Developed by WestEd for the California Department of Social Services (CDSS).

The California Infant–Toddler Learning and Development Foundations (ITLDF) represents part of the comprehensive effort by the CDSS to strengthen young children’s learning and development through high-quality early learning and care. The new edition emphasizes how each child develops at their own pace and within their own unique set of circumstances in the context of their family and community.  

The foundations describe the development of infants and toddlers during the birth to 3 age period. To make optimal developmental progress, young children need responsive, emotionally secure relationships with both family members and infant–toddler care educators. These relationships can facilitate young children’s attainment of the knowledge and skills specified in the foundations. Infants and toddlers thrive in emotionally and physically safe environments that promote active, playful exploration and experimentation.  

The California ITLDF describe the learning and development of infants and toddlers during this formative period in five domains that contribute to their overall school readiness: Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Language Development, Cognitive Development, and Perceptual and Motor Development. Approaches to Learning is a new domain and is based on recent research highlighting the importance of capacities that support learning in any domain, including curiosity and initiative, collaborative effort, and executive functions. Still, especially in these earliest years of life, learning and development for young children are an integrated experience. 

This publication was developed by WestEd under the direction of Peter L. Mangione, Osnat Zur, and Ann-Marie Wiese, working in collaboration with many people including the following team from the California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division: Nadirah Jones, Education Administrator; Lisa Sullivan, Child Development Consultant; Heather McClellan-Brandusa, Child Development Consultant; and Sandra Gonzales-Pabón, Child Development Consultant. 

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