JACKSON, Miss. -- Staff from the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s Early Childhood Programs attended the 2024 Early Childhood Capitol Day on Feb. 6. The event served as a platform to raise awareness of the pressing needs in the early childhood community and to bring attention to the vital role that early childhood programs play in nurturing cognitive, social and emotional development in children. MSU Extension programs represented included the Nurturing Homes Initiative, Mississippi Child Care Resource & Referral, and MSU Extension Head Start and Early Head Start. From left are Alyssa Taylor, Felisha Hampton, Sarah Moody, Jamila Taylor, Brooke Spann-Giesen, Liz Thorne and Tara Dickerson. (Photo by MSU Extension Service/Kevin Hudson)