This is a column that appeared in my local newspaper The Spectrum on February 21.
In my last column I wrote about the vulnerability of the poor in these difficult economic times. Poverty rates have been increasing and today one in four children live at or below the poverty line in our country.
Debbie Justice, Executive Director of The Learning Center for Families (www.tlc4families.org/), responded to my article and invited me to tour the St. George facility of her organization. She frames her programs as workforce development programs to help the children “grow up to be productive and engaged citizens.”
I share with David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist, a passionate interest in human development and neuroscience. I am concerned about the seeming disconnect between what we understand about the pre and postnatal needs of infants and young children and the resources available to address those needs. Recently Brooks cited how early childhood education and development or lack thereof hugely effects later years in life. He bemoans the fact that nationally nobody seems to want to do anything about it. There is no debate on this issue during our perpetual political campaigns. He notes that the lobbying guns in Washington and the prestige is focused on K-12 and higher education.
Because of my previous work as a psychotherapist and in my role as a father and grandfather, I am profoundly aware of the criticality of adequate nutrition and active human and social interaction to healthy brain development. The American Academy of Pediatricians recently reported on the evidence of the link between childhood toxic stress and other deficiencies in the family and social environment during early life and lifelong impairments in learning, behavior, and both physical and mental health.
Because of the dedicated work of The Learning Center for Families and the support it receives from government and community resources, many young children conceived and born in challenging circumstances will have the opportunity to experience an enriching and healthy support system.
Family services can begin before and during pregnancy and continue for the first three years of life. The Center’s most recent annual report cites The Early Intervention Program that identities children who are “showing any kind of early developmental delay such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy or extreme prematurity.” The early intervention team of professionals and other staff members work with each family individually, structuring a program to meet that family’s specific needs.
The Early Head Start Program “is a comprehensive family development program that promotes the physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth of infants and toddlers while assisting their parents in achieving greater degrees of self sufficiency.”
I ended my tour heartened by the obvious commitment of so many focusing on the needs of young children and their families, but as with other social support programs, there is a bulging wait list of those needing these services.
As Frederick Douglas wrote in the 19th century “It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men.”
Brilliant ideas there.
Posted by: Evelyn Wangari | June 08, 2017 at 02:55 AM