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City Club Missoula panel stresses need for early childhood development programs
“The earliest years are the most promising for brain and skills development, yet it is where the U.S. invests the least.” Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU
Helping families with young children is one way to provide healthy development and resilience for all Montana children, an initiative that the Headwaters Foundation is pursuing with the help of local communities and the University of Montana.
The $16.7 million multi-year initiative, called Zero to Five, focuses on child and family health and wellness, and will provide grant money to programs across Montana that emphasize three key areas: resilient parenting, healthy pregnancy and school readiness.
According to Susan Harper-Whalen, associate dean of UM’s Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences, a child’s early years are the most critical.
By Mari Hall
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City Club Missoula panel: Invest more resources into state’s youngest children
Montana needs to focus on investing money and other resources in the state’s youngest children because that’s where the biggest difference can be made, a panel of experts told a crowd at the monthly City Club Missoula luncheon on Monday.
The current systems in place are not sufficient and that demographic has been relatively neglected, which creates opportunity.
“The early years are critical for the development of a young child and brain growth,” explained Susan Harper-Whalen, the associate dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Montana.
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