Noting that increasing numbers of infants and toddlers and their working parents face a range of early care and development needs, this paper suggests that by establishing high quality child care and family support services, state legislatures can help families and caregivers nurture the development of infants while helping parents manage work. The paper describes how state policymakers are promoting key components of a birth to age 3 system by: (1) promoting health and safety in child care through regulatory improvements, health consultation, and inclusion of children with special needs; (2) funding programs such as Early Head Start; (3) increasing training and compensation for child care providers; and (4) supporting parental involvement in a young child's life through parent education and family leave policies. Finally, the paper maintains that these policy efforts recognize that investing in good early services for these children can lead to school success and other positive outcomes later in life. The paper concludes with a list of organizational resources. (Contains 25 endnotes.) (KB)