National Scientific Council on the Developing Child - Council Projects : Legislative Working Group

2007

On December 5-6, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson was the keynote presenter at the Alaska Governor’s Summit on Early Learning in Anchorage, Alaska. His presentation, “The Science of Early Brain Development: Implications for Investments in Early Childhood Development,” was attended by 150 people from the legislative and business communities, as well as executive agency heads and personnel.
On December 5, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff gave a presentation, “Science, Policy, and Children: Informing the Process to Improve the Outcomes,” at the third lecture of a Colloquium Series sponsored by The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Held in Cambridge, MA at the Kennedy School of Government, the event drew over 100 members of the Harvard community to hear from Dr. Shonkoff about how the science of early childhood development can be brought to bear on policymaking and to listen to state legislators speak about how they have used science to affect change in their own states.
On November 29, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff participated in a roundtable discussion entitled the Sandbox Investment: Kids-First Politics. Convened at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dr. Shonkoff contributed comments about the long-term economic returns of investing in the early years of child development.
On November 29, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson presented “The Developmental Science of Early Childhood Investments” at the Florida Economic Summit for Children in Orlando, FL. The goal of the Summit was to share strategies for sustainable increases in Florida’s productivity, and Dr. Thompson’s presentation focused on neurobiological development findings that can identify the types of early childhood investments most likely to lead to economic benefit.
On November 28, 2007, Council Member Judy Cameron spoke at Stanford Graduate School of Business as part of an event to introduce early childhood issues to future business leaders, hosted by the Committee for Economic Development. Held in Stanford, CA, the event was attended by over 60 people, including local business leaders, early childhood advocates, faculty from other universities, and representatives of a variety of non-profits and the local school district.
On November 18, 2007, Council Member Charles A. Nelson presented “The Role of Experience on the Developing Brain, Cognition & Intelligence” at the Learning & the Brain: Using Research to Enhance Cognitive Abilities conference in Cambridge, MA.
On November 14, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff gave a presentation, "The Science of Child Development: A New Lense for Public Health," at the second lecture of a Colloquium Series sponsored by The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Held in Boston, MA at the Harvard School of Public Health, the event drew over 100 members of the Harvard community to hear about the causal relationship between early childhood adversity and lifelong impairments in physical and mental health. See Part 2 of the presentation here.
On November 9, 2007, Council Member Deborah Phillips gave a keynote address to the 2007 Communities for Children Conference, sponsored by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth in New South Wales, Australia. Her presentation was entitled “A Developmental Strategy for Early Intervention.” The conference brought together 200 practitioners in various capacities of service delivery and from multiple NGOs.
On October 26, 2007, Council Member Pat Levitt gave a plenary presentation, “Putting the P in P-20,” at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices Institute for Governors’ Education Policy Advisors meeting, held in New Orleans, LA. The event was attended by about 75 participants, including legislative advisors and governors who work with issues related to education, many specifically involved in issues related to secondary education.
On October 24, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff participated in a panel at the Riken Brain Science Institute 10th Anniversary Symposium, “Challenging Human Mind and Intellect.” The event was held in Tokyo, Japan.
On October 13, 2007, Council Member Greg Duncan presented “The Effects of Growing up Poor, and What States can do About it” at a conference co-sponsored by the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures called “Reducing Poverty – Promoting Family Economic Opportunity: A Policy Institute for State Policymakers.” Duncan’s presentation highlighted racial and generational disparities in poverty in the U.S., the economic implications of being poor during childhood, and policy options for reducing poverty early in life.
On October 2, 2007, Council Contributing Member Susan Nall Bales gave a presentation, "The Child Development Challenge: Translating Science for Public Understanding, " at the first lecture of a Colloquium Series sponsored by The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Held in Cambridge, MA, at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the event included opening remarks by Council Chair Jack Shonkoff, Bales' presentation, and a panel discussion. The event drew 125 members of the Harvard community.
On September 27, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson presented “Foundations of Early Education” at the 2007 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference held in Washington, D.C. Thompson spoke during a session entitled “Developing the Foundations for Global Competitiveness,” attended by an audience of 60 people, primarily made of up legislators and legislatives aides. His presentation focused on the science of early learning and the importance of providing young children with the support they need early in life.
On September 27, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff provided concluding remarks entitled "A Science-Based Framework for Building Greater Public Will" at the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS conference "Meeting Children's Needs in a World with HIV/AIDS: An International Symposium." Held in Boston, MA, this event brought together 250 leaders in science, policy-making, advocacy, and implementation from around the world.
On September 17, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff presented "The Science of Early Childhood Development" at the Kansas Governor's Summit on Early Childhood, "Building Blocks: Readying Kids for a Growing Economy," held in Topeka, Kansas. Sponsored by the National Governors Association, this event drew 150 legislators, educators, child advocates, and business leaders.
Council member Charles Nelson, presented at numerous conferences in 2007, including:
Harvard Law School and the American Bar Association, Cambridge, MA
Department of Psychology, Bucharest University, Bucharest, Romania
Brain and Learning Conference, Cambridge, MA
Families First, Boston, MA
Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
The National Institute of Mental Health workshop on cognition and stress, Bethesda, MD
On September 7, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff presented the keynote address, “The Effects of Early Care and Education on Brain Development,” at The Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference. Held in Boston, MA, the conference was entitled “Powerless People Need Powerful Friends – Early Education and Care Conference for Policy Makers.”
On September 6, 2007, Council Member Pat Levitt presented “Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do to Educate Students” at the Leadership Nashville Alumni Meeting. Held in Nashville, TN for 250 key business, education, and government leaders in the area, the presentation focused on new brain research, social development of children, and innovative practices that are being implemented in schools around Nashville.
On August 29, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff participated in a panel entitled “Strengthening the Impact of Developmental Science on Social Policy” at UNICEF’s Annual Global Consultation on Early Childhood Development in New York, NY. The event was attended by policy-planning advisors, members of the international community, and representatives from UNICEF, national government offices, and universities.
On August 7, 2007, Council Chair Jack Shonkoff and Deputy Director Gillian Najarian, along with members of the Legislative Working Group, participated in "Neuroscience and Evaluation Research: New Directions for Early Childhood Policy," a presentation made for the Human Services and Welfare Committee to more than 80 people attending the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual meeting in Boston, MA. This was followed by a meeting of the full Legislative Working Group in Cambridge, MA on August 7-8, 2007.
On May 30, 2007, Council Member Pat Levitt presented "Promoting the Heath and Education of Young Children " at The Rural Early Childhood Forum: On Young Children in the Mississippi Delta. An audience of policy makers, legislators & business leaders from Mississippi Delta attended the conference, sponsored by the Early Childhood Institute at Mississippi State University and the College of Education and Mississippi Valley State University.
On May 26, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson presented “A Human Connection: Early Relationships and Psychological Understanding” at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C. The presentation centered on how young children comprehend the psychological world through the conceptual catalysts of parent-child conversation, the understanding afforded by secure relationships, and their own conceptual skills.
On May 22, 2007, Council Members Pat Levitt, Charles Nelson, and Megan Gunnar, as well as Council Chair Jack Shonkoff and University of Chicago professor Dolores Norton, Ph.D., presented at the National Summit on America's Children, convened by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. In addition to Members of the House, the audience included more than 300 state and local officials, researchers and academics, and representatives of child and family policy organizations. For additional information about the Summit, including information about all panelists and archived video from the Summit webcast, visit the Speaker's website. To read the remarks made by Council Members, click on the following: Pat Levitt, Charles Nelson, Megan Gunnar, Jack Shonkoff.
On May 3, 2007, Council Member Pat Levitt joined Dr. W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, to present "Building Blocks for Brain Development: A Primer for Professionals and Parents" at 2007 Tennessee Early Childhood Summit: The Power of Collaboration. An audience of early educators and policymakers attended the conference, sponsored by the Tennessee Alliance for Early Education and the Tennessee Department of Education.
On April 19-20, 2007, several Council Members, including Pat Levitt, Bruce McEwen, and Megan Gunnar, participated in Building an Integrated, Science-Based, Early Childhood Policy Framework to Reduce Disparities in Learning, Behavior, and Health, a workshop hosted by the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation. Held in Washington, DC, the workshop engaged scientists, researchers, academics, policymakers, and advocates in critiquing a forthcoming paper that will be jointly authored by the Forum and the Council.
On April 26, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson presented “Neurons to Neighborhoods revisited: A look toward future directions as science spotlights the importance of investing in young children in new ways” at a conference co-sponsored by the Oregon Commission on Children and Families and the American Academy of Pediatrics called “Neurons to Neighborhoods in Action: Six Years Later.”
On March 29 - April 1, 2007, several Council Members, including W. Thomas Boyce, Greg Duncan, Nathan A. Fox, Betsy Lozoff, Charles A. Nelson, Deborah Phillips, Megan Gunnar and Ross Thompson, as well as Council Chair Jack Shonkoff and Contributing Member Bruce McEwen, presented on a wide range of topics at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in Boston, Mass. Attendees included approximately 6,000 national and international researchers, practitioners, and human development professionals representing all fields related to child development. In addition, Council Chair Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., received an SRCD Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children.
On February 28, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson testified before the House Committee on Education & Labor, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education as part of the “Improving Head Start for America’s Children” hearing. Dr. Thompson stressed the importance of laying the foundation upon which later development is built—development which is essential to school readiness and success—in early childhood.
On March 6, 2007, Council Member Nathan A. Fox presented a lecture on "The Impact of Brain Research on Education" at the University of Maryland in College Park.
On January 31, 2007, Council Member Megan Gunnar presented at the Minnesota Early Childhood Legislative Caucus, a meeting of the Minnesota state legislature's caucus on early childhood, at the Capitol Building in St. Paul, MN.
On January 26, 2007, Council Member Ross Thompson presented at U.S. Congressional briefing on early childhood development, cosponsored by the offices of Sen. Clinton and Sen. Kennedy.
On January 23, 2007, Council Chair Jack P. Shonkoff presented key concepts of science and early childhood development policy implications at a meeting of the South Carolina Senate Early Childhood Study Committee, hosted by the Mary Black Foundation in Columbia, SC.