Zero to Three offers a searchable database with information on state policies and initiatives that impact infants, toddlers and their families.

The newly named and restructured White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be a resource for organizations, both secular and faith-based, to address the challenges of poverty, serve women and children, prevent teen pregnancy and improve the odds for young fathers. The Office will help "local groups learn their obligations under the law, cut through red tape, and make the most of what the federal government has to offer."

This Child Trends brief distills lessons from roundtable discussions for improving the reach and effectiveness of New Mexico's school-based services like after-school programs and health services.

Van Jones, formerly of the Ella Baker Center and now of Green for All, wants to boost a green economy and help create jobs for poor communities at the same time.

Feeding America, formerly Second Harvest, is urging you to contact Congress to address hunger among working families.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that at least 44 states are facing budget shortfalls -- the budget gaps for the remainder of this fiscal year to 2011 are estimated to more than $350 billion. At least 30 states have made or proposed budget cuts that threaten vital services, including public health, education and state workforce reductions.

If you're still trying to sort out what happened with "toxic assets," the mortgage crisis and what the government bail-out really means, this brief from the Century Foundation is worth a look.

October 2008, President Bush signed into law two bills aimed at keeping children safer and healthier: the Protect Our Children Act and the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act. The latter provides a funding increase for programs serving homeless youth and "mandates a study on runaway and homeless youth every five years in order know how to serve this group properly," Youth Today reports.

In California, the journey from parent to activist starts at home: the Los Angeles Community Action Network won a citywide law to preserve affordable housing in residential hotels targeted for luxury development.

This book marks the first time a human development approach to measuring well-being has
been applied to an industrialized nation. Published by the Social Science Research
Council and Columbia University Press, it ranks states and congressional districts
according to the "American Human Development Index"—which goes beyond economic
output to include three aspects of well-being: health and longevity, access to
knowledge (educational attainment and enrollment), and standards of living (median
earnings). Hard copy: $16.47 or access findings for free on the Web site.

Take The Measure of America Quiz - How sensitive are you to the factors that shape the
quality of life for average Americans? Find out online, and then learn about the Social
Science Research Council and Columbia University report on the American Human
Development Index, The Measure of America.