The New London Children First Initiative Books for Babies Program is one of CFI's major accomplishments. This organization is committed to literacy for all the people of New London and where it all begins —with our babies.

At its inception, the New London Public Preschool Coordinator approached the Children First Initiative Coordinator for funding for the project. The idea was presented to the Forum and found to be worth undertaking. Allocation of the money was approved by the Forum in April 1997.

In another meeting, the two coordinators (the CFI and the New London Public School Preschool) decided that the book to be distributed should be an interesting board book published in English and Spanish. They chose Goodnight Moon.

There are two goals of the program. The first is to get books to parents of very young children so they can begin reading to their children at an early age. The second goal is to introduce parents of young children to the New London Public Schools.

A letter from the New London Public School Superintendent to the parents congratulating them on the birth of their child and welcoming them to the New London school community was enclosed in the book Goodnight Moon.

The City Clerk's Office handled the distribution of the books. Because parents of newborns had to go to the City Clerk's Office to pick up a copy of their child's birth certificate, it made sense to include the book and the letter from the Superintendent in a packet of information they received there. Flyers were sent out through the schools, and the VNA and Lawrence & Memorial Hospital served to inform the public of the program. An initial order of 320 books was distributed in the first year 1998.

In its second year, in an effort to reach more families, other collaborations in the community were sought. Through the LICC meeting, connections with the local DCF, Easter Seals, WIC program and the Birth-to-Three providers, Early Connections and LEARN were established. The venue for distribution was moved from the City Clerk's Office to the Lawrence & Memorial Hospital through the Health Unit Coordinator in the maternity ward. In addition, written public service announcements were incorporated in the local newspaper, The Day, and the hospital newspaper, Lawrence & Memorial Hospital News. Public access TV announcements were coupled with promotions at the New London Public Library.

Funding needs consist mainly of the cost of books. Funds for the books are within the CFI budget. However, the program is looking at private businesses in the community to donate the books for distribution.

By the first half of the second year, approximately 200 packets, a third of which were in Spanish, were distributed. Distribution has mainly been handled through the Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the Birth-to-Three Program, the Parent-to-Parent Network and the VNA.

At the end of the second year, collaboration with the various agencies involved with very young children had been established. So far, funding for the books through CFI has been sufficient. Donations are being sought from businesses in the community to continue this effort.

It is uncertain whether all new parents in the community are being reached. Therefore, other venues for distribution need to be considered. Currently, there is no documentation of who receives the books and any follow-up data collection regarding the impact of parents receiving books for their newborns. This data would help if it becomes necessary to approach alternate funders.

CFI is introduced to all the new parents in the community through the books that are distributed. Since books are distributed and received by families at the birth of their newborns, reading is encouraged at a very young age. Parents learn to make reading interesting and incorporate it into family activities.