The debate over health care reform will resume this month in Congress and it won’t be easy tracking how this complex effort could impact children’s health, which is a key component of their success in early learning.

Amid all the shouting at town halls, battling sound bites on television and tens of millions of dollars spent on lobbying in Congress, who knows what will happen to state insurance programs for children.

To help, we decided to offer you a few virtual resources to help navigate one of the most ambitious legislative attempts in decades and understand what it means to early learners.

• Children’s Alliance (http://www.childrensalliance.org), for local and national health care news. Check out their blog post on the issue, “Connect to Health Care Reform.”
• Speak Now for Kids (It is also active on twitter, @speaknowforkids.)
• Kaiser Family Foundation, “How Will Uninsured Children Be Affected By Health Care Reform”. Of course, Kaiser Family Foundation is an excellent resource for a lot of health care news.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy page has releases and news, and offers the group’s “Priorities on Health Reform.”
• Urban Institute, “Health Care Reform for Children with Public Coverage: How Can Policymakers Maximize Gains and Prevent Harm?” (A backgrounder on what is at stake.)
• For a good call to action, check out Marian Wright Edelman’s “The Economic Costs of Uninsured Children.”

Our country needs healthy and educated children for a future healthy workforce. There's no better investment than comprehensive, affordable health coverage for all children to improve their lives and the lives of all of us. – 8/24/09, The Huffington Post.

Edelman’s argument should sound familiar to the early learning community, and it’s why health care reform and early learning issues are inseparable.

Get ready for action because Congress returns Sept. 8