research about infant/toddler development to help children reach their greatest potential as adults. With increased understanding of the need for information on infant/toddler development and a gap in state policies to require more rigorous training and licensing, the demand for First3Years' programs has steadily increased. For more than 38 years, we have played an important role in advancing public and professional awareness about infant/toddler development; now we are poised to take our organization to the next level to make a significantly larger impact.