Hillary Clinton announces early childhood development initiative

In her new role as a private citizen and potential presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the renamed Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation announced on Friday a new initiative to promote early childhood education.

"New research shows that what happens here [in a child's home] during the first five years of your child's life will make a difference for the rest of his or her life," Clinton says of the home in a video announcing "Too Small to Fail."

According to its website, the initiative is designed "to promote new research on the science of children’s brain development, early learning and early health." And it plans to "help parents, businesses and communities identify specific actions ... that they can take to improve the lives of young children."

The decision to put childhood development ahead of a 2016 presidential race seemingly rebrands Clinton as someone focused on domestic issues, not just on international relations.

And childhood development is about as noncontroversial an issue as it gets for a potential presidential candidate (Clinton has yet to announce a decision regarding 2016)—and one unlikely to turn off any new supporters.

Clinton delivered a speech on Thursday at the third annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative America focused on the international and domestic issues she plans to pursue at the foundation, founded by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. She highlighted economic development, childhood education, and support and opportunities for women and girls as her priorities in a speech that could have been mistaken for campaign remarks.