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The Bush Foundation’s interest in child development began in 1977 at the encouragement of Irving B. Harris, then a Bush Board member from Chicago who led the development of the Erikson Institute and the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago. For 10 years the Foundation established and supported four centers in Child Development and Social Policy at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina and Yale University.
In 1993, the Foundation established a new program to provide a strong start for very young children (birth to three) who increasingly received care outside their homes as more mothers entered the workforce. A hallmark of this era was the effort to reach and include Native American populations in state program development.
In July 2001, the Bush Foundation Board authorized a successor program to the previous Infant/Toddler Training program. This program, which ended in 2008, sought to improve child care within family, friend and neighbor (FFN) settings, targeting resources to reach the young children nurtured in the most vulnerable settings.
Summary of Giving
From 1970 to 2008, the Bush Foundation awarded 179 grants totaling more than $44.5 million (see full list).
Grants were given primarily in the areas of:
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Caregiver trainers and training systems |
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Infant/toddler resource centers |
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Capacity building on reservations |
Learn More....
Background
Timeline
Lessons Learned
Grants Overview and List
Reports
Lessons Learned: The Bush Foundation Infant/Toddler Development Program Turns 10, Douglas R. Powell, consultant to the Bush Foundation, 2005
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This report describes a complex 10-year undertaking that involved curriculum developers, training faculty, state agencies and the child care community in reducing the barriers to the healthy development of very young children in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. |
Executive Summary of Lessons Learned: The Bush Foundation Infant/Toddler Development Program Turns 10
Other Resources
Who’s Watching the Babies? Improving the Quality of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care, by Douglas R. Powell, 2008, Washington D.C.: Zero to Three.
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Chapter 5 of this book discusses a project initiated by the Bush Foundation aimed at supporting family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers. The chapter summarizes lessons of the initiative’s efforts to find, engage and support FFN caregivers.
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| Available from Zero to Three Press. |
Return to Bush Legacy Home Page
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How Bush Grants Made A Difference |
Reframing the Terrible Twos (PDF) This article highlights how Bush Foundation grantees utilized the innovative Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC), developed by California-based WestEd, and adapted the PITC curriculum to encompass a broad array of cultural backgrounds. |
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Cultural Components Make it Worthwhile to Go the Distance (PDF) This article highlights the work of Mary Black Bird, a PITC Trainer on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. |
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