Speaker Pelosi's Summit on America's Children

Greetings

This week I attended the Summit on America’s Children that was convened by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The focus was on Early Learning and the science that supported it. The speakers were researchers, pediatricians, Jim Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, a number of university professors, the CEO of PNC Financial Services Group and the Chief of Police of Waco, Texas among others. A complete list of speakers and the panel topics can be found below.

Congressman Jim Mc Dermott was in attendance most of the time and only left to go vote. I was able to speak with Rep Norm Dicks Speaker Pelosi was there the entire time and very engaged in the proceedings. Each panel was asked to provide “take away messages” for the legislature and it soon became apparent that there was quite a bit of overlap in the recommendations among the speakers. Here are the messages that were delivered most frequently:

There is a desperate need for high quality child care, especially for the most vulnerable children.
To achieve high quality child care, providers must be adequately compensated, trained and educated.
The Nurse Family Partnership is a vital and important service for families, especially the most vulnerable families.
Parent Support is essential-too often there is help for the child but if the parents are not also receiving help, the child will ultimately suffer.
There is a disconnect between what we know about early learning and what we do about early learning
Mental Health issues are often overlooked and under diagnosed in infants.
There has been too much emphasis on cognitive ability and not enough on social/emotional ability.

Dr.James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, was asked by a congresswoman if he could give a definitive dollar figure on the return on investment for early learning. The congresswoman stated that she had heard a number of different ROIs mentioned. Heckman didn’t give her a specific number but said that when the ROIs were being developed they were based on the increase of a child’s IQ. They did not factor in mental health, physical health or social emotional development. Heckman stated that the ROI needs to be looked at more broadly and feels that there is currently an underestimating of the benefits.

Heckman went on to say that the accident of birth is the single most important indicator of success for a child.

One legislator asked Dr. Jack Shonkoff of Harvard what two issues should the government focus on. His reply was:

High quality child care that is accessible to all children
Invest as early as possible in the most at risk children

During Shonkoff’s remarks he cited Washington State as one of the states that is demonstrating how philanthropy, business and government are coming together to make policy for the benefit of young children. He also said that there was a need for more personal interaction between the legislators, the scientists and the service providers. Many of the scientists acknowledged that they were not good at speaking in public and that a “knowledge broker” who translated the science to the legislators and to business would be a crucial piece to the interaction that needs to take place.

James Rohr, CEO of PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, talked about how his company has pledged $100 million over the next ten years to early learning. The company is funding an initiative called “Grow Up Great”. Rohr went on to say “Its how greatness grabs a foothold. Its how greatness gains momentum and how greatness lasts forever.”

Speaker Pelosi talked about why the scientists were invited to speak. She said that congress needed to get the hard, evidence based research to make a point and to have the support of the research as they proceeded. She said that “we need to value parenting more” and “We have to value how we take care of our children” and “America has to decide in favor of its children and its future”. She pledged to keep this issue on the top of her list. She also put out a paper that talked about the priorities her party had for young children. They are:

Head Start Reauthorization-to expand and improve the program
Improving the quality of the Early Childhood Workforce
Expanding access to affordable, high quality child care

I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend this summit. It remains to be seen whether or not significant funds follow but we can take some heart that it is being discussed at the national level and some encouraging legislation is coming out.

Let me know what you think about this/

Jeanne


Schedule of Events
Schedule of EventsTuesday, May 22, 2007
National Summit on America’s Children – by invitation only All events will be held in Room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building.
Opening Remarks9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House The Honorable George Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Education and LaborThe Honorable Rosa DeLauroThe Honorable Chaka Fattah
Panel I: The Science of Early Childhood Development9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Pat Levitt, Ph.D.
Professor of PharmacologyAnnette Schaffer Eskind Chair and Director, Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dolores G. Norton, Ph.D.
Samuel Deutsch Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
Charles A. Nelson, Ph.D.
Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research,Children’s Hospital BostonProfessor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Megan Gunnar, Ph.D.
Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.
Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and DevelopmentDirector, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
Panel II: Early Learning11:00 a.m – 12:15 p.m.
Oscar A. Barbarin, Ph.D.
L. Richardson and Emily Preyer Bicentennial Distinguished Professor for Strengthening Families, School of Social WorkSenior Investigator, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
James E. Rohr
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, PNC Financial Services Group
Karen W. Ponder
Former President and Chief Executive Officer, North Carolina Partnership for Children
Donna Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer, Easter Seals of North Georgia
Alberto Melis
Chief of Police, Waco Police Department, Texas
Luncheon12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Buffet Lunch provided)
Keynote Address: James Heckman, Ph.D.
Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of EconomicsDirector, Economics Research Center at the Department of EconomicsDirector, Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
Panel III: Health and Mental Health1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Jane Knitzer, Ed.D
Director, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Paul H. Wise, M.D., MPH
Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society Center for Health Policy, Freeman Spogli Institute for International StudiesCenter for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University
Glenn Flores, M.D., FAAP
Professor, Pediatrics and Population Health, Medical College of WisconsinDirector, Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children, Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Carol Wilson Spigner, MSW, DSW
Co-Director, Field Center for Children’s Policy Practice and ResearchKenneth. L.M. Pray Professor, School of Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
Col. Elisabeth M. Stafford, M.D.
Fellowship Director, Adolescent Medicine, San Antonio Military Pediatric Center
Panel IV: Income and Family Support3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
J. Lawrence Aber, Ph.D.
Director, Institute for Human Development and Contextual Change Professor of Applied Psychology and Public Policy, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University
Rucker C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Deborah A. Frank, M.D.
Director, Grow Clinic for Children Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine
Jody Heymann, Ph.D., M.D.
Founding Director, McGill Institute for Health and Social PolicyFounding Director, Project on Global Working Families at Harvard UniversityProfessor, Faculties of Medicine and Arts, McGill University
Gordon Berlin
President, MDRC
Closing Remarks4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.