serves as the foundation for a course of action to be taken at the federal, state, or local level. Policy making has four main components:
1) involve formal processes such as executive orders, legislation, rules/regulations, policy memos/directives, guidelines/standards, and court decisions;
2) designed to address social needs or public issues of consequence;
3) generally developed through a series of decision-making processes that include key stakeholders; and 4) based on a set of shared values. Some examples of policy documents include: program and personnel standards, position statements, technical assistance documents, or memorandums of understanding.

Rous, B., & Townley, K.F. (2010). Early childhood policy and implications for quality initiatives.In. P. Wesley & V. Buysse (Eds).The quest for quality: Promising innovations for early childhood programs.Baltimore MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.