Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children is a non-profit, 501c3, organization dedicated to supporting programs that enhance the lives of children and families. The Initiative’s primary goals are to support and empower children and families through research and advocacy.

Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children (BTWIC), formerly Bessie Tartt Wilson Children’s Foundation, is a non-profit organization founded in 2002. BTWIC works to strengthen early education and care for children through research, policy development, communication, and advocacy. We focus on the neediest families- those for whom poverty and other factors put their children in jeopardy of physical, social, cognitive, and other developmental delays. Our work leads to systemic change by focusing on critical policy issues that impact the early education experiences of children throughout the Commonwealth.

BTWIC has had much success with 2006’s Keeping the Promise: A Study of the Massachusetts Child Care Voucher System, our first major policy initiative. Keeping the Promise examined quality and consistency of care for children who receive childcare subsidies through vouchers provided by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. After following 3,200 children and conducting town meetings statewide, the study concluded that limited funding for the voucher system and significant administrative burdens result in reduced quality and accessibility for subsidized care.

Within a year of the release of the study, we achieved our goal of enhancing continuity of care for the over 50,000 children in the voucher program. Additionally, Keeping the Promise led to the release of four research briefs that take a closer look at other issues affecting families in the voucher system. Transporting Young Children in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides additional analysis of issue of transportation and its connection to accessing the voucher system. Communication in Any Language: Policy Solutions for Children and Families in Massachusetts is a study of the challenges for families with limited English proficiency in navigating the voucher system and recommendations for addressing these challenges. Child Care Voucher Project Phase II documents the impact of the legislative change to the voucher certification period that Keeping the Promise prompted. The Massachusetts Child Care Voucher Study: Progress and Possibilities is a report of progress made from 2007 to 2009 and a review of the challenges that still face families in the voucher system.

BTWIC is nearing the end of a year-long study on Early Childhood Workforce Access and Advocacy Initiative (first phase of the initiative is the study) and will release our research and policy recommendations in late 2009. The Workforce Initiative aims to improve quality of care by addressing compensation issues and improving opportunities for professional development and educational access.

In addition to our policy work, BTWIC has worked directly with early childhood educators and the children in their care. In 2006, the Initiative launched BookEnds, which provided instructional training in early literacy, social development and relationship-building for parents and childcare providers to instill literacy and learning strategies in young children. BookEnds was successful in reaching its intended audience and was phased out in 2007 to allow BTWIC to focus on advocacy and policy change.

It is our motto that “high school graduation begins with high-quality early-care and education.” Through our work, Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children has begun to fulfill our promise and will continue to work towards enhancing the lives of all children and families.